Celebrations:Thousands of Leaving Cert revellers partied at specially organised parties at clubs around the country last night to celebrate the end of their school lives.
Inside Bar Code on Dublin's Clontarf Road in Fairview last night, a "Playboy" Party was in full swing. Male and female Playboy bunnies handed out lollipops to eager students while Hugh Hefner and friends frolicked on plasma screens above. Entering the venue, some of the students headed straight to the bar and ordered shots.
Students from St Vincent's CBS in Glasnevin, Mount Temple on the Malahide Road and Mount Carmel in Dublin 1 were all enjoying themselves with the general consensus that "this is the only place to be tonight".
Club 21 on D'Olier Street had also attracted a healthy crowd. A group of girls from Dominican College on Griffith Avenue all agreed they were "delighted to be finished school forever".
A manager outside Redz on D'Olier Street last night said they had deliberately steered away from drinks promotions because of the number of Leaving Cert students out on the town. "I don't think there's any particular reason to be pouring €2 drinks down their necks tonight," said John Love.
Security staff outside various nightclubs early last night were reporting a well-behaved crowd. "But maybe come back at 2.30am," one bouncer remarked. Gardaí in Dublin, Cork and Galway all said there had been no reported incidents so far.
The Kobra club on Dublin's Leeson Street held a "Frat Party" for students, which was advertised on bebo.com. A number of drink promotions including vodka-jelly shots, fat frogs, and jaegerbombs were promoted in the advert. All of these drinks contain either alcopops or alcoholic spirits.
Some 1,000 students bought tickets for the night and the €15 entry fee included a draught beer, shot of vodka-jelly or non-alcoholic drink. Director of the Kobra club, Jim Coffey, said that the vodka used in the jelly shots contained half the alcoholic proof of normal vodka. He said the club's drinks promotions, including an advertised double vodka and red bull for €10, "didn't encourage" binge drinking.
The club had a strict over 18s policy last night, accepting only passports, driving licences or Garda national ID card.
By law, nightclubs must accept the Garda national ID card. However, the Drinks Industry Group of Ireland (DIGI) have expressed concern at the forgery of these identification cards. The group has called for the introduction of a mandatory Garda national age card using greater technology.
The Mature Enjoyment of Alcohol in Society (MEAS) group said they conducted widescale research last year that found the "Garda ID card seems to be easy to replicate". The group also called on the Government to introduce a more "sophisticated" identity card.
The National Parents Council (NPC) also expressed concern about the forgery of Garda ID cards. "I know how industrious kids can be. Parents just hope that the clubs have a fairly strict ID policy," said Jim Jackson, president of the NPC.