“Can we lose the booze but keep the craic?”

Here are a few interesting head-scratchers for you. Is it possible to drown your sorrows in a bottle of non-alcoholic gin? How do you approach the ritual of after-work drinks without a pint in front of you? Is it possible to meet a non-alcoholic binge drinker? How does Tinder Night work in an alcohol-free bar?

Welcome to this week’s Real Podcast – episode 16, no less. A couple of weeks ago, we headed off to The Understudy, a bar on London’s Southbank that really knows its non-alcoholic drinks, to chat to someone who has helped to plant a very visible flag in the sober curious world, and most definitely has the answers to all of those questions.

Over a few glasses of Real Kombucha, we chatted to Anna Walsh, the manager of the now world-famous Virgin Mary bar in Dublin. Why’s it world famous, you may ask? Well, it’s entirely unique in that it’s Ireland’s first ever alcohol-free pub. And rather than being something to scoff at, as you might imagine in a town synonymous with a pint of the black stuff, it’s a place that Dubliners have taken to their hearts.

So, let’s get stuck in. Answering the eternal question, “Can we lose the booze but keep the craic?”, here’s Anna Walsh.