‘Funky Seomra’ brings sober socialising to students
Sober socialising arrived in Galway last Saturday night with David Mooney, creator of Dublin’s well-known ‘Funky Seomra’ dancing event, performing at NUI Galway's Bank of Ireland Theatre – in conjunction with the college’s Sober Society.
According to David, the idea for this came about when he lost interest in drinking but still wanted to ‘go out’ at the weekends, only to find there was nowhere for him to go.
“We started seven years ago in Dublin when there was virtually nowhere in the city centre to go socialising outside clubbing; I love going out to clubs but I found the less I drank, the less fun I had – then I had this idea to set up a nightclub where there was no alcohol,” he explained.
‘Funky Seomra’ – described as a mini festival by those involved with the event – brings together the music and dancing of standard clubs with an organic café with food provided by the famed Wicklow brothers at the ‘Happy Pear’, a coffee and juice bar, and a combination of live music and multiple DJs.
“We didn’t want to lose that sense of going out on a Saturday night,” said David.
In an attempt to get more young people experiencing sober socialising, contact was made with NUI Galway and together with the Sober Society, the event was organised for students and anybody else who may be intrigued by the idea of partying without alcohol.
According to Aisling Reidy, Secretary of Sober Soc, the night was a huge success with at least 80-100 students and Galway people in attendance.
Sober Society was set up in the last year as a response to a large number of students looking for other means of socialising, without feeling the pressure to drink.
Aisling believed the idea that drink must be consumed to have fun is slowly fading, with events like this becoming hugely popular in cities like Dublin and London.
She pointed out that these events are not just for people who don’t drink but also for those who want a good night out without consuming alcohol.
“It’s a lot of fun, it’s playful, it’s not as loud as a normal nightclub and there’s a lot of dancing – and there are some great dancers in Galway,” she exclaimed.
Aisling admitted that people who associate drinking as a key factor to a night out may be nervous at first, but she claimed that those nerves go and everyone enjoys the night, and more importantly, suffers less the morning after.
“You wake up the next day with no hangover, you remember what you said and you remember who you were talking to, and they remember you too,” said Alice.
Funky Seomra will be back in Galway in April or May for those who missed it this time around. More details can be found on the website dancefree.ie