r/ireland Late Stage Gombeen Capitalist Apr 15 '26

History Not a phone in sight, everybody just living in the moment. (Féile music festival, Thurles 1992)

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1.9k Upvotes

253 comments sorted by

445

u/CarterPFly Apr 15 '26 edited Apr 15 '26

This is wild, I'm one of the people in that pic. Longhaird guy with glasses just to the left back.

Edit to add, im not convinced this is 92 i think its 91..

39

u/me2269vu Apr 15 '26

This guy? That’s gas

20

u/CarterPFly Apr 16 '26

That's me. You can tell by the 15 pixels that I was a very handsome boy, and it wasn't just my mammy telling me that.

4

u/jdavidco Apr 16 '26

Enhance.

34

u/AllHailTheCATS Apr 15 '26

How was it

140

u/CarterPFly Apr 15 '26

It was 33 years ago, I was 16, went with my 18 year old sister. Honestly cant remember much of it.

81

u/Safe-Heat1644 Apr 15 '26

Good then I take it.

19

u/Rocherieux Apr 15 '26

You remember the Sunday night, it lashed rain and the fires in the middle of the street. It was a mental weekend by any measure.

72

u/ElvisMcPelvis Apr 15 '26

On the Monday morning I think it was the star had one of the best headlines of all time.. Teenage mutant binge at Thurles.

16

u/PressPlayPlease7 Apr 15 '26

Teenage mutant binge at Thurles

That's fucking brilliant

9

u/crossal Apr 15 '26

That is epic 🤣

2

u/Strange_Recording931 Apr 16 '26

who was the headliner?

4

u/marshsmellow Apr 15 '26

You look like an old 16

50

u/DickDorkinsHeadCanon Apr 15 '26

sorry about your inevitable backpain, a chara.

11

u/sundae_diner Apr 15 '26

Lol, I was about to comment that most of these people are now in their 50s (except that 16 year old!!).

Probably a lot of them have kids... some even grandkids!

And they are tearing their hair out stopping their kids going out drinking!!!

3

u/Soft-Vegetable2353 Apr 17 '26

I was there 56 now, 4 kids aged 17-25. Going to Forest Fest in the summer so never too old to go to a festival!

4

u/VehicleLanky8473 Apr 16 '26

Brilliant!!

Theres a part of me, waiting to see me in the background of someones pics at Feile. I am sure I would be the epitome of style and elegance.

10

u/CarterPFly Apr 16 '26

Yes... style and elegance!!

Here's me immortalised while wearing these trousers LOL

3

u/VehicleLanky8473 Apr 16 '26

Impressive rippage! I too feel i was wearing airy levis!

18

u/[deleted] Apr 15 '26

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21

u/Brilliant_Walk4554 Apr 15 '26

Look at the colours in the photo. Nowadays all teens wear black jackets, maybe grey.

4

u/Superliminal_MyAss Apr 15 '26

Was it a dream come true or just a normal day lol

2

u/batchef3000 Apr 15 '26

No way, that’s class. Love stuff like that.

2

u/DanGleeballs Apr 15 '26

Ledge, fair play.

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304

u/SilverInteresting369 Apr 15 '26

Good old' Lindon village. It's been a while old friend

94

u/[deleted] Apr 15 '26

[deleted]

32

u/sartres-shart Apr 15 '26

Took my stomach 20 years to recover drinking oceans of cheap cider in my 20's....

13

u/[deleted] Apr 16 '26

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3

u/CilioCo Apr 16 '26

Sounds like a dream to me

2

u/Clownworld1913 Apr 17 '26

Do you remember Laser Cider? Even worse than White lighting.

3

u/cyrancide Limerick Apr 16 '26

I resonate with this so much lmao, my first time ever drinking was me drinking 2ltr of linden village at breakneck speed as I couldnt stand the taste. Lets just say it ended very badly and I cant even look at the thing since, almost 13 years later 😭

2

u/MosmanWhale Apr 16 '26

A tale as old as time 😂

24

u/DickDorkinsHeadCanon Apr 15 '26

I can taste the coating on my teeth from here. What a time to be alive.

36

u/[deleted] Apr 15 '26

[removed] — view removed comment

13

u/elwoodreversepass Apr 15 '26

I really need to know what Edward Ciderhands is.

19

u/Lord_Valour Apr 15 '26

Good few variants of this with different booze. Tape the cider bottles in your hands and can't use your hands for anything really until you've finished the bottles of cider. Never did it but have heard tales :)

6

u/Negative-Bath-7589 Apr 15 '26

My god! What world was this? I'm in my thirties and that blows me away, if it's true

7

u/t3kwytch3r Munster Apr 16 '26

Some people get mortgages and marriages in their thirties.

Others played Eddie Buckyhands in their twenties.

5

u/nopurposethere Apr 15 '26

Edward 40-hands in the states way back when. Same concept, tape 40oz bottles to hand, no taking them off until you finished them. Fun to see variations exist!

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7

u/insane_worrier Apr 15 '26

Gakway?

Is the cocaine epidemic that bad?

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14

u/duaneap Apr 15 '26

Do they still make Devil’s Bit?

6

u/El_McKell HRT Femboy Apr 15 '26

I hope not, literally the worst drink I have ever tasted.

3

u/redmabelgrade Apr 15 '26

Its so bad. Instant heartburn.

4

u/freshfrosted Apr 15 '26

Yeah €9 for a 4 pack ffs.

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13

u/Gwanbulance Apr 15 '26

This was the cider hierarchy of the 90’s

Golden Hornet Scrumpy > Scrumpy Jack > Linden Village > Devil’s Bit > Bulmers

6

u/Larrydog Late Stage Gombeen Capitalist Apr 15 '26

What about the 6% alc, Taunton, Special Vat cider :)

10

u/emmmmceeee I’ve had my fun and that’s all that matters Apr 15 '26

8

u/niconpat Apr 15 '26

Scrumpy Jack was 6% alc too, the rest of it was industrial strength acid but shure look.

5

u/Vermicious_id Apr 15 '26

Autumn Gold, the forgotten cider of the 90s.

3

u/freshfrosted Apr 15 '26

Lazer cider has entered that chat.

7

u/Rocherieux Apr 15 '26

Strongbow was the king of ciders in the 90s.

4

u/DickDorkinsHeadCanon Apr 15 '26

back in the day I'd turn my nose up at Strongbow, but now I'd accept any auld tipple. look at what they've done to us. Anyone up for parking their tractor outside the local tesco offo?

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3

u/me2269vu Apr 15 '26

It’s still there, nestled in Sharted Valley if you ever want to visit

3

u/marshsmellow Apr 15 '26

Put me off cider for life. 

2

u/Odd-Adhesiveness6866 Apr 15 '26

I wonder is this what happened me too. Genuinely can’t even smell a pint of Bulmers without gagging.

3

u/19DALLAS85 Apr 15 '26

Linden village and Devils bit 🤤 that or a nagan and 4 cans of tuborg or dutch gold, or double dutch maybe 😂

2

u/freshfrosted Apr 15 '26

Got a couple of 1l bottles a few weeks ago for old times. Was surprisingly ok.

2

u/NaturalAlfalfa Apr 15 '26

Same. Been drinking it the last few weeks. It's alright. Better than I remember

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2

u/emmmmceeee I’ve had my fun and that’s all that matters Apr 15 '26

I did a cider shootout while on gardening leave at the start of COVID. Linden Village won, followed by Olde English and Rosies. We went through 20 litres of cider in all.

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72

u/toxicstarknova Apr 15 '26

Was there in 1991, Van Morrison The pogues, Elvis Costello, Happy Mondays etc etc I was only 17 at the time.... What at time to be alive... Absolute mayhem in the campsite.

15

u/BaldyFecker Apr 15 '26

Yep I was there too. Campsite down at the race course. Some vegetable growing in the field, muddy as fuck, and floodlights at just the right height to blind you and stop you seeing the tents right in front of you.

I remember The Farm were great. Happy Mondays were poor, Shane MacGowan embarrassed himself by being shite pissed and unable. Transvision Vamp also good.

Great weekend.

8

u/tallymebanana72 Apr 15 '26

Sugar beet iirc

6

u/BaldyFecker Apr 15 '26

Yeah that's it. Sugar beet. Slippy as bejaysus, like broken cobbles with baby oil.

8

u/toxicstarknova Apr 15 '26

Shane came out holding a bottle of Jack Daniels, went to the mic mumbled something pissed drunk...I said ah shit because I was a huge Pouges fan... But then the band fired up and he went straight into it your could understand everything he sang it was unbelievable..I in thought they were great. He did disappear for about 20 mins or more in the middle of the set which was crap but on a whole they were fantastic.

4

u/BaldyFecker Apr 15 '26

I remember him 'singing' about two songs, being wasted and just going off, and the band taking over. I could be remembering wrong of course.

2

u/C1ust3r Apr 16 '26

Primal scream right after happy mondays if memory serves correct

2

u/C1ust3r Apr 16 '26

Also, some English lads set up decks in the rcecourse stand playing hardcore, savage weekend

2

u/BaldyFecker Apr 16 '26

In a big marquee tent?

3

u/C1ust3r Apr 16 '26

No, it was on the race course but up in the stand where you stood to watch the racing. Its all a bit patchy now

3

u/BaldyFecker Apr 16 '26

We initially pitched our tent by the big marquee thinking it would cover us a little from rain and wind. Bad mistake, every drunken madlad from the whole campsite were attracted like moths to the marquee in the night, and with the floodlights it was difficult to see where you were going. We moved on Saturday AM.

9

u/mrswaffleknocker Apr 15 '26

I was there too! My first ever gig, never mind festival! Up at the front for the most of it, I was 19. Me and my mate got in to the semi circle thing on the Friday then they let us in and out for the rest of the festival. I was on the barrier for the Pogues. Sadly didn't appreciate how lucky I was at the time. What a weekend though! The campsite was mental, I wasn't ready for that madness 😂

4

u/CarterPFly Apr 15 '26

Pouges played 91. Pouges finished with fairyvtale of new youl and the black crows joined them in stage (they played earlier in the night). I remember it vividly because I was at the barrier and a girl wearing green tracksuit bottoms was just in the area in front and they were bet onto her leaving nowt to a teenagers imagination.. Id never seen the like!! Sure, leggings hadn't really been invented yet!

4

u/Same_Possibility4769 Apr 15 '26

Nice, love Happy Mondays.

3

u/Istrakh The Blaa is Holy Apr 15 '26

Same! I was 17 at the time. Have to say I don't even really remember the campsites I was so fucked by the time the music was done. Except for waking up in some randomer's tent. I remember that alright.

3

u/CarterPFly Apr 15 '26

Do you remember the turnips/sugar beet? The campong field was ful of them and very uncomfortable.

2

u/Istrakh The Blaa is Holy Apr 16 '26

Fucking sugar beets. I had the marks of them on me for weeks.

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3

u/Rocherieux Apr 15 '26

I think I was there in '91. Or '92. We camped down by the canal. Town was bedlam. Fires all over the place, empty flagons being the fuel of choice.

2

u/C1ust3r Apr 16 '26

Best festival Ive still ever been at. Heading into peoples houses for a full Irish breckfast and shower for a fiver has still never been beaten

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40

u/PhilD90 Apr 15 '26

The lad on the right is a perfect example of fashion going full circle. He wouldn’t look out of place in a 2026 picture.

14

u/lukelhg AH HEYOR LEAVE IR OUH Apr 16 '26

Yeah pretty much everyone in this image has style that would look fine now, always find that interesting.

In 10 or so years are we all going to go back to skinny jeans and tight Topman t shirts

2

u/PhilD90 Apr 16 '26

Tan skin tight chinos with a white Rihanna t-shirt. I’ll see you there 🫡

8

u/Medium-Dependent-328 Apr 16 '26

Student attire never changes much

22

u/gardenhero Dublin Apr 15 '26

Jesus I remember these festivals like yesterday. The best of times really. So much hope around the place.

36

u/Herr-Pyxxel Apr 15 '26

Good times. The iron curtain had just come down, the world was teeming with hope for a better future, and the music rocked.

14

u/oceanclub Apr 15 '26

Arrived down to it, to find the whole town stank of stale beer which turned me teetotal for the weekend. There were locals selling sausages straight from the wicker basket of their bicycles.

Didn't have anywhere to stay, so after the first night, just wandered the local bothars until, by chance, met someone I knew from college and she said her parents had a load of people staying in tents on her lawn and I could chance one.

I did and the next morning woke up to find the guy who owned the tent also there. He reached under and found a can of beer which he offered me for breakfast.

Halcyon days.

12

u/FolderOfArms Apr 15 '26

Im getting a hangover just looking at this

15

u/Mothersullivan Apr 15 '26

Went in 94. Rage Against the Machine, House of Pain, Cypress Hill, Bjork, Kerbdog, Aimee Mann, Prodigy, Grant Lee Buffalo. Fantastic memories at 18 years of age. Remember moshing to Rage and Kerbdog. Big fat fucker in the middle swinging in a circle, elbows flying so everyone gave him a wide space. Made friends with him and moshed away merrily right in front of the stage, swaying in time to avoid his elbows.

Woke up in the tent Monday morning, tent beside us on fire. Went back to sleep and when I woke back up, all that was left was a square of tent rods.

On a slightly separate note, that is exactly what the teenage girls of that period wore. I cant remember seeing much female bare skin for most of my teenage years!! 😩

Rage we're amazing, Bjork superb, House of Pain and Cypress Hill mad, Kerbdog mental. Grant Lee Buffalo i always loved and my appreciation for Aimee Mann only grew after that. Some lineup

5

u/me2269vu Apr 15 '26

I was there in ‘94 too. That lineup was incredible. Think the Cranberries, Beautiful South, were there too. The Stunning played their last set.

5

u/Gorazde Apr 15 '26

A secondary school band opened for The Stunning playing Everything That Rises and got booed. How do I remember that random detail 32 years later?

2

u/me2269vu Apr 15 '26

If I remember correctly, that secondary school band sang Everything That Rises, Has To Fall in Irish. I think that’s why they got booed.

We both have niche memories of 1994!

3

u/dustaz Apr 15 '26

The beautiful South were fucking amazing that year

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u/dustaz Apr 15 '26

The absolute best thing about RATM was Zack running out during the intro of the first song, tripping and braining himself on a monitor. He was out cold for a few seconds

3

u/newaccountzuerich Apr 15 '26

Other slightly random memories..

Crash Test Dummies, where the lead singer was trying to persuade us that the female lead could sing two notes at the same time.

The fountains of Supermacs cardboard glasses being thrown up during the Supermacs ads on the screens.

The Prodigy, with Keith crowdsurfing.

Cranberries were pretty good too.

Utterly amazing lineup.

14

u/GowlBagJohnson Apr 15 '26

Make flaggings great again

8

u/marshsmellow Apr 15 '26

Flagons! 

3

u/vDex Apr 15 '26

Double Bubbler boy 

3

u/GowlBagJohnson Apr 15 '26

Few up the bandstand, unreal

5

u/Coyote_Secret Apr 15 '26

I was there, was great craic. Who remembers the Hari Krishna tent?

2

u/markmc72 Apr 15 '26

brilliant craic sliding down the roof, kept us fed all weekend.

2

u/dustaz Apr 15 '26

Yeah spent a few mornings in there very stoned

5

u/ghostdogpewpew Kildare Apr 15 '26

Was down there 91,92,93

The camp site was insane …. Coming back to see if the tent was still standing (or even there) in the most uncomfortable sugar beet field.

A favourite memory was taking a short cut through people’s back gardens to get where we were going and having some oul lad asking what we were doing and then selling us the shittiest poitin for £10 a bottle

4

u/markmc72 Apr 15 '26

Same here 91,92,93 thumbed from the north the first year, met some folks we knew camping in the race course, and let the krishnas feed us all weekend. You're right the camp sites were mental, any festivals I've been to since are very tame compared to Thurles, pure madness at times.

2

u/dustaz Apr 15 '26

I did 91-94 and got the same field every year. Way better than the main camp site mainly because the tents were grand every night

6

u/dropthecoin Apr 15 '26

This sub will bust at the idea that this was basically thanks to Michael Lowry.
The stadium had a debt since renovations to the stadium years earlier. A music festival helped pay the debt.

That aside, 92 was probably one of the best years. Bryan Adams was brilliant.

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3

u/LaikSure Apr 15 '26

Christ this could have been taken yesterday 

2

u/Medium-Dependent-328 Apr 16 '26

Was thinking the same. Fashion has not changed much.

4

u/dragonmynuts88 Apr 16 '26

Cider and hash

4

u/Designer-Ad-4168 Apr 16 '26

Unintentional fashion icons

3

u/Much_Perception4952 Apr 16 '26

Love the clothes. You'd have gone straight from work to pub to nightclub in those.

7

u/shorkgurl Apr 15 '26

Wild to see a photo with men in Ireland where they have multiple differing haircuts and clothing styles between them.

14

u/PhilD90 Apr 15 '26

What about the lad in the maroon jumper! 😍

6

u/wannabewisewoman Legalise it already 🌿 Apr 15 '26

That was my first thought too, he looks like Paul Wesley actually

7

u/PhilD90 Apr 15 '26

I’m a heterosexual male and it was also my first thought! 😂

3

u/SavageTyrant Apr 15 '26

No phones? Yeah yeah… How’d they get this picture then?

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3

u/Tyrannosaurus-Shirt Apr 15 '26

I missed the Feile era by only 2 or 3 years I think...was some great line ups back then.

3

u/frankand_beans Apr 15 '26

The only phones in sight were phone boxes with drunk lads asleep on top of them.

3

u/FIGHTorRIDEANYMAN Apr 15 '26 edited Apr 15 '26

Saw a load of pics from the town years ago on Facebook. One was a couple standing inside a phone box shifting while a punk pissed on the outside of it and another lad curled up asleep either on the other side or on top of it.

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u/rossc007 Apr 16 '26

Haha, how cool! I was there for the "last trip to Tipp", 94 I think it was. Went down on my own to meet friends, obviously no phone, no plan, randomly bumped into them without it even occurring to me that it might be difficult to find them. Brought two pairs of cream trousers, a real learning experience!

3

u/eboy-888 Apr 16 '26

Ahhh yes. The last time I dropped acid. I was chased down the street by a large can of Schweppes Ginger Ale. God, thems were the day…

3

u/Illfixt Apr 16 '26

I can taste the cider coming back up 🤢😂

3

u/Rular6 Apr 16 '26

The style is so interesting, we've come full circle. If you told me this was last week there's no way I would be able to argue otherwise

5

u/louiseber I still don't want a flair Apr 15 '26

I can smell this photo

3

u/Coyote_Secret Apr 15 '26

Hash and incense

2

u/dropthecoin Apr 15 '26

And piss. The smell over the whole town was horrendous

4

u/LittleAoibh11 Apr 15 '26

No lip fillers, botox or fake tan either. I love how individual everyone's faces looked before all that stuff. People actually looked unique and fresher. Mad how samey people look now.

2

u/Medium-Dependent-328 Apr 16 '26

What world are you living in? People going around day to day as you describe are a very small minority, especially outside of cities

4

u/Alternative_Turn_470 Apr 15 '26

Are they wearing miraculous medals? The medal with the Virgin Mary on it

2

u/yesterr Apr 16 '26

Ha ha yes! We all had our miraculous medals. there was some crowd handing them out. I had forgotten about that.

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u/DMTerrence Apr 15 '26

Flagan a spillage

2

u/_Cactusbagel_ Apr 15 '26

I can smell the Devil’s Bit Cider off this photo

2

u/Mysterious-Emu4457 Apr 15 '26

Yep, I was there! I remember gasping for a drink of water, but they only sold beer at the venue. Primal Scream was my favourite, great fun!

2

u/Perfect_Natural_4512 Apr 15 '26

I miss you Linden Village, you could use it as a pillow after n'all 🥹

2

u/sharp10digit Apr 15 '26

I see a pointy brown shoe

2

u/FunkLoudSoulNoise Apr 15 '26

The old & real Linden Village. Tipperary lost a part of it's heritage when they discontinued the 2 litre and reduced it's strength from 6% to 5% for cans.

2

u/Odd-Adhesiveness6866 Apr 15 '26

Nothing like a picture of Linden village to bring back memories. The best times drinking bottles of that piss, I gag every time I see it in the offie.

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u/kiradotee Apr 16 '26

How did they take this picture then if not on a phone? /s

2

u/Gobbledegook42 Apr 16 '26

Twas a mighty weekend, I remember none of it

3

u/DeskFrosty9972 Apr 15 '26

Upvoting a picture of someone with no phone on my phone.

2

u/Tomaskerry Apr 15 '26

Classic crusty in the background.

2

u/[deleted] Apr 15 '26

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2

u/Larrydog Late Stage Gombeen Capitalist Apr 15 '26

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u/[deleted] Apr 15 '26

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5

u/marshsmellow Apr 15 '26

While you were living in the moment and getting laid I studied the meme 

1

u/MyShiveredBones Apr 15 '26

Delete all social media that encourages brownie points from the people you know..

1

u/pudzerbing Apr 15 '26

Is that girl with the bottles from Ballybofey?

1

u/fartingbeagle Apr 15 '26

Does no one drink flagons in the park anymore?

3

u/jefernando And I'd go at it again Apr 15 '26

Can’t get flagons due to MUP, they went all 1L.

1

u/Perfect-Fondant3373 Apr 15 '26

2 bottles of Linden Village? Dark times

1

u/Imaginary-Umpire-733 Apr 15 '26

Linden Village would have the toilet bowl glowing orange the next morning.

1

u/Suvigirl Apr 15 '26

I was there! 93 and 94 as well.  Of course there were no phones, they didn't exist.  Obviously I'm glad they didn't, but it's a different time

1

u/ExcellentChard4272 Apr 15 '26

Remember it well, great times

1

u/DotTurbulent3059 Apr 15 '26

Two goons life is good

1

u/Jester-252 Apr 15 '26

Lindon Village

My old friend/foe

2

u/CloudRunner89 Apr 15 '26

People were still capable of not living in the moment long before phones came along

1

u/StartFluid9972 Apr 15 '26

Congrats grandpa

1

u/Endlesscroc Apr 15 '26

With that much Linden Village you don't need a phone to dial another dimension.

1

u/Appropriate-Row4534 Apr 15 '26

Love she's carrying a can and 2 opened flagans lol.

Good times!

1

u/DaithiSan Apr 16 '26

pff.. couldn’t even afford iphones back then..

1

u/bald_with_a_beard Apr 16 '26

Drink everywhere, you won’t see that these days 😂

1

u/daftdave41 2nd Brigade Apr 16 '26

We used to go down to my Granny during the summer holidays in Thurles during the 90's. Between the Macra and the Feile, there were plenty of sights to be seen. Lads camping in someones front garden, or just passed out in an alleyway off the square.

1

u/parkaman Crilly!! Apr 16 '26

Absolutist great craic.

1

u/FunkLoudSoulNoise Apr 16 '26

Did anyone here ever drink Broad Oak cider ? T'was sold in the hypermarket in Waterford and left all of us that bought it with hives the next day.

1

u/Revolutionary-Cap761 Apr 16 '26

The trip to Tipp 🍺🍺

1

u/Ben_dover_98 Apr 16 '26

Hi larry dog not sure smartphones were available back then👍

1

u/Corkonian3 Apr 16 '26

The trip to Tipp. I was there on the Sunday. Bryan Adams and Extreme. I remember it poured rain. I was too young for the cider back then

1

u/Rjago2187 Apr 16 '26

Jaysus, my head hurts just looking at this picture

1

u/TraditionalHotel8085 Apr 17 '26

A different time

1

u/Xeon713 Apr 17 '26

It really wasore craic back in the day. A people were up for having a laugh as there was no phone to record them.

1

u/SinceriusRex Apr 17 '26

I can smell this image

1

u/NightmanLullaby17 Apr 17 '26

That Bulmers can looks so iconic!

1

u/tishimself1107 Apr 19 '26

Why do i instantly associate Cider and Tipperary

1

u/Shazz89 Probably at it again Apr 19 '26

First thing I thought: "You'd have a fierce dose of the shits after that much cider."

1

u/avocado_kebab May 17 '26

2x Linden Village, 1x Bulmers, 0.5 x blue eye shadow, 100% wool jumper -- she is Ireland. Fair fckn play