Behind an orange door, just off the quayside in the heart of Temple Bar, young people gathered to prove there's more to a night out than just downing pints at the pub.
Swapping a few cans for tea and a deck of cards or a board game, non-drinkers settled into the cosy sitting room on the first floor of The Clockwork Door to experience nightlife without a raging hangover.
"It’s a nice option to explore and to maybe learn something you wouldn’t have by going to the same bar and club that you normally would," one member explained as she offered her reason for turning up to the strictly sober board game night in the centre of Dublin.
The sober curious movement
In 2024, the number of young people presenting themselves at addiction centres for alcohol detox treatment grew, but so too did its counterpart - the sober curious movement.
The cultural phenomenon encourages people to become aware of their drinking habits and to be mindful of their relationship with alcohol.
This very idea was ingrained in the foundations of Ciaran Hogan’s business model when he started up The Clockwork Door - what he calls Ireland’s first time house - a social space where people pay for the time they spend there, and where coffee, games etc are free.
Sober for the most part himself, since beginning his business almost a decade ago, he has witnessed a noticeable shift in the way young people are spending their evenings:
"The late teens and early 20s which would have been heavy drinkers - now there’s a rapidly growing cohort of them who are completely off alcohol and I've been very proud to have many of them come through here and finally find a solace, an oasis from the drinking."
He continued: "They can suggest to their friends, 'Hey, let’s go to The Clockwork and have a sober night out’, and everyone’s happy to go along with that, whereas before they would have had to go to a pub to socialise and that was the only option."
Life after alcoholism as a 27-year-old
TikToker Aoibhinn Raleigh was one such young person that struggled to find her social oasis after giving up alcohol last summer.
She set up her own running club during her recovery from alcohol addiction to provide both herself and others with a sober outlet.
Sole Mates Run Club was born after the 27-year-old account director lost friendships and relationships she had before going teetotal.
"At the start, I used to find it so funny that people would come and say, 'Oh, I actually didn't go out last night because I wanted to come and run’", she shared while telling the origin story of her club - that has since amassed almost 10,000 followers online.
While finding her feet as a sober 20-something in Ireland, Aoibhinn said she "siloed" herself into thinking there was no new outlet for her to take part in, so eventually she took matters into her own hands:
"I personally found a lot of help in running and in building my own community and I think for me, I opened up about it online and that’s probably been one of the most helpful things."
The club owner posted videos about her sobriety to her 50,000 TikTok followers and shared how she began her "terrifying" new life without alcohol.
She remembered: "I was always the one at the party who was blacking out, unconscious, throwing up.
"I really was just at an extremely low place mentally and I couldn't really continue living like I was living."
Out five or six nights of the week, binge drinking, Aoibhinn reached a breaking point and decided to ask for help - without which she claimed she wouldn't "be here at all today".
But Aoibhinn was not alone.
A rise in numbers for addiction detox
Last year, the Aiséirí Aislinn addiction treatment centre, saw a 30% increase in the number of young people accessing their services with alcohol as the primary issue.
The residential facility is based in Ballyraggert, Co Kilkenny, and offers help to 15–21-year-olds suffering with drug and alcohol addiction.
Founded in 1998, it is the only centre in Ireland that uses the 12-step abstinence-based treatment model for young people.
Sara Cassidy, the head of clinical services at Aiseiri Aislinn, witnessed a worrying year in terms of alcohol addiction cases.
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She warned: "What we’ve seen in 2024 is quite an increase in young people seeking help and detox for alcoholism.
"Alcohol has risen and more so in the female population which is a concern because the damage that it does in unmerciful."
Sara explained that is it more usual to see people of that age group presenting with cocaine, cannabis or benzodiazepines as an issue.
As the new year begins, her concern - and those of many others - remains that numbers will only mirror and build on the rise in 2024.
However, she commended the sober curious movement for raising "fantastic" awareness around the subject and said she would be "thrilled" to see its continuation:
"If our culture does move and shift towards a more sober curious type of culture, it can only help over time.
"We’re coming from a culture that’s deeply embedded in alcohol use - a movement away from that would definitely help."
