Here are some helpful Irish hangover cures to help you struggle through New Year's Day.
It happens to the best of us - you may have lived up to that horrible Irish stereotype and indulged in one too many last night.
Your head is spinning, your mouth is dry and your body feels like you have just gone a round with Mike Tyson.
Have no fear! We’ve all been there.
Ireland, of course, has its own hangover traditions and while we can't promise that they'll work, they're at least worth a shot (cringe), no?
Here is the IrishCentral team's top tips to for curing your hangover:
Raw Eggs
Two raw eggs for breakfast … and two more for lunch. Sworn to be successful by some majorly hard drinkers, they claim the eggs neutralize the ethanol (also known as alcohol) in your system.
Two Advil every four hours
It stands to reason that getting rid of a pounding headache is the first priority. Advil does that so simple, right? Well, maybe … If not, try Tylenol.
Water, water
And buckets of it to rehydrate yourself! Alcohol dries up the system so the only way is to swallow water is by the gallon. Some claim drinking it the night before, before you fall asleep, works even better.
Sauna
Get in and sweat that alcohol out, but be careful because you need to keep rehydrated.
Pickles
Polish people swear by them, something to do with high-energy food. I don’t know but the Poles sure know how to drink their vodka so they may have a secret or two.
Full Irish Breakfast
Nothing like a full Irish breakfast to get you back on the road to recovery. Normally eating something can help reduce the effects of alcohol excess and this is especially true when it comes to an Irish breakfast. Go the full hog with bacon, sausages, black and white pudding, mushrooms, fried tomato, fried eggs, soda bread, spud bread, baked beans and lashings of tea. If you don’t die of a heart attack, your hangover will be cured.
Swim in the Atlantic
Nothing like a dip in the sub-zero Atlantic to banish the hangover blues. It may seem like an insane idea, but the shock to your system of running into the cold water will instantly refresh your mind and body. Please ensure you are fully sober when trying this out and always have a flask of hot tea on hand for when you exit. If this seems too extreme then a walk in the fresh air will also help.
Vats of tea with friends
There are few things in Ireland that cannot be cured with a cup of tea. When that hangover feeling sets in, throw on the kettle, get the teapot ready and find your largest mug. If lucky enough to still be in the company of friends, the ultimate cure involves sitting around for a post-mortem of the previous night’s events, sipping hot cups of Irish tea. Ah, delicious.
Duvet day complete with favorite films
If your hangover is particularly intense then abandon all hope of leaving the house and just stay in bed for the day. Getting your laptop geared up, order some food in perhaps and just relax in the comfort of your home. Leaving the house today is not an option.
The cure/hair of the dog
One stereotypically Irish answer to a hangover is to get right back up on that high stool and order another drink. “The hair of the dog” can often be the best solution to that horrific headache. When it seems nothing can take the edge away, just breathe a sigh of inevitability as you walk through the door of your local pub, retracing your movements from the night before. If you can’t beat the hangover then distill it. Which brings us to ...
A Guinness
The "hair of the dog" tactic is a very slippery slope and must be carried out with utmost caution. You should only have one drink unless you want to end up in the same state again tomorrow - not a healthy pattern. Guinness is our tried and true choice. It's a heavier beverage, so you won't be tempted to go overboard, and it offers a bevy of health benefits due to its high iron content, which can aid in preventing hearing loss, and its antioxidant compounds, which researchers have noted can prevent the arterial clogging that leads to heart attacks.
So there you have it! A few guidelines to beating the effects of the night before.
*Originally published in 2010, updated in January 2023.
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