Instagram page 'Babes without beers' was only set up a few weeks ago but it has already gone from strength to strength.
The page provides a space mainly for women and LGBT people to connect with others who are sober curious or on a journey of sobriety as they plan meet ups around Dublin.
Steph Meager, 32, said she started the page to see if there were other people who were also rethinking their relationship with alcohol, and never expected it to be as successful as it is.
Speaking about why she decided to set up the page, Steph, who is originally from Westmeath, told Dublin Live: "I was trying to cut down on alcohol as being drunk isn’t fun for me any more and I can’t deal with the hangaxity so me and some of my friends were going on sober nights out often.
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"I found trying to be sober for the weekend and making plans with friends could be very isolating at times. I followed an Irish girl on Instagram based in Vancouver called 'Sober babes in Vancouver' where she organised sober meet ups in Canada and it inspired me to set up the page so we could have some similar in Dublin."
She said: "I put up a post about how to have a sober St. Patrick's day as I know besides Christmas time that probably is the day that people consume the most alcohol in Ireland. That post got a lot of engagement and it kind of went from there."
As well as providing a community of like minded people, Steph said the meet ups are a place just to make new friends in general, which some people can find daunting when they are sober.
She said: "It's isolating and hard to meet new people and most of the time when I meet new people I am drunk and it gives me false confidence and we want people to be themselves and when you have alcohol on board you’re not yourself."
She also said an unexpected positive from the meet ups is she has gained more confidence: "Socialising sober has definitely made me more confident."
She spoke about how she has practised mindful drinking where she may not drink for two or three months at a time and then enjoy a glass of wine if she wants to.
"The group is not just for people who used to drink and are now sober, it's just about rethinking your relationship with alcohol," Steph added. "There’s kind of a problem in Ireland with a big drinking culture and I don’t struggle with alcohol addiction but binge drinking at the weekend was normal for me."
Speaking about the negative affects of binge drinking, Steph said: "We don’t realise the toll alcohol takes on you physically and mentally as well as on your bank account."
The page has only held two events so far with one on the way soon. The group met up for a hike around Bray Head at the end of February and also set up a charity shop crawl around Dublin city as an alternative to a pub crawl. Steph said that people were making it known to her that they would like a group chat to stay in contact with everyone so she set one up on WhatsApp.
She said: "I had considered making a group chat before but wasn't sure if people would be interested but after our events I set one up and it's a great space for people to get to know each other. It's also great for people to give each other advice like if someone has a birthday or a special event for example and they want to know how to do it sober. People often text in as well to see if anyone is around for a coffee or if someone wants to come to their sports training and join a team and it's really just a great community for everyone."
There's no accumulated amount of time anyone has to be sober for before joining the group and it is open to anyone. The only rule is that all of the events are sober ones so you can not bring any alcohol with you.
Speaking about what's next for the page, Steph said: "I’m happy to continue to keep doing events and keeping it fresh with ideas. Some people are into sports and some are into crafts so there's something for everyone. I would love to do drag shows and comedy nights as an end goal and continue to grow the community."
At the moment Steph is running the page on her own but currently she is travelling in South America so her friends are helping her with planning events in Ireland.
Right now the Instagram page is the only account set up for the events and you can find it @babeswithoutbeers. The next event is a clay workshop at This Must Be The Place' on April 8.
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