The Origin of Beer in Ireland

The Irish king Conor Mac Nessa, who ruled in Ulster around the end of the first century AD, had a lifestyle that would be the envy of any couch potato today. King Conor, according to the great Irish epic called the Tain Bo Cuailnge, spent a third of his day watching the youths at sport, a third playing “fidchell” a board game, and the last third of the day drinking “cuirim” - ale “until he falls asleep therefrom.” (Cornell 1998)

It was the Greek philosopher and physician Dioscorides in the 1st Century AD who stated that the Irish drank a liquor called curmi. Old Irish writings use the word coirm to describe a malt liquor. Since the supping of coirm was carried out at festivals, banquets and musical evenings, modern Gaelic uses this same word to describe a music festival. Some writers recording events that took place during the Elizabethan period have described Irish chieftains quaffing of methers of coirm during banquets and even before going into battle.

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