College life revolved around four very important seasons, Christmas, Easter, Summer… and Rag Week. What we couldn’t give to be back in college, cracking open a can at 9.45am and running around riot… Here are twenty-one of our favourite rag week memories (or you know, what we could remember).
1. Not going out for the week before
As soon as Monday the week before Rag Week hit, every venue in the town was abandoned. The college had never been so busy (the food was cheaper there) and an acceptable answer to the going out question was “Can’t. Saving for Rag Week.”
2. Bunking off college for a week
Oh college ran as normal, classes, study and everything but every department and lecturer were entirely aware that if they saw any students (sober) on Rag Week, it was an absolute miracle. They pretended it wasn’t an official college holiday, but everyone regarded it as week off from the college year. Even PhD students were using it as an excuse to blitz the deserted library…
3. Fast Food Central
You generally accepted at the start of the week that you were going to be living on a nutritious diet of curry cheese chips and donor kebabs. Anyone who cooked was an alien, no question.
4. Alcohol – The New Cereal
It was perfectly acceptable to crack open a can when you first rose to meet the world on Monday of Rag Week. It was also fine to continue that tradition until Saturday. One particular Her.ie member of staff once had scrambled eggs for breakfast, but not with milk. No. Dutch Gold.
5. Town suspiciously looked like the set from 28 Days Later every morning
Ever notice that it was just students around for the whole of Rag Week? Well that was because everybody had heard about Rag Week and began a mass evacuation. Much like during a hurricane…
6. Hospital Visits
If you weren’t the one who was injured, you definitely knew someone that was and this often meant sitting in A&E for hours watching all the other injured muppets falling through the door. At first, it was funny. Then you began to sober up…
7. Stuff You Brought Home
I am hammered but I am simply must have this traffic cone. There was no logical explanation , it’s just the way it is. Bus stop posters, random pets, you name it, it was in our houses the next day. And if there was an election? JACKPOT!
8. Stuff that went missing
However, the amount of stuff you picked up along the way was directly comparable to the amount of stuff you lost. It was not beyond you to wake up minus your shoes, bag, wallet and friends. Or in the worst case, your dignity.
9. Theme Nights
Whatever genius thought it would be a simply splendid idea to throw a beach party in the middle of Rag Week was usually fired by the club later on that evening. This also meant it was guaranteed the following year. Rookie mistakes.
10. Wolfe Tones Tribute Band
Stuck for a bit of cash? Set up a Wolfe Tones tribute band for Rag Week. Guaranteed employment for at least fifty bands across the country for a few weeks.
11. Laughing at people doing the walk of shame
Oh, the walk of shame. We can place bets that you saw an infinite amount of people doing the walk of shame during rag week at about 7am. The real key to slagging the poor soul off was identifying whether the girl was really walking in shame or just making it home from a house party.
12. People laughing at you doing the walk of shame
What? We never…
13. House Parties
The best idea after a day of drinking and a night on the tiles was to drag everyone back to your house so you could keep partying way into the wee hours. Did it matter that you didn’t know them? Not a bit.
14. One lecturer was always an ass
Most of the lecturers embraced Rag Week for what it was, but there was always one. That lecturer was inevitably the one who sprung an exam on you at the last minute… Which would take place on the Friday of Rag Week. Mother of divine…
15. Saving your money for Thursday
You had budgeted out exactly what you needed for the week but unfortunately that hospital visit set you back a bit and you spent about two hundred more than expected on those crates that you don’t remember buying. No food until Thursday, I need that last tenner.
16. The Guards
To this day, we’re pretty convinced the Garda population went on annual leave for Rag Week. The only two guards you saw over the entire week were invited back to all of the house parties.
17. The Hypnotist
Much like the theme nights, there was always a hypnotist hired by either a local pub or the college bar. This would eventually lead to one person running around drunkenly pretending they were a rabbit. Back to the hospital we go!
18. Falling in Love with a Local Band
“Oh my god, these guys are AMAZING! We are going to every gig they ever play! Will you sign this poster for us?” The harsh reality when you went to a gig outside of Rag Week was too much to bear.
19. Theme Tune for the Week
By Friday, there was always a song that was “chosen” as a theme song for the week. Realistically, it was the only song that you could remember all the lyrics… One of the office favourites was “ Same Jeans” by The View.
20. Facebook Photos
The greatest week of your life was over, but there were all those beautiful photos to remember it by. Don’t lie, we know you spent the entire weekend untagging yourself from photos you couldn’t even remember being taken. “When did we go there? Who’s that guy?”
21. The Recovery
It took about two weeks to recover and we aren’t just talking about your health. Your bank balance, your friendships, your relationship with your landlord and your parents all suffered from the binge and you would spend the rest of the month trying to piece your life back together.
But boy, wasn’t it worth it…
