With a pint in one hand and a brick in the other

Amidst the headscratching about what exactly went on in Dublin on Saturday, RTE's business news highlights a seemingly unrelated development:

[Cantrell and Cochrane] said its financial performance mainly reflected the net impact of continued strong growth in the cider division and a significantly reduced contribution from the soft drinks and snacks division.

Today's financial statement said that turnover growth in C&C's cider division for 2005/7 will be about 30%. This reflects volume growth of about 6% for the group's Irish cider brand Bulmers and volume growth of about 125% for its international cider brand Magners.

In the extensive list of suspects for Saturday's riots, don't rule out the role of too much drinking.