The majority of people who sought help from the country's busiest sexual assault treatment unit last year had drank the average alcohol equivalent of six pints of beer.
But many could not recall how much they consumed and 41 were so drunk they did not know if they had been attacked or not, it was revealed.
The annual report of the sexual assault treatment unit in the Rotunda Hospital in Dublin says that 218 patients had drunk alcohol in the 12 hours before the assault, with 12 units being the average.
This equates to almost six pints of average-strength beer.
The disturbing findings in the report come as rape crisis centres warn of the heightened risk of assault during the Christmas party season.
The unit, based in Dublin city centre, treated 310 women and 10 men last year for alleged assault, with most seeking help on a Monday or Tuesday.
Although the unit deals with adults, it had to treat nine girls under 14 years of age. This is because acute care in children's hospitals could not be arranged.
One in three patients were seen overnight, underlining the need for a 24-hour service.
The Rotunda unit was the first such centre in the country and in Europe. But there are now five others, in Cork, Waterford, Galway, Mullingar and Letterkenny, most of which deal with victims who have been assaulted in the previous seven days as well as a number of who have suffered long-term abuse.
Nationally, the six sexual assault treatment units saw 703 alleged victims last year, up from 680 in 2012.
Source: Eilish O'regan, Irish Independent, 15/12/14
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