Up all night as pubs, theatres, galleries and buses run until the small hours
‘A chance to rebuild Irish nightlife’
THE pandemic has seen Ireland’s nightlife grind to a halt – but a new taskforce has been set up to encourage revellers to eventually flock back to our cities and towns to party into the wee hours.
Transport options running through the night in rural areas as well as city centres will be a key part of the plan, as will staggered closing times to avoid people congregating in crowds.
Leading the way with the initiative is Lord Mayor of Dublin, Hazel Chu, who has visions of weekly culture nights, of opportunities for the arts, live music and theatre, as well as sorting out the thorny issue of late bar licences.
Ms Chu said she hoped Dublin could become like New York, with theatres and art galleries open until 2am, and options for people to go out who did not work the standard 9pm to 5pm office hours.
‘I would like to see a culture night, like we have once a year at the moment, move to a weekly thing. I would like to see the parks used, like New York’s Shakespeare in the Park,’ she said. ‘We have so many talented artists and musicians – and there’s a huge economic gain available from having things open later. It gives people options.’
Councillor Chu said the newly formed Night-Time Economy Taskforce would be eager to make changes and get things done.
But she said they would use the time while the restrictions remained to make plans for when things could reopen.
‘In the city, people are still worried about going out. The new normal means people aren’t going out, but it means we have time to get this right. And Covid has shown us how quickly changes can be made,’ she said.
The establishment of the taskforce was announced yesterday by Catherine Martin, Minister for Media, Tourism, Arts, Culture, Sport and the Gaeltacht.
The Minister said: ‘Covid-19 has severely restricted social gatherings and has been detrimental to the night-time economy and culture of our cities, towns and villages.
‘However, as the economy opens up in the coming months – dependent on the current health advice – the industry needs to be ready to bounce back, and to have as few obstacles as possible to develop and grow.
‘This taskforce will be well-placed to look at all the challenges facing the development of a vibrant nighttime culture and economy such as regulations, licensing laws, transport, and diversity of cultural activities among other issues.’
Taskforce member Sunil Sharpe, of Give Us The Night – a group which has campaigned for the expansion of night-time cultural events, particularly in relation to music venues – said now was the time for change.
‘We have the chance to completely rebuild Irish nightlife,’ he said. ‘This isn’t just in relation to Covid19, and the industry coming to a complete standstill. But that has put us in a place where we can really plan and develop what we want our nightlife to look like in the future, and how we can breathe more life into it.’
Mr Sharpe said he did not want people to think the taskforce, or Ireland’s nightlife, was just about drinking, pubs and nightclubs, although they will play a role.
‘A lot of this boils down to bringing more footfall into our towns and cities,’ he said. ‘A lot of people don’t want to just go out drinking. The café culture is on the rise, and that can grow right into the night. And people want to see diversity in entertainment. They look at European cities, and what they experience on holiday. Irish people want that too.
‘And rather than taking their money abroad, wouldn’t it be better if it went into the economy here, especially in these times?’
Mr Sharpe said he wanted to see staggered closing hours when the initiative is rolled out, particularly if the need for social distancing continues.
‘The idea of ejecting patrons from all of these places, and having large groups of people congregating on the streets at the same time makes no sense,’ he said.
But he said it was vital that people returned to our cities and towns at night-time, for businesses to survive, and for jobs to be saved and even created.