Last January, news reached that Anthony Byrne, the owner of Dublin’s Tivoli Theatre which currently operates as a pop-up nightclub District 8 run by a consortium of promoters (including Subject, Archetype, Bedlam & Hidden Agenda) may close if his plans to demolish the building to build a 298-unit “aparthotel” went ahead.
Now, the Irish Times reports that An Bord Pleanála has approved the plan to build a 260-bedroom aparthotel, restaurant units, a gymnasium, shop and a cultural theatre and performance arts venue on Francis Street and it’s bad news for District 8 / Tivoli Theatre.
As the plan says the Tivoli Theatre will be demolished as a result.
The new plans have a new civic square to be known as “Tivoli Square”, named after the existing theatre, which will be rebuilt as a “modern performance and arts facility.” with space for outdoor and cinematic performances as seen in Meeting House Square in Temple Bar.
See the application in full here.
The closure of District 8 confirms that the last remaining venue that could host 1,000 plus people in the city centre and caters for dance and electronic music would be gone, further reducing the scale of Dublin’s nightlife.
Update: However, the closure isn’t going to affect the club this year or nexy as the organisers told me:
“The latest developments on the Tivoli site will not effect District 8 in the near future. We have lots of huge shows booked for this year and we have already started booking 2019.”
Councillors have responded to the plan.
Niall Byrne is the founder of the most-influential Irish music site Nialler9, where he has been writing about music since 2005 . He is the co-host of the Nialler9 Podcast and has written for the Irish Times, Irish Independent, Cara Magazine, Sunday Times, Totally Dublin, Red Bull and more. Niall is a DJ, founder of Lumo Club, club promoter, event curator and producer of gigs, listening parties & events in Dublin.
