On Thursday, the Dublin city club space Hangar announced suddenly that it was to close with immediate effect. In a post on Facebook the club announced the sudden news:
We had hoped to be able to throw a series of closing parties over the coming weeks to give the venue and all the people that have danced with us over the last four years a proper send-off but complications with the new lease holder means that it cannot happen.
Since work began on Hangar in September 2014, a dilapidated Warehouse venue off Dame Street has since transformed into a thriving hub for electronic music . We have to thank the countless international DJs that have joined us, the 100s of local DJs that have graced the Hangar main room, the staff and the promoters. The biggest thanks of all however goes to the thousands upon thousands of people that danced in the venue over the last 44 months; you were the heartbeat of the venue and we’re incredibly upset not to be able to close the doors having given the venue a proper closing party.
This is only a minor hiccup in Hangar’s story with Hangar 2.0 just around the corner (both literally and figuratively) so you’ll be hearing from us very soon.
As the statement says, this was expected but it is a lot sooner than was thought. The site will house a city centre limited-service hotel with 115 rooms in the future and as Hangar allude to they are working on a new space Hangar 2.0 which will be opening also in the future.
In the meantime, it’s desperate news for Dublin’s club scene with dwindling number of rooms and venues catering to dance music. With District 8 also due to close next year, it’s going to get even worse and it will have a negative impact on the city’s music scene. We are replacing cultural buildings with accommodation for tourists but what will be left for the people of Dublin city if this continues?
