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Irish Times
7 days ago
- Business
- Irish Times
Dublin gay bar to keep late-night licence after judge dismisses objection
One of Dublin's best known gay bars will retain its late-night dance licences despite complaints from a resident living in an apartment above it. Tommy Bergin claimed the noise coming from the Street 66 bar on Parliament Street was 'bonkers' and he could not sleep before 3am on Friday or Saturday night and also on Sunday nights of a bank holiday weekend. He said the bar now had a late-night licence for 130 days a year. Dublin District Court judge Máire Conneely dismissed his objection to Street 66 bar's late-night licence. She said the court had to take into account where the bar is located and its environs. READ MORE It was 'not reasonable' to live in an apartment in a city centre location where there are lots of bars and late-night venues and expect that the music would be inaudible. Mr Bergin, who moved into an apartment above the bar in 2019, made a similar application last year. He stated that mitigation measures taken after last year's application went before the late Judge Marie Quirke had made little difference to the problem. She ordered that the premises implement a 10 decibel drop in the music levels. Mr Bergin's barrister Conor Duff suggested that the premises was simply not suitable as a late-night venue. Bar owner Siobhán Conmy was emotional on the stand when she told the judge that she had spent €58,000 on noise mitigation measures. 'I have always offered to do anything that people have asked. My heart is really in it,' she told the judge. The late-night licence accounted for 30 per cent of her business and she was fearful of losing it. Acoustics expert Diarmuid Keaney said he had fitted two noise limiters, one in the front bar and the other in the back, to comply with Judge Quirke's order, and neither had been tampered with. Judge Conneely said the management company had said there were others within the building who complained, but none had come forward to give evidence. There were no actual Irish or EU standards that could be referenced in relation to what constitutes a noise breach and experts were divided on the matter. The fact that the premises had been a late-night bar for many years was a 'relevant matter that the courts must take into consideration'. The judge found it 'strange' that Mr Bergin's complaint has been ongoing for three years, but he had not sought to engage directly with the owner about the issue. Taking all that into account, she dismissed Mr Bergin's application.
Irish Times
04-07-2025
- Politics
- Irish Times
‘It was such an obvious thing to do': Pedestrians and cyclists reclaim Dublin's Parliament Street
Under cover of night on Thursday and into the early hours of Friday, Dublin 's Parliament Street, which runs from City Hall on Dame Street to the south Liffey quays, was transformed. Where previously pedestrians were crammed into narrow footpaths and cyclists competed with two lanes of cars and vans, the area appeared suddenly to have exhaled, with people spilling into the middle of the newly claimed street. A dry night on Thursday allowed council workers to achieve the remarkably quick installation of two-way cyclepaths, new road markings, traffic signage and strategic planters and bollards, all the way from the end of Capel Street , across Grattan Bridge and on to Parliament Street. From 6am the first section of Parliament Street, from the quayside to Essex Gate/Essex Street East – the only cross-street which runs through Parliament Street – was entirely traffic-free. READ MORE Motorists crossing Grattan Bridge from the northside are now required to turn right on to the south quays. Council workers were on hand to direct the small number of drivers who were not content to follow the clear signage and thought they might be able to squeeze their way through from Essex Quay, despite flower boxes and bollards being obvious obstacles. Some blocked the quays to argue they had to get through for deliveries, which they were quickly assured they could do, with a very short detour on to Fishamble Street and then Exchange Street Lower to reach Essex Gate and Essex Street East, which is remaining open to traffic. Deliveries are also permitted in the section of Parliament Street between Essex Street and Dame Street from 6am-11am. Shortly after 11am, another council worker arrived with bollards to prevent any further entry, making both sections of street, north and south of Essex Street, traffic-free. He will make another trip before 6am to remove the same bollards. These will eventually be replaced with automated bollards, Green Party councillor Feljin Jose said. 'These will lower automatically for emergency vehicles but make it impossible for non-emergency vehicles to enter the space,' he said. More work will be done in the weeks ahead to improve the look and feel of Parliament Street, says Claire French, senior executive engineer with Dublin City Council. Photograph: Nick Bradshaw Overall, he felt the street 'looks very well' but perhaps additional work could be undertaken to calm cars coming from Essex Gate. More work will be done in the weeks ahead to improve the look and feel of Parliament Street, said Claire French, senior executive engineer with Dublin City Council . 'From Monday, we will start upgrading the street with the installation of seating and planting. We will be resurfacing the road with the buff-coloured surface and in time if will have a similar appearance to Capel Street.' The removal traffic from most of Capel Street since 2022 resulted in a significant drop in cars crossing the river into Parliament Street, French said, justifying the reallocation of space to pedestrians and cyclists. 'On a Saturday you would have 23,000 pedestrians on Parliament Street – that's a lot – but only 1,800 cars using the street on a daily basis, it really was out of balance so what we have done is rebalanced the space.' Siobhán Conmy, owner of bar Street 66, has for several years campaigned for the traffic to be removed from the street. 'We had wanted it to be done at the same time as Capel Street, I'm really excited now to have it finally in,' she said. 'When you look at the lovely backdrop of City Hall and the tree-lined vista right the way down to the river and across to Capel Street, it was such an obvious thing to do.' Conmy said she understood the retention of traffic on Essex Gate and Essex Street East. 'There are apartments above and behind, so they have to have access, it's only fair.' The Temple Bar Company organised a market on Parliament Street on Friday. Photograph: Nick Bradshaw Derek McCauley is one of the few business owners on Parliament Street who is also a resident, having converted the space above his wine bar, Café Rubis, from a Turkish/Engilsh college to an apartment in 2014. 'I'm looking forward to this but with a small amount of anxiety over the possibility that there will be an increase in antisocial behaviour at night time,' he said. 'I'm also a bit concerned about the deliveries in the morning. There are four pubs on this street, and if the footpath is being widened and they all going to be getting deliveries of kegs of beer in the early morning, I'm not sure there's going to be the space for all of that.' However, he said he hoped the change would draw more tourism to Parliament Street. 'I am very positive about it overall. I think it will improve business on the street.' Martin Harte, chief executive of business representative group Temple Bar Company, which organised a market on the street on Friday, with further events and street performances planned over the weekend and through the summer, says reclaiming the street from traffic will draw tourists. 'I can remember 20 years ago where there were articulated trucks trundling up this street every day. It is now a calm space designed for people. I think this is one of the greatest days Temple Bar has seen in a long time.'
Irish Times
04-07-2025
- Business
- Irish Times
Dublin's Parliament Street becomes no-traffic zone in latest phase of traffic plan for capital
Parliament Street in Dublin's Temple Bar was permanently closed to all traffic coming from the Liffey quays from 6am on Friday as part of the latest phase of the Dublin city Centre Traffic Plan. Under the plan, the street is being divided into two sections. The section from the quays to Essex Gate/Essex Street East, the only cross-street which runs through Parliament Street, is entirely traffic-free with only cyclists and pedestrians permitted in this block at any time. In the section from Essex Gate/Essex Street East to Dame Street, in front of City Hall, deliveries are permitted from 6am-11am. Outside these hours, only cyclists and pedestrians are allowed in the space. Essex Gate/Essex Street East will remain open to traffic at all times. This will allow cars and vans to cross Parliament Street in a west-to-east direction into Temple Bar, to facilitate access to disabled parking bays, the District Court at Dolphin House, and for deliveries and resident access in the Temple Bar area. READ MORE The slider animations in this article show the same parts of the street on Thursday, before the new measures were put in place, and Friday after the street was closed to vehicular traffic. Photographs: Nick Bradshaw. As part of the scheme, traffic on Grattan Bridge – the link between Capel Street and Parliament Street – is being reduced to one lane and must turn right at Essex Quay. This will facilitate the installation of a two-way cycle lane on the east side of Grattan Bridge, which will give cyclists a direct, safe link all the way from City Hall, up Capel Street to Bolton Street – a distance of almost 1km. The first phase of the traffic plan came into force last August , with a ban on private cars and commercial vehicles travelling directly east or west along the Liffey at either side of O'Connell Bridge from 7am to 7pm daily. In May, a ban on private traffic turning left from Westland Row into Pearse Street was introduced, with private traffic diverted east on to a new two-way stretch of Pearse Street, leaving the left or west turn on to Pearse Street for public transport. The removal of traffic from Parliament Street was made possible by the diversion of two bus routes, the 69 and 69X, earlier this year. Until April, both bus services ran from Rathcoole in west Dublin to Hawkins Street, turning from the north quays across Grattan Bridge on to Parliament Street and left on to Dame Street. They now instead continue along the north quays and cross Rosie Hackett Bridge on to Hawkins Street, before terminating at Poolbeg Street. The Parliament Street scheme capitalises on the traffic-free measures in place on Capel Street since 2021, which resulted in a reduction of 72 per cent in cars using Parliament Street. Public consultation undertaken by the council last month found 90 per cent of respondents were in favour of the new measures, with many referencing the success of Capel Street, the council said. 'Respondents repeatedly mentioned that the proposed measures would make Parliament Street safer and more pleasant for walking and cycling, encourage families and children to visit, and create opportunities for outdoor seating, socialising, and community events,' it said. To mark the change of use of Parliament Street, a market was held on Friday, with family-friendly events scheduled to take place every weekend in July, starting on Saturday.
BreakingNews.ie
24-06-2025
- BreakingNews.ie
Parliament Street in Dublin city to be traffic-free from next week
Dublin City Council has announced that Parliament Street in the city centre will be traffic-free from next Friday, July 4th. To celebrate the change of use of the space, a market will be held on July 4th, with events scheduled to take place every weekend in July, starting on July 5th. Advertisement The street is currently dominated by pedestrians, with up to 23,000 people passing through the street a day. The proposed measure plans to permanently reallocate the space to walking and cycling whilst also providing greening and public seating. The council said the space will provide an attractive north-south pedestrian and cycle route between City Hall and Bolton Street by linking with Capel Street as well as being a link between the east and west areas of Temple Bar. In a recent consultation (May 2025), 90 per cent of respondents were in favour of enhancing public space and enabling two-way cycling. The council said the works for the interim improvements (seating, planting and surfacing) will commence on the July 7th and will take place during the summer. The traffic movements in the area will be as follows: Between Essex Quay and Essex Gate - this section of Parliament Street will be permanently Traffic Free with only pedestrians and cyclists permitted in this space. The road level in this section will also be raised to the existing kerb level; The current west to east traffic flow between Essex Gate and Essex Street East will remain open for all vehicles at all times; The section of Parliament Street between Essex Gate and Lord Edward Street will be Traffic Free with deliveries allowed between 6am and 11am daily; Two-way cycling will be permitted on Parliament Street; A new two-way cycling link will be created on the east side of Grattan Bridge. The traffic lanes will be reduced to one right turn lane only on the bridge; A two-way cycling link will be created on the east side of Capel Street between the quays and Strand Street Little. Northbound cycling will also be permitted on Capel Street to complete a full 2 way cycling link between Dame Street and Bolton Street.
