Vol. 23 #12 12 Apr. 2022
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Winner: Best Newspaper at the National Student Media Awards 2019
Student Independent News Nuachtán saor in aisce · Vol. 23 Issue 12 · 12 Apr. 2022
Left: DNA Nightclub. Photo: DNA Nightclub on Instagram. Above: Architect’s impression of proposed extension to the Skeffington Arms. The iconic skywalk over Ballalley Lane can be seen to the right. Special thanks to Cllr. Eoin Hanley. Below: Satellite image showing the location of the proposed development. Data: Google Maps.
Nightlife industry left abandoned; “travesty” for students By Darragh Nolan The nightlife scene in Galway has undergone immense change which began even before the outbreak of Covid-19. Recent developments have seen planning granted for an extension to the Skeffington Arms Hotel with the building housing DNA Nightclub set to be demolished as part of the plan. It is the latest in a string of recent disappointing outcomes for nightclubs in Galway City. The first domino to fall in terms of Galway nightclubs came pre-Covid, though. Carbon on Eglinton Street, which shut in August 2019 and is to be replaced by a branch of the UK-based pub chain Wetherspoons, though it remains unopened almost three years later. The impact of the pandemic on nightclubs was greater than perhaps any other
industry with such venues unable to open for almost 600 days between March 2020 and their first Covid-era reopening in October 2021. Despite the short-lived October reopening Electric and Halo on Abbeygate Street shut its doors after over three decades in business. The building is now on the market and hope remains with the owners seeking to ensure it will be continued to be used as a late-night venue by its new custodians. “We hope that this house will continue as a place for dancing and find a new owner with the same enthusiasm for bringing people together,” the venue’s owners said in a statement on social media on November 25. “Even though we may not be the ones to reap the rewards, we hope a brighter future lies ahead for Irish nightclubs.” The optimistic message of that
Eyre Square
Skeffington Arms Hotel
DNA
statement from Electric has perhaps not been reflected in the latest development with DNA’s future up in the air. NUI Galway Students’ Union President Róisín Nic Lochlainn said the nightclub industry found itself “completely abandoned” by Government throughout the pandemic. “A lot more could have been done to prevent nightclub closures over the pandemic. “Give Us The Night and various voices from the sector were calling on the government to provide grants to help keep nightclubs afloat during pandemic, CONTINUED ON PAGE 2