Dublin club night Sunday Social announce closure after 14 years

The “big gay disco” in South William Street’s Farrier and Draper has given Dubliners a place to dance the night away for over a decade.

Over the weekend, Sunday Social took to Instagram to confirm they’d be wrapping up their club night due to “stringent enforcement by Gardaí of the 1am Sunday closing”.

The closure is the latest in a string of casualties to Dublin’s club scene post-pandemic.

The Sunday Social team said they were left with “no choice” but to close, with no sign of the proposed alcohol licensing law reform – which would see venues allowed to stay open up til 6am – coming into effect anytime soon. They said of their Sunday night event: “can’t run a club for two hours”.

https://www.instagram.com/p/CfofyUmuTrj/

The reform of Irish alcohol licensing laws was proposed back in April of this year as part of the Justice Plan 2022 published by Minister for Justice Helen McEntee. Under current laws, nightclubs and late bars can stay open until 2.30am if they obtain a Special Exemption Order from their local district court, at a cost of €410 per night. Venues are also required to have a Public Dancing Licence – but the new laws would see this abolished.

However, since the initial proposal to replace the “outdated” alcohol licensing laws with “updated and streamlined 21st century provisions”, no change has come into effect, which sadly results in club nights such as Sunday Social having no choice but to close.

In a follow up post, Sunday Social confirmed they’d return for a “one-off” on Sunday, 31st July, with tickets to go on sale soon. They wrote:

We possibly won’t be back until the next Bank Holiday in October, or until they change the licensing laws.

BUT we can have one hell of a dance on the 31st!

https://www.instagram.com/p/Cfy6famuegG/

Keep an eye on Sunday Social’s Instagram page for ticket info.

Header image via Instagram/sundaysocialdublin

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