Where to go after dark? Discover three of Gen Z's champions of modern nightlife

Nightclubs are on the decline, but a new generation are keeping the party going, from sober sessions to queer parties

Here are just some of the champions of modern nightlife

Nightlife in Ireland has been a consistent topic of conversation for as long as I can remember. Long before I was old enough to make my debut at iconic Limerick nightclub, Costello’s. Undeniably the best alternative nightspot of its time in the city, Costello’s and its sticky carpet closed its doors for the final time when the covid pandemic took hold. A staple of Limerick nightlife — and probably the only place where people older than 22 could feel comfortable dancing the night away — it has left a hole in the scene.

New figures from ‘Give Us The Night’, a campaign group for positive changes to nightlife in Ireland, found only 83 nightclubs remain open in Ireland at present, marking an 83% decline within this century.

According to the group, Dublin has 23, Limerick has eight, and Cork has five. Meanwhile, Kilkenny doesn’t even have a single nightclub.

As someone based in Limerick, I can tell you the figure of eight came as a surprise to me. I’ve been asked in many a pub where the best place to go for a dance is on a night out and, honestly, it’s very hard to give a recommendation if you’re not a student.

Pre-pandemic, you would have found me on the dancefloor every weekend. But, now, it feels like we’re at a standstill and struggling with the lack of support to fill the gap.

So, after years of different campaign groups and activists begging for a change to nightlife policy in Ireland, it’s a bit of a relief to see the tides possibly turning in Ireland’s major cities.

A long-awaited night time economy strategy was approved by Cork City Council in late 2024, which aims to drastically improve nightlife, with alcohol-free late-night spaces, improved city animation, and a new night time culture hopefully on the horizon.

The news came after Limerick City and County Council launched the night time economy innovation grant scheme — offering up to €5,000 in funding for new and creative ideas that will contribute to the night time offerings.

Let’s hope these are starting points for real change when it comes to our night time economy beyond Dublin, with some organisers and nightlife enthusiasts up and down the country already attempting to bring back the party to our streets.

Here are just some of the champions of modern nightlife.

Dali

Hope Alo at Dali, Lavitt's Quay. Picture: Larry Cummins

Dali is a “no frills music venue with good sound”, located in the upstairs part of Nudes Craft & Cocktail bar on Lavitt’s Quay. It focuses on bringing “the freaks” out.

The venue hosts some regular queer parties, such as Machina and MILK, as well as Techno Thursday. Owners Hope Alo and Stephen O’Byrne are also looking to collaborate with parties from “across the pond” this year.

The ethos of Dali “has always been” to create a free space to be yourself and dance the night away.

Alo says: “We’re working towards recreating that ‘alternative’ safe space again, as so much of dance music now has become commercialised.

“A lot of places that do dance music in the city, for me, are not a safe space. They’re soulless.”

Hope Alo at Dali Picture: Larry Cummins

Along with her colleagues, Alo will be “spending a lot of time recreating” what Dali is throughout this year.

“Having such an intimate space [allows us to be] able to book really interesting stuff and it’s pushing me to explore my taste again,” she says.

“We have lost so many venues over the years, especially small ones, and we need these spaces desperately. They grow and nurture the music scene.”

Alo says the team are building a new live music venue, which will be a place for music heads, run by music heads. Speaking about nightlife in Ireland, she says: “For me, spaces like Dali or Plugd [city centre record store and venue] make this city liveable for so many people. They’re weird. They’re safe.”

Dyke Nite

El Reid-Buckley with the Dyke Night group: ‘We were interested in providing something radical and political.’

Dyke Nite is Limerick’s first and only event dedicated to queer women, trans people, and everyone in between. First held in July 2022, the event has since taken off and has become well-known around the city and county alike.

Singer-songwriter Neev Kennedy is credited by the group for getting the ball rolling, having created a chat with El Reid-Buckley and Aoife O’Toole, known as DJ Egg — who both use they/them pronouns — and suggesting they throw a “dyke party” for Limerick Pride.

“As if I was ever going to say no to being involved in that,” Buckley says.

“We were interested in providing something different in Limerick that was radical and political, and celebrated our diverse ways of being queer and trans. I don’t necessarily think this is opposition to mainstream events but rather providing a space beyond this.”

Buckley says: “Without being too academic about it, I suppose you could say we embrace a politics of messiness and fluidity.”

In the same year Dyke Nite was born, Buckley began Limerick Alternative Pride as a creative and community-centred programme in collaboration with Ormston House, with focus on making a sober space for queer and trans people to celebrate Pride.

El Reid-Buckley and Neev Kennedy during a Dyke Night event. Picture: Jodie Galvin

“Even though I’m no longer sober, it is hugely important for me to provide space for people in our communities that do not have drugs and alcohol on site, and that is something I’ll always be committed to,” they say.

“In many ways, both Dyke Nite and Limerick Alternative Pride were born out of a need for something missing and a desire to connect in ways that we didn’t feel were currently available to us. I think we have been more than successful in that regard.”

And while there are some great gigs and parties out in Ireland right now, Buckley acknowledges that resourcing is not up to scratch.

“I adore our DIY scene here that is built in the face of and in spite of commercialised club scenes. What happens here is special and the only thing I would change is our resourcing. Sure, there is value in outlaw parties, but I want us all to get paid,” Buckley says.

“The Government can always be doing more, but will they? They dragged their heels on the bill for later club hours for far too long and, even if this bill does pass, there are wider issues at play which they also have not really sought to address: housing, public transport, drug and alcohol policy, to name a few.”

They suggest the best thing national and local governments can do is to trust people and give them agency and resources to keep doing what they are doing.

Sober Seisiún

After 5pm, when most cafés in the city close, there is really nowhere for people to meet or socialise that isn’t a pub

Sober Seisiún is an alcohol-free event run in Limerick, aiming to provide non-alcoholic social events in the evenings. People gather and play board games, chat, listen to some top-notch DJs, and simply hang out — embracing a social night out without the alcohol.

After 5pm, when most cafés in the city close, there is really nowhere for people to meet or socialise that isn’t a pub. As Sober Seisiún organiser, Lisa Henihan, is sober herself, she really identified with that gap in the market for social activities.

The Limerick woman joked that she was so sick of going for hikes or going to a talk as a way of socialising outside of a pub, saying “there’s only so much of that you can do”.

Henihan approached the owner of Hook and Ladder in Limerick about running an alcohol free social night and “he was all for it”.

“He sent me on a link to this grant that Limerick County Council are running with the Nighttime Economy and I got grants to run three nights,” Henihan smiled.

“The way I was kind of looking at it was like you know the way you can do ‘booze and board games’ and ‘paint and prosecco’ — this was ‘cartoons and coffee’ and the next one was ‘music and mocktails’ — but the main thing was that there was a community corner because what was the most surprising thing is a lot of people came on the night on their own.”

Henihan said that the first two events “worked out a treat” with great attendance, though her third event, in the run up to Christmas, had a poor turnout. In terms of running the events in the long term, Henihan isn’t sure if she can keep it up by herself but would be open to welcoming new people to get involved with the event organising and running. 

Henihan suggested that local councils could support those in need of alcohol free spaces by funding late-night cafés to create a more diverse nightlife scene. Hopefully Cork’s lead here will travel up to Limerick and aid Henihan’s mission.