Residents relieved as lapdancing club licence application is adjourned
The British businessman is planning to open a club in Parnell Street in Dublin but he has encountered fierce opposition from locals who believe it will bring down the image and safety of the area. The North Inner City Residents Group said they did not want the club in an area which had a girl's secondary school, a toy shop, a cinema and corporation flats for young children.
"The residents are not only appalled but we are fearful of how this proposed establishment will affect the area, which is residential and has lots of children," said spokeswoman Maria Mhic Mheanmain.
At the Richmond District Court, Judge Mary Collins heard from Stringfellow's lawyer that there were a number of licensing issues to deal with and that the hearing would last for up to two hours. She adjourned the case for mention until January 4.
Stringfellow is looking for a dance licence for the club, which will be spread across three floors and will be far larger than the five existing lapdancing clubs already operating in Dublin.
Ms Mhic Mheanmain spoke outside the court with three generations of her family, her grandmother Maire, her husband Manus and her four-and-a- half-month-old daughter.
She said the north inner city area around Parnell Street had been very disenfranchised in the past with high unemployment and a major drugs problem.
"But since that, there has been huge regeneration of the area and it really is an up-and-coming area. I feel, particularly from international evidence, that the establishment of a lapdancing club will only serve to bring the area down even further."
Mr Stringfellow has insisted that his lapdancing club will gentrify the area and has said that residents should accept his international reputation.
The residents' campaign is being supported by Ruhama, a group which works with the victims of prostitution. Spokeswoman Geraldine Rowley said she was concerned that Stringfellow's club would act as a breeding ground for prostitution and sex trafficking.
"It may be promoted as innocent fun, and Stringfellow seems to be using the language that it is professional and high class. But who is it high class for?
"Is it for the multi-millionaires who have made their living on this form of entertainment?"
Local Labour Party councillor Emer Costello said she and her colleagues on Dublin's City Council were totally opposed to the club.
"It is not something we want to see coming into Parnell Street, with the kind of regeneration we have."
She added that she understood the gardaí would also be objecting to the club's licence application at the next hearing of the case.
