‘Safe, welcoming vibe’ expected on Culture Night despite Dublin antisocial behaviour concerns

An Arts Council official has said she does not doubt that Culture Night will have a “safe, welcoming vibe” when it takes place on Friday despite concerns about antisocial behaviour in Dublin city centre.

The Clockwork Door in Temple Bar, an escape room, venue and social space, cited concerns about “lawlessness” in the capital when it announced it would not be participating in the annual event.

However, Sinéad O’Reilly, head of the council’s local, place and public art department, said she had heard about one venue not taking part but that 1,700 or 1,800 other events would be going ahead.

“We’ve had families out late at night and this continues to be the case, so we don’t doubt that this will continue to be that kind of safe, welcoming vibe that is happening around the place,” she said.

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While some may not wish to stay in the city centre late at night, Ms O’Reilly noted that Culture Night is happening “right across the country in rural areas, in towns, right out to the islands, so there shouldn’t be a reason for people to be fearful for going out and enjoying themselves”.

Concerns have been expressed about public safety in the city centre following a string of assaults and antisocial behaviour incidents over the summer months. Minister for Justice Helen McEntee recently announced a €10 million fund was being provided to try to address negative perceptions around safety in Dublin over the remainder of the year.

In a statement, the Clockwork Door said it did not “feel safe or confident” that taking part in Culture Night would “be a net positive for us” and called for a long-term policing plan to be implemented to reverse “the ongoing trend” of antisocial behaviour in the city.

It alleged that during last year’s Culture Night it had some “very expensive items” stolen from its premises and that “nothing has been done and we have not recovered those losses” despite having CCTV footage and positive identification of those responsible.

Minister for Culture and Arts,Catherine Martin said the company feeling it had to take such a decision was unfortunate and that she understood antisocial behaviour on Culture Night was a “rarity”.

Ms Martin said “we have to be cognisant that we can always do more to make our capital city safer and that is an absolute priority for Government and for Minister McEntee”, who she said she would be meeting later on Wednesday to discuss the night time economy.

The Minister said Culture Night has come a long way from its origins in 2006 and that she was delighted to support Culture Night Late, a series of events starting after 9pm “from Ballina to Ennis to Dublin”.

“It’s just about really showing the breadth and diversity of our arts and culture in Ireland and having that access for all to it,” she added.

Ms O’Reilly said Culture Night is partnering with the HSE this year to provide more than 3,500 books to patients in seven different hospitals. “So that means that even if you can’t get out for culture night, you’re still able to participate in it, and it’s on the radio, it’s on TV, it’s online as well.”

Con Horgan, director of the National Circus Festival of Ireland, is running a Culture Night event in Tralee featuring five circus artists having an “informal and unrehearsed improvised conversation with two sound artists”.

He said he has really enjoyed how the people of Ireland have embraced Culture Night as an occasion after initially finding it difficult to get audiences to attend.

“For me as an artist and a producer, it’s like a way of trying new things that don’t fit, we’ll say, in our normal schedule of performances or events. It’s like a green card or like an open palette to try out new things or to present in unusual places,” he said.

All events taking place as part of Culture Night are free as it celebrates its 18th year, having grown from a programme of 40 events to more than 1,700 over the years. RTÉ and TG4 will be broadcasting a selection of Culture Night content on air, online and across their social media channels. For more information go to culturenight.ie.