WELL KNOWN Dublin nightclub The Mean Fiddler has been closed. The company which runs the popular venue - Gillint Catering - is in liquidation and it is unlikely that a major concert scheduled for Sunday night will now take place there.

The concert, by US grunge/ noise group Pavement was sold out. Around 800 tickets for the event had been sold.

It is believed that the decision to close the premises was taken yesterday because of uncertainty concerning its drinks licence. The premises, in Wexford Street, is under the control of the liquidator, Mr William O'Riordan of Coopers & Lybrand, who was appointed by the High Court on Monday.

The Revenue Commissioners are owed around £400,000 and trade creditors are said to be owed around £200,000. It is believed that the two shareholders in Gillint, London based music promoter Mr Vince Power and Dublin promoter Mr Kieran Cavanagh are claiming they are also owed around £400,000.

The two men had carried out substantial refurbishment on the premises, formerly known as the Wexford Inn, after they purchased it in 1994.

Some estimates had put the cost of renovations at around £1.2 million. The High Court was told on Monday that the two men owned the premises.

The company which Mr Power and Mr Cavanagh set up to run the popular venue, Gillint Catering, has incurred substantial debts.

The High Court was told that the two men were in dispute.

In November, when Mr Cavanagh first served notice of his intention to seek to have the company wound up, he claimed that as licensee he had been effectively excluded from the premises and the day to day running of the business.

He added that he had "reluctantly issued court proceedings to seek the winding up of the company".