It was eerie. For a while I had the place to myself. The labyrinthine halls of Ceol, the Irish Traditional Music Centre, echoed with forlorn sean-n≤s. A television screen flickered and the image of a singer appeared, launching into song. Her face looked strange reflected in the plexiglas photo gallery opposite.

It felt like being in a graveyard, wandering around after dark. After a half-hour or so, another visitor appeared, a German. Some curious, cultured traveller.

Since opening its doors in 1999, Ceol has failed to take off. Despite drawing critical acclaim as an attraction and offering a cutting-edge, interactive introduction to the world of traditional music, the centre is struggling to attract visitors and is now under review by its owners.

Less than three years after being launched as the anchor project of the £60 million Smithfield Village development, in Dublin's north inner city, Ceol could be broken up or relocated.

When I visited last week, the woman at the ticket counter told me the centre was closing in October, and that the space would be used "for Christmas and office parties, and that sort of thing," by Chief O'Neill's Hotel, next door.

Nicholas Carolan of the Irish Traditional Music Archive, who has been involved in the project since the beginning, says he understood the centre was to close by the end of this month.

Terry Devey, the property developer behind the wider Smithfield development and the driving force of Ceol, says "no decision of any kind has yet been made". He will say, however, that numbers "have dwindled quite sharply" and that "things are under review".

For those who have not yet visited the centre - which seems to be quite a few of us - Ceol consists of an ultramodern audio-visual crash course in traditional music, from its regional styles and instrumentation to its history and contexts.

Designed by Event Communications, an award-winning London-based company, the centre uses new digital recordings, as well as archive material, to tell the story of Irish music.

It's delivered in an accessible and fun way, aimed as much at Irish people as at tourists. There's a lifelike virtual session, touch-screen consoles, a set-dancing room and sensitive floor panels, each with its own note, that you jump on, following them as they light up, to dance out a tune. And that's only the half of it.

Despite its accessibility and the entertainment it offers, however, Ceol is not attracting the kind of numbers you would expect. The Old Jameson Distillery, in another part of the complex, packs them in by the busload for its tours.

Ceol has failed not only to get on the tour-bus circuit, but also to attract large numbers of school trips. Irish people seem unaware of the centre, and those discerning Europeans who make it to the door find that the audio tour, which comes via a personal CD player, is not available in their own languages. A lot, it seems, has gone wrong.

For Devey, the problem is wider than Ceol. "The whole regeneration of Smithfield has been painfully slow," he says, "and the square has been very disappointing."

Devey is referring not only to the recent open-air concerts, which were felt to be less than successful and met much resistance from residents, but also to the fact that the civic space has not attracted smaller, more suitable events.

As the centrepiece of the Historic Area Rejuvenation Project, Dublin Corporation's scheme to redevelop the north inner city from O'Connell Street to Collins Barracks, Smithfield has proved a poor start.

It was thought that the western side of Smithfield square, which remains largely untouched, would be well on its way to development by now.

And of the elements in the existing Smithfield Village complex, the closure of the Duck Lane retail outlet, and now the concerns over the Ceol centre, mean the success of the Smithfield project has been less than overwhelming.

Devey remains committed. He says he has been approached by people "interested in parts of it", but he thinks it important to keep it together. "It tells a complete story as it is."

The centre, which cost about £5 million, was paid for by Devey's company, the Devey Group, without public financial support. Early on, Devey said he was determined that Smithfield Village would have a major cultural component. For a while, there was speculation that Project arts centre would relocate there, but the Ceol idea prevailed.

With the centre under threat, speculation has begun about where the contents of the interpretative centre might be rehoused in the event of a move. Although Devey will not confirm it, sites in Clare, Donegal, Cashel and the US city of Milwaukee have all been mentioned as possible homes.

Devey will say that the Ceol exhibition, only 10 per cent of which is on display, needs to be "rejuvenated" and "continually changed to remain alive". He also says he feels it "should grow into public ownership".

Steve Simons of Event, who designed the centre, agrees. "It should be under public ownership," he says. "What a private individual did should have been done by a public body in the first place".

If the exhibition finds a new home, it should be one that "allows it to expand and change". He also says the exhibition should neither be split up nor moved out of Dublin, as the city is a major tourist centre.

Nicholas Carolan considers the potential of the Ceol collection as an educational resource to be greater than its potential as a tourist attraction. "There needs to be strong marketing aimed at schools and the wider Irish public," he says, adding that the digital audio-visual element of the exhibition should be copied.

"It could be cloned in Castlebar, in west Kerry and Dublin at the same time," he says. "I would have thought that versions of it could be in each of the four provinces. That would fit in with my educational concept of it." He also suggests it might make a fine addition to the Museum of Country Life, which recently opened in Castlebar as a part of the National Museum of Ireland.

Clare, a county strong in music, might also offer an ideal home. Katie Verling, the director of Gl≤r Irish Music Centre, which is due to open soon in Ennis, says that although its remit is to provide a national performance venue rather than an interpretative facility, she would "be interested" and thinks the board of Gl≤r would be also.

"We probably would have the space and we would be able to accommodate it," she says, adding that she thinks the Ceol collection is outstanding and that she would hate to see it divided up, although a benefactor would be needed, to cover the costs of relocating.

If the decision is made to move Ceol out of Smithfield, the north inner city will be the poorer for it. Perhaps it is time for public support for the centre: that and a more vigorous marketing drive. Ceol should be bustling with school tours and jam-packed with tourists. It's a shame to see such a stimulating centre so vacant, its delights unseen.

For further information or bookings, call 01-8173820 or see www.ceol.ie