CLUBS:Belts may be tightening, but the business of private members' clubs is booming, with a new bolthole set for St Stephen's Green. So what's the attraction? asks Alanna Gallagher.
'SORRY LOVE, members only" has replaced "No runners" as the most polite put-down a doorman can offer these days. Once upon a time these beefy boys looked you up and down before deciding if you looked worthy to pass beyond the velvet rope and into their house of fun. Now your worthiness depends on the size of your wallet. Let the digital fingerprint or slick card bearing your name and number do the talking for you. No more begging, pleading or other spineless behaviour required. Belts may be tightening, but the business of private members clubs is booming.
While money talks, it doesn't necessarily guarantee you access all areas. Each private members club has its own personality. In Dublin they fall into two categories. The established societies are the St Stephen's Green Hibernian Club and the United Arts Club, both in business for more than a century and boasting third-generation members. The new kids on the block include Odessa, a members-only club that is four years old and Residence, operated by restaurateurs Simon and Christian Stokes, which is due to open its doors in May.
"Joining is about creating a sense of identity," says Dr Ian Gargan, psychologist and a member of RTÉ1's Operation Transformation team. "It's all about group cohesion. The new clubs will appeal to professional men and women but particularly to young professional males with a certain amount of bravado who will get to identify with a certain group within society. For them joining is almost a survival skill," says Gargan.
The old-school stalwart is the Stephen's Green Hibernian Club. Rebecca Walsh is their sales and marketing manager and a third-generation member of the club; which, she says, makes her biased. The club is housed in an architectural gem with a great outdoor courtyard where barbecues are held during the summer. It caters for member celebrations from 21sts to weddings and golden anniversaries.
Odessa opened its doors to a select few in 2004. "We wanted a place that we could come to on a Friday and Saturday night and get a seat and that was more relaxed. That was all we did by way of market research," admits manager and designer of the club, Peter O'Kennedy. What differentiates Odessa, for now, is its music policy. All of the clubs, both new and old, offer meeting rooms, lunch, dinner and bar facilities, but Odessa has brought a new string to the private club bow - small, intimate gigs with musicians that are held on the last Thursday of the month. These are a big draw. "They're real musicians' gigs," says O'Kennedy. "It's really a little salon."
For Christian and Simon Stokes, the boys behind Residence, a private club that will be situated in a listed, ivy-fronted building on St Stephen's Green, the stakes are high. "When we were 19, we wanted to open a nightclub," says Christian. A mature look at the Dublin scene made them opt for a private members' club instead. This will have a club in the basement, complete with separate entrance, a fine-dining restaurant on its first floor and a champagne bar on the second floor. The back garden, he says, will feel like a Marrakech courtyard when designer Paul Martin is finished.
"London clubs go for specialised markets, but in Dublin we're aiming for everybody in their late twenties upwards," Simon continues. There will be a doorman as well as biometric fingerprint ID entry which alerts the reception team to who you are and your likes and dislikes. Membership is €1,600 with a joining fee of €250.
Not all clubs are exclusive but offer members private areas within their accommodation. Castle Leslie in Co Monaghan and The Lodge at Doonbeg, Co Clare are two such country-based private clubs. Castle Leslie membership gets you reduced rates in the castle as well as the use of a special private wing. Annual membership is €3,000, which includes membership for your partner. While the setting is spectacular the real hook is the offer of reciprocal membership with London's Groucho Club, which is still considered the king of private clubs. Signing up gives you a salubrious city and country address. There is also a villa in the south of France, available from this summer, that members can hire. They have some 200 people signed up so far.
The Lodge at Doonbeg asks a whopping US$70,000 joining deposit, which is refundable when you leave. Annual subscription starts from US$6,300 and offers preferential times on the links course as well as access to the private members' area, which includes a fine dining. Despite the hefty joining deposit, the Lodge has 553 members, of which half are Irish, says manager Peter Houlihan.
So why sign up to any of these playhouses? There is a practical aspect to joining, says Gargan. "Everywhere in town is jammers on Friday and Saturday night. These clubs are comfortable alternatives. I think they'll work as long as they don't become too pretentious. At €1,600 a year, Residence is akin to a decent gym membership and not unaffordable."
Can investing in a private club membership change your life? That's a bold statement, laughs Gargan. "It's probably a good place to make business contacts and to meet a partner. You don't get a chance to talk to anyone in most of Dublin's bars. If it encourages more people to come out and chat in comfortable surroundings not jam-packed like sardines into some club and get away from the computer screen then it's probably a good thing."