Cecil Nolan, DJ of Grove social club on Dublin’s northside, dies

‘I played whatever I wanted because I knew there was a market out there for it’

Cecil Nolan, the well-known DJ of the Grove social club on Dublin's northside, has died.

Nolan was the DJ at the teen disco, known for playing alternative music, for the three decades of its existence.

The Grove opened in 1967 in the Belgrove Football Club in Clontarf, north Dublin, before moving to St Paul's College, Raheny, in 1975, and shutting in 1997.

Nolan (81) died on Monday in St Francis Hospice, Raheny, where he had been moved in recent months following a stage four cancer diagnosis. He is survived by his sons Rob and Conor, brothers, sisters, and grandchildren.

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In a statement on Rip.ie, his family said he would be “very sadly missed” by them, and “all of The Grove family home and abroad.”

His family said due to the current Covid-19 restrictions a private family funeral service would take place in the coming days.

The Grove ran on Saturday and Sunday nights, later adding a Wednesday night disco during the school holidays. In recent years a number of reunion nights have been organised, with Cecil Nolan as a special guest.

Previously speaking about his time as DJ of the disco, Nolan said: “I played whatever I wanted because I knew there was a market out there for it and if it failed, well I didn’t care, at least I was enjoying myself”.

Jack Power

Jack Power

Jack Power is a reporter with The Irish Times