Lapdance club given licence subject to conditions

The first Irish Stringfellow's nightclub is due to open in two to three weeks on Parnell Street, Dublin, after a dance licence was granted for the venue yesterday.

At Dublin District Court Judge Ann Watkin granted the licence subject to eight conditions.

She said she had sympathy with local residents' concerns but that she had no jurisdiction to rule on "what might happen" as long as nothing illegal was happening.

The club, which will offer nude women performing "table-side dancing" and topless women dancing on stage areas, will open "in two to three weeks" said Thomas Butler, director of Sably Taverns Limited, which was granted the licence.

Peter Stringfellow, who owns the Stringfellow's club in London and has an interest in the one in Paris, told the court he would not manage or run the Irish club, but was giving the name Stringfellow's as a recognisable brand for the Irish venture. It would be a joint venture with Mr Butler. He had an interest in it being run to the highest standards, he said.

"The name Stringfellow's belongs to myself and my company. If standards went down, I have the right to withdraw my name," he said.

He would regularly attend at the club to ensure standards were being maintained.

He had difficulty with the term lapdancing, he said, and explained that there would be no private dancing areas. There would be no physical contact between dancers and customers while the women were undressed or undressing.

However, the women could dance with, and be touched by, customers on the dance floors when dressed.

The small courtroom was full to capacity, with local TDs Joe Costello and Tony Gregory and councillors among those standing throughout the 2¼-hour hearing. Cllr Emer Costello told the court she had been "inundated with complaints" from residents, amid concerns that the club would attract prostitution to the area.

Local resident Vera Brady said: "I just don't want a lapdancing club in an area where I have lived all my life and where I have always felt safe." She was also concerned about noise.

Judge Watkin said residents "may anticipate a lot of things and I have sympathy for you". However, she advised them "to lobby Government". She said that although what would be going on inside might not appeal to residents, it was not illegal. She granted the dance licence to the club on condition that:

it did not open before 6pm;

there would be no physical contact between the performers and the customers while the dancers were undressed or partially undressed;

women who were undressed or partially undressed would be confined to a stage or to defined areas next to tables;

planning conditions on noise levels would become a condition of the licence;

at least one security person would be at the front door at all times to ensure customers kept noise down and doors were shut;

no person under the age of 21 would be admitted;

there would be no sign outside the club except the logo "Stringfellow's", and that the food and drinks menu would not bear images of women fully or partially naked.

Reacting to the decision Mr Stringfellow said he was pleased Judge Watkin was "worldly" and saw that "Dublin is a modern European capital".

The Ruhama organisation, which supports women in prostitution, said they were bitterly disappointed. Spokeswoman Geraldine Rowley said vulnerable women working at such clubs could and did end up in prostitution. The organisation had come into contact with such a woman just last week, she said.