Residents stage protest as Stringfellow opens club

Shivering in the cold outside Stringfellows, Vera Brady held a placard which read, "No Sleaze In Our Area", and shouted at the top of her voice. "This used to be a safe place," she roared. "Now I'll be living next door to a strip club. Men coming out of there will be all hyped up. How do we know if women will be safe?"

The 50 or so north inner city residents heckled the mixture of businessmen and well-dressed couples who queued up to pay €20 into Ireland's largest strip club, with chants of "Go back to your wives!" and "Shame on you!"

Inside, hundreds of guests and customers, and the 75 or so dancers, were oblivious to the protests outside as they quaffed glasses of Moet et Chandon champagne against a backdrop of faux leopard-skin chairs, crystal chandeliers and red velvet curtains.

Most of the young dancers in figure-hugging dresses were over from Stringfellows clubs in London and Paris to help the Dublin premises in its opening weeks. "We don't do lap-dancing," said Brooke (24), from London, sipping a glass of champagne. "We do table-dancing - there's no touching!"

"We pay Stringfellows for the privilege of dancing," her friend Morgan (22) said, in a more serious voice. "We give them 30 per cent of what we earn . . . What we get varies. When it's good it's great. But when it's terrible, it's awful."

Private dances, which take place in private booths and typically last just a few minutes, cost €30. However, personal dancers can be hired for €240 for half and hour and €360 for an hour. "We haven't had a chance to really meet Dublin gentlemen yet, but we expect to soon," said Brooke.

Then, as the thumping music in the background faded, Peter Stringfellow appeared. "Come on girls, up on stage," he boomed. "Remember to smile, girls! They want to see you smiling," as a million cameras flashed around him.

Later, when the issue of the protesters outside was brought up, the silver-haired showman laughed it off. "I'm a good neighbour," he said.

Back outside, Vera Brady was still protesting noisily. She blamed "the dancing laws that go back to 1935 . . . That was for Irish dancing. There's none of that going on in there."