CHANGE IN LETTERKENNY!?

phastasphuck

i was just wonderin if anyone thinks that lk needs a change, whether it has to do with nightlife or anything really...its mostly the same thing over and over..its gettin to the stage where u say to urself ' i gotta get out of lk for a bit'...every week is the same..nothin new to do in the town for ages....

DenMan

What's the nearest town to you? Anything happening over there? Only filmed in Letterkenny but heard it is a great town for going out. Shi!!y music I know but it is a student town if I am correct.

buckfasterer

cleanin out the drugs would be a start...

phastasphuck

its a great town for goin out in if ur an outsider..its a great place for students from different parts of the country to come up to..but as someone who is out and about the town alot, and also lives in the town all year round..it does get a but boring, its nice to get a change now and then...the music in the clubs in the town is mostly dance and trance music which doesnt cater for all people..there are no indie clubs in town, except the central on a friday nite...and as we all know..its full of divorcees!!....thats my opinion anyway

phastasphuck

buckfasterer wrote: »

cleanin out the drugs would be a start...

indeed!!

muffler

phastasphuck wrote: »

and as we all know..its full of divorcees!!

Whats that supposed to mean?

phastasphuck

muffler wrote: »

Whats that supposed to mean?

XXXXXXXXX reputation!...all pubs in town have one...and thats the XXXXXX!!.....its the first thing ya hear a lot of people say if u mention ur goin to XXXXXXX!


Mod edit: Id rather you not mention premises if you feel the tone of the premises is being lowered by sections of our community.

muffler

You say it as if divorced/separated people are tainted in some way or another. Im sure they are trying to get on with their lives.

muffler

You're new here so Im going to give you a wee bit of leeway. Take a minute and read the forum charter if you wish to continue posting here.

This isnt Bebo.

phastasphuck

*

Senna

Is it not the same no mater where you live, it gets boring after X amount of years of the same pubs, clubs and faces.

I've heard voodoo is doing an over 30's night on a sat on the very top floor (newly opened). Might be a good alternative.

RMDrive

muffler wrote: »

You say it as if divorced/separated people are tainted in some way or another. Im sure they are trying to get on with their lives.

LOL. Yeah beware the tainted ones!!

IMO it's the same in any town. When I head back to Letterkenny I always love going out but that's just cause I'm only home now and again. No matter what town you lived in, you would eventually get bored of it.

donegalgirl28

phastasphuck wrote: »

the music in the clubs in the town is mostly dance and trance music which doesnt cater for all people

As someone who appreciates Dance music, I don't agree with that at all. The clubs mainly play pop and commerical dance tunes such as Tiesto or some other buck like that.

FLAT! @ the FuBar are doing weekly nights that provide quality dance music in the main room, mainly made up of techno/progressive and some house and electro. In the backroom you can get a listen to hip hop which is something different to the usual.

As for indie music, I'm not too sure what clubs do that that's something a club could do in the backroom or something. Whatever happened to Voodoo anyways? Why aren't they doing Ritual Fridays anymore? Tis a shame as it brought over some quality DJs.

Haven't been out in Letterkenny in a good while. I tend to stick to what I know, that is mainly Sister Saras for warm up drinks, dance in the Redroom then move onto the FuBar.

lt_cmdr_worf

The Oasis Bar (at the bus station) was a good spot a few years ago, pity it closed down last year.

Adamcp898

donegalgirl28 wrote: »

As someone who appreciates Dance music, I don't agree with that at all. The clubs mainly play pop and commerical dance tunes such as Tiesto or some other buck like that.

Agree with that fully, full of commercial dance and then whatever pop song is popular at the time Rhianna or whatever it happens to be

byte

lt_cmdr_worf wrote: »

The Oasis Bar (at the bus station) was a good spot a few years ago, pity it closed down last year.

Didn't realise that place closed. I thought it was a popular enough place.

donegalman1

Disagree with alot of this except for the comment that everyone gets bored with where they are from.

In recent times the town has had Dave Pearce, Gatecrasher, Euphoria, Seamus Haji, etc and the Freemasons. Thats quite a lineup by any city standard.

Both Milan and Voodoo have introduced oldies to some success recently, so the market must be dictacting something. The Grill always was the Grill and plays aload of everything, certainly not leading the way as it was in the mid-nineties.

Voodoo did dance, it obviously was'nt popular enough to be sustained commercially... Fridays fell off pretty quickly and Saturdays are very commercial.. Not sure if getting rid of Tony Watters was a good thing though they obviously put business first.

Music takes cycles and the big thing will come back again.

Foobar can do their thing cos its cheap to run and can be sustainable on a small basis particularly as they have bedroom DJs that will play cheaply and Friends of theirs support, though when there last they charged as much as anyone else if not more for the entry. Timmy and Tommy are worthy of their praise but rarely play there.

What is happening is two fold, 1. there are no charts or direction since downloading became the norm and people experienced more music freely and 2. the lack of Northern Visitors meant Letterkenny cannot sustain the size nor amounts of Clubs it has. Perhaps the reduced prices in Letterkenny this week will help, but realistically, expecting radical nights in the current climate is a non starter anywhere. These are businesses that have to make it pay week in week out and clubbers aren't supporting any club nights that have big names or dare to be different.

Voodoo did dance - didn't work so changed, Casbah did alternative - Didn't pay so closed, Milan did big names that was good enough but reduced prices now - so changed, perhaps you went to all of these but enough did not support to justify.

The reference to duggies, well its usually associated with either Dance and alternative music, no venue needs the hassle. And as for Divorcees, its legal, they have a right to go out and why not, they have a right to happiness and if somewhere is their scene or they can go and feel comfortable or even have a second chance at happiness, then that is great. For the record I'm neither married or Divorced and if I met someone who was or had kids and they were the one for me I'd be very happy and wouldn't care how or where I met them.

A friend who works in Milan told me they do plan big things for this year but at present are just working on making it affordable to even go out. €3 a drink should be the norm and probably will soon, but Letterkenny needs to get back in the races to attract people. The last real hype it had was the Gardai telling the country it was closed at 1.30, which it wasn't, that along with everything else did nothing for the town.

mountainyman

Letterkenny is a rough little town. I think you've a better chance of getting punched in Letterkenny than Derry.

So go out in Derry one night.

jimmycrackcorm

mountainyman wrote: »

Letterkenny is a rough little town. I think you've a better chance of getting punched in Letterkenny than Derry.

So go out in Derry one night.

Better a punch than a stabbing, I always say.

donegalgirl28

donegalman1 wrote: »

Voodoo did dance, it obviously was'nt popular enough to be sustained commercially... Fridays fell off pretty quickly and Saturdays are very commercial.. Not sure if getting rid of Tony Watters was a good thing though they obviously put business first

FACT. Tony Watters is a savage DJ, but he deserves better. Wonder where he's moved to? Also on Voodoo, what's with the €15 entry on a Saturday night at 1am? Mate went there, asked me to head ( I was in Josie's that night), she told me the price and by **** was I paying €15 into a commerical club. I would rather give €15 to people who sell the flowers that light up outside the clubs!

donegalman1 wrote: »

Foobar can do their thing cos its cheap to run and can be sustainable on a small basis particularly as they have bedroom DJs that will play cheaply and Friends of theirs support, though when there last they charged as much as anyone else if not more for the entry. Timmy and Tommy are worthy of their praise but rarely play there.

Timmy and Tommy don't run the night, John and Conor Rainey do. T'n'T are there as punters I think, well they were the times I went there. As for bedroom DJs, it's not just that, they brought over Paul Woolford and King Unique which is very different to what anyone else would bring. I was at both of the nights and there wasn't more than 150 people in the club and yet it was an absolutely brilliant night.

donegalman1 wrote: »

A friend who works in Milan told me they do plan big things for this year but at present are just working on making it affordable to even go out. €3 a drink should be the norm .

Was that true? Saturday nights €3 drink? If so, fair play! Pity about the music and crowd though. I think it has quite a young crowd and poserish. I don't feel comfortable in places like that.

muffler

donegalgirl28 wrote: »

Was that true? Saturday nights €3 drink?

All of Mr McGee's watering holes are selling drinks @ €3

Beanstalk

Having grown up in Letterkenny I find one of the main things thats its missing is a cultural identity.

Even though Im not into the clubs and all that, theres nothing wrong with them and they're good for the economy and obviously for the people who enjoy them. For those people that aren't into dance music, there is no decent venue for proper live music in the town. I know places like mc ginley's have bands and stuff, but they're generally so middle of the road people don't really pay much attention to them. Sometimes there's great acts playing in the arts centre and the theatre, but theres no pub with real character on the scale of say, the Bridge Bar in Ramelton where you can go with friends and both have the craic as well listen to really good live music for the night.

Traditional and folk music is also hard to find mainly because theres very few venues that support it. You have comhaltas weekly sessions in the holiday inn and great sessions in the Glencar Inn that are often very quiet because people just aren't interested.

In terms of culture in general there doesn't seem to much of anything historically or culturally significant about the town itself that attracts me personnally anymore. The sad thing is that I know there is plenty but it just seems to be a general lack of interest or it hasn't really been tapped into. We have the same old politicans, the same political parties, the same individuals who own pretty much half the town.

Letterkenny has a great museum and a great library with tonnes of archived material thats nobody in the town wants to know about. We have good town parks with great facilities for festivals and cultural events but there seems to be a general attitude of 'we don't want it, it's too much hassle'. I can't think for the life of me why tourists would want to come to Letterkenny apart from having 'a good night out'. Just contrast it to Derry and you'll know what I mean.

It's kinda hard to explain I guess. When I moved away from the town seven years ago, never wanting to come back. I would love to come back if i felt it could be an attractive place to live, that caters for people of all cultural interests.

UpDonegal

About the Club Prices etc...

Voodoo LK on a Friday Night is €8 before 12am then €10 after 12am!
Voodoo LK on a Saturday Night is €10 before 12am then €15 before after 12am!

Plus Voodoo LK has two rooms, they only have one room open now on a friday night - The Mainroom with Kevin Lennon!
Then on Saturday Night both rooms are open - The Mainroom & Backroom with Dj Dara & Dj Ronan!

Voodoo i heard anyway is only having a Special Dj once every month from now on, on a friday night - they have "Scott Project" coming to Voodoo for St.Patrick's Weekend "Friday 13th March 2009"...!

PLUS just heard that FLAT! that was in the Fubar in LK is Moving to Voodoo at the end of this month - Janaury 27th - they are having a Big Night - they have lots of Good Dj's Playing...think i'll be heading to that...should be good...spread the word!

I only got out during Holiday time myself...and Voodoo is normally where i go on a saturday night...it used to get big crowds last year...but since after xmas its been very quite...!

I also go to Milan, especially on a Wednesday Night...Student Night...this has to be the best Club Night in Letterkenny every week - and with Adm €5 and drinks €3 you couldn't beat it...it's also open saturday night too..doesnt get the same crowds as a wed night...must say tho i went one saturday night when Dave Pearce was playing and i was really disapointed with the crowd turn-out...waz a great night tho!...needs to be advertiesd more..

But i do think the Clubs need to improve to get more people out n about again...bring back the Dj's that played in Voodoo...god i miss Ritual Nights so much..!

Wishbone Ash

lt_cmdr_worf wrote: »

The Oasis Bar (at the bus station) was a good spot a few years ago, pity it closed down last year.

That's a blast from the past for me! The last time I was there was 1986.

smashey

Wishbone Ash wrote: »

That's a blast from the past for me! The last time I was there was 1986.

And sadly it is now closed.

Senna

muffler wrote: »

All of Mr McGee's watering holes are selling drinks @ €3

Hasn't done him much good, he's called a meeting with all staff on Monday and there are some very worried staff.

donegalman1

Senna wrote: »

Hasn't done him much good, he's called a meeting with all staff on Monday and there are some very worried staff.

I take it you work there. There were rumours flying about Dunnes Stores and other businesses in town recently too. To date all unfounded. We'd be better not to have speculative posts as such until after any meeting as they certainly won't help any worried staff.

Having availed of the €3 drinks in a few of the places in Letterkenny it looked very successful indeed, lots of people about.

Clubbing and going out in general in Letterkenny has been too expensive until McGee changed prices. I'd like to see all pubs/clubs do likewise. €10/12/15 is not value for money these days, unless on big nights maybe.

homer simpson

mountainyman wrote: »

Letterkenny is a rough little town. I think you've a better chance of getting punched in Letterkenny than Derry.

So go out in Derry one night.

Ahh now thats a bit over the top, every town has their fighting in it and i think letterkenny is nowhere near as bad as other towns, ballybofey is unreal , having lived there for 6 months 1 mile out the Donegal road, every saturday night there'd be windows broke wing mirrors broke off cars wheelie bins set alight, every week wothout fail! and Buncranna is the worst town i've ever been out in, it was a free-for-all outside afterwords everytime i was out in it, for all the size of it, its crazy. and as for going out in derry, its tens times worse than letterkenny, too many wee s(um hoods running around, pouncing on randomers, as soon as they hear an accent that isn't from derry your sure to get hit especailly a doneagl accent!

tangerinepuppet

Beanstalk wrote: »

Letterkenny has a great museum and a great library with tonnes of archived material thats nobody in the town wants to know about.

It's kinda hard to explain I guess. When I moved away from the town seven years ago, never wanting to come back. I would love to come back if i felt it could be an attractive place to live, that caters for people of all cultural interests.

I've made a lot of use of the facilities in the library if that makes you feel any better. And yes, it is nice to know they're there, even if they're undervalued.

I think there are plenty of people with 'cultural interests' around but they don't seem to congregate. Maybe somebody should start a commune in the style of early-90s Kinvara and see who turns up!

I think somebody mentioned somewhere on Boards (excuse the vagueness) that Letterkenny could do with a café culture. I suppose there are bakeries / tea rooms, but somewhere like Galway's Java or BananaPhoblacht (not sure if those places are still open) would probably go down well.

donegalman1

The Cafe idea is a good one.

Letterkenny has plenty of cultural elements, The Theatre, Cultural Centre, Arts Centre/Library, the IT, Leisure centre etc. I am sure the ratepayers and taxpayers locally would like to see them prosper commercially or at least pay their own way.

The Library may have a large collection but it should all be online - thats where people do their research these days.

Do not even talk about a comparasion with Derry, so much money was thrown at it in grants etc it would need to be even better. I'll bet if you look up how much it got in comparison to Donegal which suffered through the troubles you'd be quite annoyed at how we lost out again. Even our tourism things are either cross border or lumped in with Sligo etc even though Donegal is probably a bigger net contribitor to the tourism agencies and certainly is the Jewel attraction wise of the North West.

There are groups meeting in Letterkenny and Donegal, perhaps they don't get to market as all public funds are thrown at white cultural elephants and controlled by a few, but there is more to the town than you might think.

At least with the cafe idea, they would strive to compete and be successful as they would have to stand on their own two feet, I for one would be happy to see a drop in subsidies to others to get them up and running.

At present Beanstalks post shows many are a waste of public money.

donegalman1

On a separate note, and this thread seems to have two themes cultural and niteclubs, I spoke to a mate who works in Milan.

There was no Big meeting of staff in the McGee group, they often hold staff meetings like any business and still do in various pubs they own. The post as far as he's concerned is part of the run that particular group get from competitors etc.

Their drink thing seems fine and very successful.

Interestingly with regard to this thread, what he did tell me was:

They are completing alot of renovations Downstairs and the smoking area in Sister Saras - been promised photos!

Flat are doing one night in Voodoo and then leaving to move to Sister Saras and that some of the recent DJs in Milan and Saras may get a call up when the new club is done there. I see Timmy and Tommy, Paddy Friel, Joe Decks, All the Flat DJs and more all in one venue now... that will be very interesting along with what they have in Milan.

Far from what Senna said, it looks interesting for nitelife in Letterkenny. I have said before that many venues are too big but a consolidation like this will be good for the club industry going by what I am told.

In the words of my mate 'Hughie McGee had detractors and competitors long before the recession and actually made it through the last one and prospered' Apparently he did something similiar in the 80's with Drink prices.

Like him or not, Letterkenny needs his businesses and the jobs they bring. At least he's doing more than most. To be fair we need to support local businesses and their employees. If his Hotels and bars continue to bring people to Letterkenny then there is no one who really can complain.

Lets hope this isn't used as a scaremongering tool again with no basis, when i told my friend he had no knowledge, it created doubt for a while til he found out it was of no basis and therefore maybe served its purpose but I'll not be as quick to take those kinda posts seriously again. People, no matter who they work for do not need anyone making unsubstantiated claims that do nothing to help the town.

Nothing against you Senna and you may have your reasons to make such a definative statement but it does appear to have no basis and certainly is of no benefit to Letterkenny unless its true, but Mondays over and there was no meeting!

If I had a thousand euro for every story I heard about businesses in Letterkenny in the last few weeks I wouldn't care about the recession and would be off to sunnier Climates!!

Beanstalk

donegalman1 wrote: »

The Cafe idea is a good one.

Definitely a good idea, something different. I was in a new cafe last time I was home in that shopping park on the link road beside argos. It had a kind of a 'swing' feel to it and they were playing really nice music that presented a nice change from 2fm or dare I say it, sean doherty!

The Library may have a large collection but it should all be online - thats where people do their research these days.

Again I don't disagree and I certainly think that they should at least have thier catalogue online for a start, as this only encourages people to visit the library and make use of their archives. To digitally put their collection online would be a huge undertaking but maybe putting up information that realtes directly to local area might be a good start?

Do not even talk about a comparasion with Derry, so much money was thrown at it in grants etc it would need to be even better. I'll bet if you look up how much it got in comparison to Donegal which suffered through the troubles you'd be quite annoyed at how we lost out again. Even our tourism things are either cross border or lumped in with Sligo etc even though Donegal is probably a bigger net contribitor to the tourism agencies and certainly is the Jewel attraction wise of the North West.

I think you've misunderstood me here. While I agree completely with the fact that Donegal has been unfairly marginalised in favour of the south, what I meant is that Derry is making much more use of its local heritage through events etc. to attract tourists than Letterkenny.

At present Beanstalks post shows many are a waste of public money.

They certainly are, but only in how they are run and advertised, not for their existence.

tangerinepuppet

Beanstalk wrote: »

I certainly think that they should at least have thier catalogue online for a start. To digitally put their collection online would be a huge undertaking but maybe putting up information that realtes directly to local area might be a good start?

The library catalogue for all the branches of the Donegal Library is available on www.donegallibrary.ie, along with links to items of local interest. This could be more extensive, but there is a feedback facility, so I take it efforts are being made to make the site more comprehensive and user-friendly.

Beanstalk

Wow, this is great!

donegalman1

My point about Derry Vs Donegal as you first posted Beanstalk and not Donegal vs Southern Ireland (thats another story too) is that if you wanted to do anything in Derry over the years there was huge funding available.

In Letterkenny the festival was reliant on contributions and paying its own way, maybe with a drinks company sponsorship and a little marketing grant from Bord Failte, nothing like what is available to Derry.

We have a good Arts Festival now but its largely due to the fact that the Arts Officer is involved and can help aquire funding too.

Even our 'local Radio' is a commercial concern and doesn't offer free support to festivals etc, but they don't receive subsidies that I know of in any great terms. Perhaps more of our amenities should be like Highland and be self sufficient that way they would have to make their business operation more inclusive and attractive.

Beanstalk

Yeah but what im trying to get across is that its not about funding its about the general attitude towards local heritage and cultural events in general.

Saying theres no money for it or it'll cost too much is the just old story thats being going around letterkenny for years. Ramelton still hosts the Lennon Festival. Burtonport and Dungloe still run successful festivals. Why is Letterkenny different? Recent Jazz festivals in Derry have met with huge success and drew thousands of people into the town and boosted the local economy. Donegal council is trying to promote cultural heritage, and has a new plan called 'cultural connections', it will be interesting to see if they come up with any new events or festivals. Letterkenny just needs people who are willing to take on the responsibility.

Yeah Derry has more funding, but thats because of its size and recent history, as well as its economic importance to Northern Ireland in general. Im not trying to start an argument, its just hard to come to terms with the fact that Letterkenny just keeps growing and growing and losing its identity and is just becoming another faceless town in Ireland with no historical significance.

clones1980

Lived dere for 2 and half years. Only left five months ago. IT was the best 2 and half years of my life. Had an absolute ball.

PS - id move back in the morning just for the nitelife alone oh not to mention the drive from letterkenny to Fanad and portsalon beach:D

homer simpson

The biggest event in letterkenny is the Donegal rally in june, i know some people who arn't into rallying hate rally weekend but at the end of the day its one of if not the biggest cash generator in the area!