Opinion: Fond memories of the golden age of Donegal’s nightclub scene

It’s funny how you think some things are just part of everyday life and will never change. And then suddenly, they are gone. 

A recent planning application to demolish Milan nightclub in Letterkenny led me to reflect on how much the nightlife scene has changed here in Donegal, and no doubt, across the rest of the country too.

Back in the 1980s and early ‘90s, it would have been a rare occasion when a weekend night out did not end up in Riva’s Nightclub or the Abbey Hotel, venues which would become Nero’s Nightclub and Sky Nightclub respectively.

For many of my contemporaries, getting the bus to the Limelight in Glenties was the highlight of the week. And for the more adventurous, the Golden Grill or Pulse in Letterkenny or Hollie’s in Bundoran were among many more venues around the county.

Such was the popularity of Donegal’s nightclubs that people came from far and wide in their droves. Buses would be lined up on the Diamond in Donegal Town or outside Mr Chippie in Letterkenny, along Glenties Main Street, conveying patrons not only from across Donegal but from Fermanagh, Tyrone, Derry, Sligo and even as far as Cavan and Monaghan.

For me, the fondest memories are of the late '80s and into the very early 1990s, my coming of age years. Though in truth, the real heyday of Irish nightclubs came a little later, when I was more occupied with parenting than socialising. 

By the late 1990s and early 2000s, dance music was massively popular and had gone from the niche rave scene to a more mainstream audience.

People were starting to get a bit more money in their pockets. The wave of youth emigration had stopped, and working abroad became a lifestyle choice rather than a dire necessity.

The bar was raised for the nightclub scene, with famous venues such as Copper Face Jacks in Dublin and Sir Henry’s in Cork becoming synonymous with good times and nighttime fun - in all its shapes and forms!

People who worked hard wanted to play hard, and the nightclub scene took on a whole new energy as the new millennium drew ever closer. 

It was also a golden age for DJs as their skills in creating seamless, stylised sets across the numerous dance genres of the era led to them having the same status and following as their counterparts in live music performance.

But as with almost every aspect of Irish life, the economic crash had a massive effect on the nightlife scene. People had a lot less money to spend, and were looking at uncertain futures in terms of employment, rent cost, mortgages, etc.

Youth emigration returned with a bang, only instead of the CIE bus carrying our young people from outside the Abbey Hotel to London, it was Aer Lingus flights to Australia.

Habits changed over time, and with cheaper alcohol available in supermarket chains such as Lidl and Aldi, more and more people started drinking at home. Access via smartphones and other devices to limitless music meant that people could create that party vibe at home or in pubs, and they became less willing to pay for it.

Covid-19  was the final nail in the coffin for many nightclubs. Some had been surviving, and even managing the occasional new lease of life.

But for many, the pandemic put an end to any attempts at a revival. A nightclub environment was not where anyone wanted to be, even as things began to open up. 

Many of the best known nightclubs of the last few years have simply closed their doors. Others have been demolished or repurposed. 

Some have survived - and a small few more are reopening, slowly rebuilding a clientele of young people to whom the nightclub culture is almost alien. 

For those of us who enjoyed that era to the full, we can but reminisce. It is for the next generation to carve their own future, their own entertainment choices, their own golden age.