A protest against the demolition of the beer garden on O’Connell street is planned for August 11. 

There was uproar in June when Dublin City Council approved the demolition of a beer garden to develop a six-storey hotel extension for The Holiday Inn Express. 

The garden is shared by iconic Irish spaces Fibbers Magees, The Living Room and Murrays.

The “Rock Against Hotels” protest will start at the Ambassador Hotel before marching to An Bord Pleanála on Marlborough Street. The protest will include a live band and several speakers advocating for the importance of Dublin’s cultural heritage.

A similar protest took place in October 2021 against the closure of the Cobblestone. Hundreds of participants attended a protest céilí on O’Connell Street to protest plans to turn one of Dublin’s most famous pubs into a hotel.

These strong objections eventually led to Dublin City Council reversing their decision to demolish the pub and music school.

Objectors to the garden’s demolition have argued that to remove the beer garden is to “remove a vibrant social gathering area from the heart of the city with the clear-cut, knock-on effects on the businesses they run.”

Many worry that this loss of space could compromise the ability of Fibbers Magees and The Living Room to stay open until 02:30, another blow to Dublin’s cultural scene.

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