Dublin Night-Time Economy Advisor Ray O'Donoghue: "We need Dubliners and residents to start being proud of their city again"

For Ray O’Donoghue, stepping into the role of Dublin City Council’s Night-Time Economy Advisor – or Night Mayor, as it’s sometimes called – was “a little bit of a culture shock” at first.

Before taking on the newly established position last April, the Dublin native had spent the past 25 years immersed in the festival and events world, and 15 of those years with the hugely successful Sea Sessions in Bundoran, Co. Donegal.

“It’s a bit more corporate and structured than running a music festival,” Ray says of his current position. “But because the role is new, and nobody’s taken it on in Dublin City, I can carve it out for myself, to an extent. Nobody’s telling me what to do, because nobody knows what to do. But I’ve got a good team behind me, and advice from people around Europe, and around the world.”

The creation of these new Night-Time Economy Advisor roles in several cities and towns across Ireland were one of the recommendations in the 2021 report of the Night-Time Economy Taskforce, established by then-Minister Catherine Martin, “to seek innovative solutions to the challenges the industry faces.”

Ray knew, from his past experience, that he “ticked a lot of boxes” for the Dublin position – which involves working closely with Dublin City Council, the Department of Culture, and key stakeholders, as well as incorporating the opinions of the public through ongoing Your Dublin, Your Voice surveys.

“As a festival director I would have final say on most things, and I’d have experience of dealing with all kinds of people – artists and managers, security and site people, the Guards, the HSE, and the councils,” he explains. “I would’ve seen myself as a coordinator. All those bits of experience have all been useful in some shape or form with this new role.”

His involvement in Dublin’s cultural scene also stretches back decades. He kicked off a career as a DJ 30 years ago, playing in since-closed-down clubs like The Kitchen, Pod, and Rí Rá. He took to the stage in other ways too, as a musician, actor and – “believe it or not,” he adds – comedian.

Having witnessed first-hand how the city has changed over the decades – including rampant club closures – he knew Dublin was “crying out” for something like a Night-Time Economy Advisor.

“Without looking too much through rose-tinted glasses, we all admit that the Dublin scene is not like it was in those days,” he reflects. “It was a much more thriving kind of scene then, with the heyday of clubs in the late ‘90s.

“But there’s still an underground scene there,” he continues. “It’s just smaller than it was. I hope it can get some kind of credibility. Because it’s not just people raving it up, and taking drugs – there is an actual culture around it.”

‘Cultural Activity’ is one of three key pillars of Ray and Dublin City Council’s Night-Time Economy Strategy, published in October – and aims to strengthen Dublin’s cultural scene by making it ‘more vibrant and accessible’. That includes new cultural programming, public art installations, multi-venue trails, and other collaborations between venues, artists and cultural organisations.

Recent projects they’ve supported include Brigid Late, as part of Dublin’s Brigit festival; Comedy Culture In The Capital, which put a spotlight on venues around Dublin 1; and Nocturnal Beats, the Culture Night Late Venue Trail.

Essentially, the way Ray sees it, “the more cultural activity in the city, the better.”

“The more late-night museums and galleries, the more events happening, the more stuff happening on the streets – it’s all going to help that feeling of vibrancy and safety,” he says. “It’s all feeding into each other.”

Safety and Mobility/Transport are the other two pillars of the Dublin City Night-Time Economy Strategy. For the latter, Ray’s job is to advocate for ‘a more efficient, accessible, and responsive transport system to support Dublin’s night-time economy’. The Safety pillar includes awareness programmes, safety training, partnerships with An Garda Síochána, and efforts to improve lighting in certain areas – as well as the creation of safe, late-night spaces.

“Over Christmas, we launched a pilot Welfare Area for a few nights,” Ray notes. “Everyone saw that as a welcome addition to the city – giving people a little bit more of a feeling of safety.”
Going forward, these Welfare Areas, staffed by trained medics and security, would “potentially become a mobile unit,” he explains, “that would be out on a more regular basis”, including weekends and busy periods. There are also plans to unveil safe waiting spaces for late-night transport.

But there are many other challenges that still need to be properly addressed in regards to Dublin nightlife. The Sale of Alcohol Bill – which would reform Ireland’s out-dated licensing laws, and modernise our nightlife in line with other European countries – is still yet to be published, despite getting Cabinet approval back in 2022.

Are there fears that the bill will continue to be kicked down the road by the new government?

“That’s with the Department of Justice, so it’s very difficult for me to comment on it,” Ray states. “It has, let’s be honest, been kicked down the road. But let’s see what happens with this government, and if there is an appetite for it. Personally, I think we should have the choice. We are a major European capital, and we don’t have that choice of late openings.

“In the Netherlands, they have up to 24-hour licensing in some parts,” he adds. “And that’s worked. It’s lessened anti-social behaviour. And it’s worked all around the world. These places aren’t going back to old systems – they’re sticking with the new systems. Hopefully we’ll do the same.”

There are now, according to the campaign group Give Us The Night, only 83 regularly active nightclubs in the country, down from 522 in 2000. These closures are often blamed on a multitude of reasons, including limited trading hours, insurance, and general running costs – some of which are easier fixes than others.

“The only way is up now – it can’t really go down any more,” Ray says of the decline in clubs. “Hopefully I can help in some way to change that. We’re looking at European cities, and what they did. Berlin set up their Clubcommission 25 years ago, and Amsterdam has had a Night Mayor for 12 years. We’re well behind – so we need to catch up quick.”

At the end of the day, residents, visitors, and other key stakeholders “all want the same thing,” Ray feels: “A better city, a safe city, and a vibrant city.” That’s one of the reasons he hopes to “change the narrative” around Dublin.

“We need Dubliners and residents to start being a little more proud of their city again,” he asserts. “There are so many negative narratives. But why are all those tourists coming to this city every year? The city has so much to offer – great pubs, a great history of literature, great free museums and galleries… We’re spoiled, and we don’t know it.”

With another full year to go in the two-year job, does Ray ever consider his legacy, as Dublin’s first Night Mayor?

“I’m too caught up in it at the minute, to be honest!” he laughs. “But I guess I’ll be judged on questions like, ‘Have you made a change? Do we perceive the city to be safer? Is there more stuff going? Have the nightclubs, and restaurants, made a recovery?’ If I could improve those things, and make any kind of a difference, then that will be my legacy – and pave the way for the next one to come in.”

• For updates about the work of Dublin’s Night-Time Economy Advisor, see dublinnights.ie