NIGHT LIFE:A new nightclub opens in Swords this week. Is this the right time for the Wright Venue, asks GEMMA TIPTON
WE’RE STANDING ON a roof terrace where the views across to Lambay Island, Ireland’s Eye and Howth are only interrupted by the tarmac parking lot of a Renault dealership and a large BQ. Aircraft appear in the sky, seem to hover and then disappear down to ground, and around us are the signs of €38 million being spent.
This is Airside in Swords. The roof terrace belongs to the Wright Venue, an enormous nightclub that is the brainchild of Michael Wright. It is due to open in a couple of hours for a small affair, in advance of the official launch on July 23rd. Builders, decorators and cleaners are bustling about: building, decorating and cleaning.
Michael is a member of the well-known Wrights-of-Howth family. His brother Mark and sister Aishling work in the family fish business, in which his parents, Michael and Bernie, are still very involved, and Michael Jnr runs bars and restaurants – such as Howth’s Bloody Stream and Wright’s Café Bar in Swords.
I also met Gerard Beshoff, a member of the well-known Beshoffs-of-Howth family, who is looking after the marketing of the Wright Venue. But weren’t the Beshoffs and the Wrights always rivals in the world of fish? Maybe, though this Wright and this Beshoff remember standing on the pier together on chilly nights aged 16 and waiting for their respective ships to come in. “You could tell which trawler was which in the dark by the configuration of lights on the mast,” remembers Wright.
Talk of lights drags me back to where we are, and we head inside. Here, evidence of the €38 million is everywhere (though some went to build units for restaurants below, and a space next door that’s earmarked for a casino – should licensing laws change). There is a 250kg mirror ball, two enormous chandeliers created from mannequin legs, lots of leather and red velvet, a couple of poles and podiums for dancers, and hovering out in space over the dance floor, four booths with large glass windows. These are special suites, each themed on a different American city (Miami, New York, Las Vegas, LA); they can be hired for an evening for private parties. Overall, the club is 50,000sq ft, with a licence for 2,900 people, and employing 160 staff.
Wright and his business partner Alan Clancy embarked on an exhausting-sounding series of research trips around the world to find what’s best (and worst) in the world of night life. Heading off every other weekend over the course of a year, they spent an “inspirational weekend” in Ibiza. During a trip to Beijing, the sight of private karaoke booths led to the Wright Venue’s suites. In Las Vegas, they discovered how the right atmosphere can make a $10 bottle of vodka sell for $450, although “we’re not pitching this club at that level”, Wright hastens to add.
The information they brought back was given to O’Donnell O’Neill Design Associates, who also have such places as the Merchant Hotel in Belfast, Krystle in Dublin and Shackleton’s in New York to their credit. In the Wright Venue, the main club is red and gold, with surprising touches everywhere. Here, showgirls in corsets will strut their stuff. The music policy will be “mainstream”, and the average punter is expected to be in their 20s. Upstairs is the Purple Room and a white Penthouse Bar, for people a little older with music that will be more chilled out. There is also a private den called “Scarface”, that has a secret entrance, and can be hired by the evening.
Wright began to dream up the project in 2003, as he saw queues for his Swords bar growing and realised that this part of the city needed its own venue. There’s a huge catchment on his doorstep, he says, but he also sees the Wright Venue as a destination for the whole country, plus people flying in to the nearby airport. It’s handy for the M50 and the M1, he tells me, though I can’t help thinking these don’t have quite the same romantic ring to them as, say, Route 66, or Sunset Boulevard.
The club will be open on Fridays and Saturdays, with the Purple Room open on Thursdays as well. During the week, it can be hired out for launches, events and possibly even weddings, he says. Given that the Ireland of 2003 was a very different world, has he had moments of anxiety since then? “I haven’t lost one minute’s sleep. I have an absolute belief that Dublin needs this, wants this. It’s all about inspiring people and it’s all about value. We’re talking about the ultimate night-time experience,” he says. And all at Airside in Swords, and all for a €15 admission fee.
www.thewrightvenue.ie