1009866 National Stadium

This was the last premises on the second-last of the very odd category licences for me to tick off - a National Sporting Arena Licence - and took some time to figure out when to do it. 

The name here is a bit opaque to those who are not aware of the venue - it is the National Stadium for the Irish Amateur Boxing Association, and is the only non field sports venue with a Sporting Arena licence in Ireland as it stands.

For some reason, various gigs and cultural events on here that would have matched my interests were always on when I was out of the country. Never just otherwise occupied at home or anything else - always consistently when I was away.

Eventually, something I knew I could at least tolerate (Tomora supported by Oxis - both good performances) popped up, so I got here.

The venue is a modernised 1930s boxing stadium, but has held non-boxing events since the start; such as circuses and exhibitions in the early days. Concerts have been happening here since at least the 1950s, with acts as big and varied as Louis Armstrong, Fleetwood Mac and Leonard Cohen performing over the years.

While it is well maintained and well staffed; it needs some more internal signage as to the layout of the seating blocks - and where the bar is. Locating this required finding someone with a drink and asking them where they got it - something I was then asked a number of times as more people arrived!

There's a long wooden bar in a room that feels like a school sports hall, and an entirely can/bottle bar. They sell quite a mix of macro products at surprisingly reasonable prices, but the bar is a bit of a  throwback; with neon signs for "Cold Budweiser" amongst others barely hidden behind a black cloth, presumably as they don't sell Budweiser.  

There's a very solid sound system here, but the 11pm curfew means that it is not particularly useful for dance music nights; which would otherwise thrive here. The location works against it as being a reliever venue for gigs just too big for the Olympia or Vicar Street too