Council plans to restore Ambassador as concert venue

The Ambassador Theatre could be restored to a 900-seat concert venue.

The Parnell Street institution, which dates all the way back to the 1760s when it was initially built as part of the Rotunda Hospital, was a concert venue up until 2008.

In recent times, the venue has been used as an events and exhibitions hall but now plans are afoot to bring it back to its former glory as a concert venue.

Notable artists such as Beck, Megadeth, David Gray, Amy Winehouse and Simple Minds were among those to play at the venue prior to its closure.

Speaking to the Business Post, Dublin City Council boss Richard Shakespeare said that the Council has begun initial engagement with the building operators with a view to hosting concerts in the venue again.

Noting that the negotiations are “in the very early days,” Shakespeare said that Dublin City Council are “actively engaged” with the operators of the theatre “to see what we can do up there.”

“It might be a new theatre, a 700 to 900-seat theatre or venue,” he said.

Shakespeare said that any future redesign of the venue would be dual-funded, meaning it would be funded from both the public purse and by private means.

He said one of the conditions of committing to funding the theatre would be making sure there is a “public gain” to the redevelopment.

“We’d look to tap into funding but there’d have to be a public gain to it, and one of the public gains would be footfall up that end of the city,” he said.

The nearby Hugh Lane Gallery attracted over 130,000 visitors for its acclaimed Andy Warhol exhibit between October and January, massively increasing footfall in the area.

Shakespeare noted that the building is in “reasonably good shape,” but work would need to be done on the soundproofing.

Owing to the proximity of the nearby Gate Theatre, Shakespeare said that sound-proofing work would need to be carried out owing to the architectural quirk known as “nose bleeding.”

He said that work carried out on the restoration of the Pavillion Theatre in Dún Laoghaire could be a possible blueprint for the Ambassador project to follow. 

The Ambassador Venue served as a cinema up until 1999, became a concert venue until 2008 and staged exhibits such as the Bodies exhibit and a Lego exhibit in more recent times.

In recent weeks, plans to erect a ring of steel around the Ambassador Theatre were rejected.

The proposed move was criticised by local TDs and civic groups.

Local Social Democrats TD Gary Gannon said at the time “we need to protect our built heritage, such as the Ambassador Theatre, and ensure that the ongoing decline of our once-proud city is stopped in its tracks.”

Graham Hickey of the Dublin Civic Trust questioned the installation of rails, saying there was “no justification” for the proposed railing.

Members of Dublin City Council attracted criticism for closing off the nearby Harbour Court for fear of attracting anti-social behaviour.

The decision, made at the January meeting of Dublin City Council, was criticised by Green Party Councillor Janet Horner.

Horner, who represents the nearby North Inner City constituency, said the decision was “regressive” and demonstrates a “lack of vision and ambition” in tackling Dublin’s social issues by Dublin City Council.