Limerick residents share anger at concerts in old factory

RESIDENTS have expressed anger after concerts were held in a marquee near their homes.

Young children, toddlers and elderly people were woken up by the music coming from the marquee erected in the grounds of the former Cleeve’s factory near North Circular Road in the city.

Frustrated locals contacted gardai to complain about the noise.

The marquee was originally erected to host Fossett’s Circus shows at Christmas.

But, during the Bank Holiday weekend, hundreds attended evening concerts on February 2, 3 and 4.

A spokesperson for the Clanmaurice Residents Association described the sound as “booming”. “I could decipher words. It wasn’t just a bass beat. I’m at the far end of Clanmaurice Avenue near Ardscoil Ris. As you walked down the road (towards the river), it got louder and louder and louder,” they said.

“One of my neighbours has a 16-month old baby. She couldn’t get her child to sleep again. They were already asleep and this huge noise came. It’s a big disturbance to your routine in the night-time,” they said.

Councillor Conor Sheehan added: “I’ve been getting a lot of calls, texts and WhatsApps from people who could not settle their kids because of the volume of noise.”

Now the residents group are set to make a formal complaint to the gardai, Limerick City and County Council, and Limerick Twenty Thirty, the company which owns the land and gave the green light for the gigs.

Limerick Twenty Thirty was singled out for criticism, with the residents group alleging it did not engage with locals. “We don’t have a problem with large music events. We just want to be informed beforehand. It’s like the situation at Croke Park in Dublin.

"Those residents know there will be so many events a year, they know what dates they will take place on, and know how late they are going on. But this approach is haphazard.

“We are not against events, we realise the importance of tourism, we understand. It's just it needs to be done in a way so kids aren't kept awake with no warning, and disturbing the whole ambience of an area," the spokesperson said.

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Limerick Twenty Thirty said Big Boss Events booked Fossett’s big-top for three concerts over the Bank Holiday weekend.

“Limerick Twenty Thirty has been in contact with Big Boss Events who have given assurances that measures were in place to minimise inconvenience to local residents across these events and we have brought feedback from local residents to their attention,” they said.

“Limerick Twenty Thirty will also bring this feedback into the decision-making process around any requests for use of the site for such events in the future.”

The acts that were advertised to perform included Tumbling Paddies, DAIRE, Mark McCabe and Mimi.

Residents contacted the gardai during the concerts with noise complaints, but the Leader understands officers did not attend.

Councillor Sheehan said: "If they are going to have these events, they need to be held in a venue with better soundproofing".

The concerts ended between 10.30pm and 11.30pm.