VENUE OF THE YEAR AWARDS 2008
www.imro.ie
“There are four ingredients that make a great gig - a great artiste, a great audience, great technicians and a great venue. It’s time now to salute those venues that care about the artistes, technicians and audiences” said Keith Donald, Chairman of the Irish Music Rights Organisation (IMRO) while presiding over the IMRO Live Music Venue of the Year Awards in the RDS, Dublin. The President’s Suite at the RDS was filled to capacity with venue owners, managers and music industry professionals from across Ireland, who gathered together to hear the results of the inaugural awards, established by IMRO in recognition of Irish venues that provide the very highest standards in live music entertainment.

Dublin venue Vicar Street topped the Awards, scooping three gongs: Best National Live Music Venue of the Year and Best Dublin Live Music Venue of the Year, along with a Hot Press Readers Award for Best Live Music Venue in Ireland. Vicar Street’s Bern Berry accepted the award on behalf of the Aiken’s team, with an emotional speech dedicating the awards to the memory of the late Jim Aiken.

Speaking about the venue, Keith Donald (IMRO) said: “When Harry Crosbie and Peter Aiken showed me around the building site that was to become Vicar Street, taking justifiable pride in the facilities for both artistes and audience alike, I knew they were on to a winner”. The Rest of Leinster Live Music Venue of the Year Award went to The Spirit Store in Dundalk. The Ulster Live Music Venue of the Year was presented to The Chasin’ Bull in Donegal, while the Roisín Dubh in Galway scooped the Connaught Live Music Venue of the Year. A delighted team from Cyprus Avenue in Cork took home two prizes - Munster Live Music Venue of the Year and a Hot Press Readers Highly Commended Award. The Stables in Mullingar also received a Highly Commended accolade.

The awards acknowledge the central role that live music venues play in developing and supporting the music community in Ireland. Live music venues provide superb, quality entertainment to the public and a platform for Irish artists across all genres of music. The prizes were awarded based on the votes of over 6,000 IMRO members across Ireland. Venues were assessed on a number of criteria including general ambience, staging, sound, lighting, diversity of music, artist relations and venue promotion. Along with a specially designed Live Music Venue of the Year Award plaque, each winning venue will have the opportunity to develop their own MUZU TV Venue Channel, courtesy of on-line music TV channel MUZU TV. MUZU will film each winning venue and the promotional video will be hosted on the MUZU site (www.muzu.tv), so fans can get a taste of each venue while checking out performances and videos from bands prior to gigs.

And the winners are… Overall National Winner - IMRO Live Music Venue of the Year Award 2008 - Vicar Street, Dublin; Rest of Leinster Live Music Venue of the Year Award 2008 - The Spirit Store, Dundalk, Co Louth; Munster Live Music Venue of the Year Award 2008 - Cyprus Avenue, Cork; Connaught Live Music Venue of the Year Award 2008 - Roisín Dubh, Galway; Ulster Live Music Venue of the Year Award 2008 - (Donegal, Monaghan and Cavan only) The Chasin’ Bull, Bundoran, Co Donegal.