Cocoon & Celtic Tiger Bid Adieu...
It is with a heavy heart and many a salty tear shed that we bid a fond farewell, a sad so-long, and glum goodbye to Dublin's infamous Cocoon Bar. Last Saturday night, with a blow-out session for the regular revelers, the celebrity watering-hole closed after 12 long years of late parties and large laughs. An era has ended folks...
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Sara Kavanagh, Karena Graham |
For over a decade celebrity haunt Cocoon Bar has been a symbol of excessive spending with blingy ladies and showy men shaking their thang on a Saturday night, throwing the cash around like there was no tomorrow. Let's face it - Cocoon was the The Celtic Tiger.
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Baz Ashmawy, Andy O'Herne |
Alas The Celtic Tiger bit-the-bullet and last Saturday night, so did Cocoon. But it didn't go out with a whimper. Hell no. Regulars who like a tipple gathered at the off-Grafton Street venue to bid adieu and raise the roof one last time...
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Kerri Ingram, Louise Kavanagh |
For as long as we care to remember, Cocoon was thee meeting place for the in-crowd before they headed off to other late night places like Lillies, Krystle, Renards, The PoD, The System, Spirit, SIN, etc... The opening line you got off anyone you met in the city bar was always: "where you going later?" Well, at this moment, we don't know where Cocoon's regulars are going to go... Where do you go when your local shuts up shop? Really, it feels like a death in the family. We’re not over exaggerating, this is Ireland, when your favourite pub closes it's a very sombre and mournful occasion. It hurts.
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Andy Quirke, Ray Senior, Louise Kavanagh |
And because this is Ireland, this sad occasion was marked with a rambunctious wake! Yup. Us Irish like nothing more than to get pissed out of our minds, shake our fists at the damn moon, and dance around wild deranged animals at a wake. It's a proper feckin' tradition, one that was upheld last Saturday night begorrah.
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Alan Murray, Michele McGrath |
Manager Alan Murray, hostess Michele McGrath & DJ Ivano Caffola opened the doors to eager regulars last weekend for the very last time. All that entered did so with a firm commitment to party-hard and say goodbye with a bang. Well, it wasn't like anyone could get barred for wreckin-the-gaff seeing as it was the last night. Woo-hoo!
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Kieron Ducie, Michelle Montgomery |
Cocoon Bar was launched by business partners Eddie Irvine and John Foley about 12 years ago. At the time it was a style and atmosphere revolution for a Dublin bar as it was a complete move-away from the diddle-aye Oirish pub stereotype with saw-dust on the floor and 'The Fields of Athenry' playing on a loop in the background. A much needed alternative.
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Niamh Walsh, Catriona O'Connor |
Cocoon was European cool contemporary chic with cream long leather couches, dark wooded walls, and polished chrome trim. As you walked into the bar you were always greeted with a cool waft of air-conditioned air and the latest & greatest dance track flooding your ears... I'm here.
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John Foley, Wesley Quirke |
But like all great things it eventually peaked and became a victim of its own success as the owners had a meteoric public falling-out and split the regulars into two distinct loyalty camps. From that point on, the vibe was never the same or as good or as sweet as in its heyday. The eejits broke our bar.
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Ivan Cummings, Dave Marshal, Katya Shelikova, Gary Chambers & Friends |
In more recent months rumours were abound that the bar was really struggling to meet its running costs, although no one wanted to admit it. Trade was booming on a Friday and Saturday nights but day trade was flailing and week day nights were becoming a non starter. Dublin party people just seemed to curtail their parting...
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Imran Zaman, Jeanette Ryan |
As a result of a once excessive bunch of committed clubbers tightening their Gucci belts, Cocoon has became a casualty of the ravenous recession that is currently putting a firm boot in the backside of the once so glorious Celtic Tiger... Alas, we don’t think Cocoon will be the only casualty...
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Becky Sutherland, Greg Pollard |
As Dublin enters into the post Celtic Tiger period, no doubt a new party culture will emerge. But with clubbers watching their pockets and economizing on the number of nights they hit-the-town - bar and club promoters will have to adapt if they want to survive. Hey, that's just the law of the jungle.
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Elaine Stenson, Lorna Nolan, Catriona Gaffney |
Over the years in Cocoon there were a lot of friendship born and broken, relationships that flew then fizzled out, massive parties and minor feuds... The place was alive with memories good and bad, but hey, that's why we all loved it there...
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Lisa Woods, Ciara Mullaney |
Many a passerby found the place pompous and pretentious with the flash cars outside and the leggy models lining-up at the door to flirt with the Champagne-Charlies inside. But it was more than that, much more... Most of us on the inside were laughing at the trying-too-hard types too.
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Ivano Caffola |
The party last Saturday night went on late into the night (we won't say how late!). Guests we managed to pull from the heaving crowd included: Sara Kavanagh, Karena Graham, John 'the dentist' Foley, Wesley Quirke, Marie Claire Nolan, Michele McGrath, Ray Senior, Lisa Woods, Ciara Mullaney, Elaine Stenson, Lorna Nolan, Catriona Gaffney, Kerri Ingram, Louise Kavanagh, Andy Quirke, Niamh Walsh, and Catriona O'Connor...
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Ray Senior, Michele McGrath |
And they just kept on coming: Glenda Gilson, Cindy Caffola, Michelle Doherty, Carl Shaaban, Miriam Matabaro, Lucia Scerbikova, Debbie McCauliche, Michelle Regazzoli, Becky Sutherland, Greg Pollard, Imran Zaman, Jeanette Ryan, Ivan Cummings, Dave Marshal, Katya Shelikova, Gary Chambers, Kieron Ducie, Michelle Montgomery, Simon O'Riordan, Tiffany Stanley, Aly Marron, Hugh Moran, Rebecca Lee, and many, many more...
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Miriam Matabaro, Lucia Scerbikova |
There's nothing left to be said apart from we'd like to thank the 18 strong Cocoon staff members who are sadly now out of jobs. Special thanks to Alan Murray, Michele McGrath & Ivano Caffola for a great Saturday night and a fantastic few years. We have to stop now, we're welling up here folks. Sniff.
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Debbie McCauliche, Michelle Regazzoli |
Thanks for the memories lads. Now where's the next hot spot gonna be? Forgot to mention, us clubbers are a fickle bunch... The party MUST go on!
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Jesus I was so fooked that night. So where DID the party go then? I havent seen many regulers from the Cocon days in either Base or Morgan?
Update for anyone who is interested:
Alan Murray is now on the door at the Porterhouse Temple Bar
Rumour has it that Danny might make a return to the door of Krystle.
Princess Eva the sexy slovak is in Samsara as of last weekend.
The other Czech girl is now in Dandelion
Eddie the legend is now in Portmarnock AFAIK
There's a Facebook group run by the staff for its re-opening -JOIN.