EVERYTHING TO SHUT AT 1:30am!!! As most of you are probably aware by now, the Gardai are planning to shut down every pub and club in the country at 1:30 am in a bid to curb alcohol related crimes. Senior Gardai have been holding secret talks for a number of weeks now and the way they intend to do this by opposing the renewals of all bar/club extensions in court this Wednesday. The very slightly staggered closing hours we currently have in Dublin slightly eases the problem of having everybody on the street at once but if this were to be introduced then it would logically, and ironically, probably make the situation even worse. 2am blanket closing hours have already been introduced in Cork and Limerick and reports say that it has clearly worsened the the end of night situation there. If this goes through then you will be out on the street with a lot of other frustrated and drunk people at 1:30am with no hope of a taxi home. If this goes through then there will potentially be up to 2000 people in Dublin alone, who work in the nightclub industry out of a job when their place of work closes as it is unable to compete. If this goes through, it will seriously affect the tourist industry. If this goes through then its curtains for going out in any serious way. Infact, this is more than about just going out, this is curtailment of your civil liberties. Were a great nation of moaners but this time we have to act. If we sit back on this then they will walk all over us. There is a growing tide of discontent already, and some of the things you can do already are... Sign the online petition It will only take a moment http://www.petitiononline.com/night269/petition.html Text Petition This has been setup by the Irish Nightclubs Association. Text dance + your name (i.e. dancejohndoe) to 51500 Radio Listen to the radio shows in the morning. Gerry Ryan on 2FM (90fm) Pat Kenny on RTE1 (88fm), Newstalk (106fm) and whatever else you listen to across the country. This will be a hot topic over the next week or so and its important that people know we care. There was already a poll done on the Gerry Ryan show today and there was an overwhelming 'no' vote against all this (only 1 person voted yes!) so people are getting motivated on this. Email Email all your friends about this. This effects everybody, no matter where they go out. Tell them about the petitions and radio. Its so important people don't get complacent on this. Media In the form of letters to the editor etc. Let them know how you are thinking. Some people you could email are... ray@todayfm.com michael.cahill@tv3.ie dunphy@newstalk106.ie dave@2FM.ie gerryryan@2fm.ie If anyone else can think of any ways that we can make our voice heard please post on this thread. Thanks.