Dublin bar cuts entry fees and asks patrons for charity donations instead

Staff at Pygmalion in the capital’s city centre are concerned that homeless figures are at an “all-time high” and “want to do our part to help”.

For the remainder of January (“and hopefully longer”), the South William Street venue’s owners are cutting their entry fees and are asking clubgoers to donate as much as they can to the Peter McVerry Trust.

And the waived fee extends to ticketed events, even for well-known international DJs that have been confirmed for the weeks ahead, such as Barista Boy and Luis Angel.

100pc of all donations will go directly to the Peter McVerry Trust and patrons can donate by contactless payments at the door or while booking tickets online.

It’s not the first time Pygmalion has launched this initiative, as the bar and club adopted the same approach back in 2020 shortly before the pandemic hit.

“The initial idea was warmly received with our customers in 2020 and with homeless figures at an all-time high today, we felt it was time to reintroduce this idea and help to raise funds and awareness once again for our city’s homeless crisis,” said Pygmalion Group owner, Paul McGlade Jr.

“It also gives our patrons the opportunity to help this great charity a little, which generally there’s a really warm response to.

“I think so many of us in Dublin want to do our part to help but more importantly just desperately want to see this ongoing homeless crisis come to an end in our city”.

Speaking in response to the announcement, CEO of Peter McVerry Trust Pat Doyle said: “It’s fantastic to see initiatives like this in January – typically a quieter month for donations after Christmas.

“We’re very grateful to the team at Pygmalion for choosing our charity and for highlighting the issue of homelessness to a younger audience. The money raised will enable us to help more people to leave homelessness behind for good.”