Where do 
you go clubbing if you’re getting on, but still getting down? The Disco, set to launch in Carrickmacross on Saturday 8 November, is for grown-up clubbers who still want to throw shapes.
For people of a certain age, the prospect of a heaving nightclub, overpriced drinks and feeling like a fish out of water among a sea of 20-year-olds fills them with horror. But they still want to throw shapes while listening to decent music – and get home in time to pay the babysitter.
Now fortysomethings and former rave and indie kids have somewhere to spend their Saturday night. The original one-nighter generation, which started in the early ’80s, are now 45 to 50-plus and the late ’80s rave generation are now in their forties. There are many people for whom clubbing was a way of life but are no longer sure where they should go.
Where do you go clubbing if you’re getting on, but still getting down? The Disco, set to launch in Carrickmacross on Saturday 8 November, is for grown-up clubbers who still want to throw shapes.
For people of a certain age, the prospect of a heaving nightclub, overpriced drinks and feeling like a fish out of water among a sea of 20-year-olds fills them with horror. But they still want to throw shapes while listening to decent music – and get home in time to pay the babysitter.
Now fortysomethings and former rave and indie kids have somewhere to spend their Saturday night. The original one-nighter generation, which started in the early ’80s, are now 45 to 50-plus and the late ’80s rave generation are now in their forties. There are many people for whom clubbing was a way of life but are no longer sure where they should go.
‘Older people still like good music and going out but they don’t want to be dancing next to someone who is young enough to be their child,’ says Maria Macklin, co-founder of The Disco. ‘Going to clubs when you’re in your late 30s or 40s just doesn’t feel right. People want to be with their peers.’
Maria and her husband Gordon Green were inspired to start the club after having attended a 50th birthday party. ‘The music was great and we danced the night away. However, we don’t want to wait for a party or wedding invitation to have the opportunity to go out, and so the idea was born.’
With an increasing number of older people going to festivals, especially ones such as Electric Picnic where they are encouraged to take their kids, there is an opportunity for a club geared up for this demographic.
‘Our focus will definitely be on the music and the experience, but the nature of that means that we’re aimed at a slightly older crowd,’ says Macklin. ‘Maybe I’d call it “grown up clubbing”’. It will take place every couple of months.
The Disco is happening at The Shirley Arms, Carrickmacross on 8 November from 10pm.
Admission €10.
