No resolution to noise dispute at centre of Dublin nightlife row as case adjourned until March

The case will be back before the courts on 5 March.

LAST UPDATE | 19 Feb

THE HIGH COURT has adjourned a hearing involving Trinity Hospitality, owner of the property leased by The Hoxton Hotel, and bar-restaurant Yamamori Izakaya.

Trinity Hospitality is seeking an injunction against neighbouring Yamamori Izakaya over noise levels. The case will reappear before the courts on 5 March.

There has been significant backlash since news emerged that the company was taking legal action against the decades-old restaurant and nightclub, which hosts live music five nights a week.

Trinity Hospitality said last week it had been left with “no choice” but to seek an injunction, citing multiple complaints from hotel guests and saying it could not use around a quarter of its rooms due to noise.

Trinity Hospitality has consistently said it is not trying to shut Yamamori down.

In a statement issued earlier this week, Trinity Hospitality said the court proceedings are intended to “advance a testing and resolution process to reduce noise transfer into the hotel”, rather than to close the venue.

It also said that joint acoustic testing took place over the weekend and that it hopes this will allow both businesses to “continue to thrive”. The company has indicated it is open to contributing financially to long-term mitigation works within Yamamori.

In a statement, Yamamori said it found it “extremely difficult” to accept claims that the legal action was not intended to “curtail cultural or nightlife activity”.

Yamamori’s owners said that when the site next door operated as the Central Hotel, the space above the venue was used as a function room, not bedrooms.

“The current owners chose to convert this area into bedrooms despite our concerns, which were known to them,” the statement said.

They added that during construction works, Yamamori commissioned an independent sound report and provided it to the hotel to assist with mitigation measures.

The venue said it is now analysing technical sound data received from the hotel earlier this week.

A protest was held on Tuesday over the legal action. Many attendees said the dispute reflects wider frustration over what they see as the steady loss of nightlife and cultural spaces in Dublin.

The protest, organised by People Before Profit, took place metres from Yamamori’s entrance at Dame Court, with music blaring from speakers and chants echoing through the narrow laneway.