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| O'Connor Square, Tullamore |
By Justin Kelly
A new nightclub and bar venture will open in Tullamore this
summer, resulting in the creation of more than 30 jobs. Located at Woodchester
House in O’Connor Square, Tullamore, the Phoenix bar and Coppers nightclub have
now received the green light after planning permission was granted by An Bord
Pleanála last month.
The joint venture is the brainchild of Eddie Brady, his
father Eamonn, and wife Elena. “This is very much a family venture,” Eddie
explained to InOffaly this week. “We have interests in several properties in
the Midlands, mostly in the pub and club trade, including Coppers nightclub in
Portlaoise.”
Eddie also ran Coppers nightclub in Athlone until 2013 when
he sold that business to concentrate on branching into the Tullamore nightlife
scene. “We have been using the name Coppers since establishing the Portlaoise
venue in 2007,” Eddie explained. The Killeigh man is well aware of their famous
namesake in the shape of Copper Face Jacks in Dublin, but insists that his
nightclubs “very much do their own thing.”
Coppers will be using the entire ground floor of the former
bank building in O’Connor Square, and works will begin in the coming weeks to
extend to the rear of the premises, almost doubling the size of the existing space
to incorporate the bar, nightclub, and large smoking area.
It is currently in
its tendering phase of planning, but Eddie aims to keep jobs local during the
building process. “We will be concentrating on the building phase for the next
few months before looking to hire staff for our venue,” he remarked.
As an Offaly man himself, Eddie would like to think that
most of the 30-strong staff employed by Coppers and Phoenix will be locals. “Initially
we will be employing upwards of 30 people but we would of course like to expand
on this if we move towards serving food in the future.”
Coppers and Phoenix have secured a prime location in
Tullamore, and Eddie admits that his family “fell in love” with Woodchester
House when they were viewing properties in the town a number of years ago. “There is almost a rebirth of the square in
recent years with new places like Robbins, Bake and Eddie Rockets opening
there,” he explained. “Hopefully our pub
and club will nestle in here nicely and add to this regeneration.”
Eddie is
aiming for further success with Coppers Tullamore, adding to the continuing success
of his other Midland ventures. “I would like to believe we will establish
ourselves as the premier venue in Offaly just like our sister venue is the premier
spot in Laois.”
The Phoenix bar, which was named after a social media appeal
for name submissions, will operate as a “friendly and cosy traditional bar with
a twist,” according to Eddie, and it will be open seven days a week. After some
appeals from potential patrons on social media to make Coppers an over 21s or
25s nightclub, Eddie revealed to InOffaly that he will in fact “be aiming for a
more mature audience.” “That’s all I can divulge at the moment,” he said.
The newest nightclub owners in Offaly are also aiming to
support local beer brewers, having already been in contact with craft beer
producers in the locality. “I am happy to say that we will definitely be stocking
craft beers. We invite all craft breweries, both local and national, to get in
touch with us. This is one industry we won’t be shy about getting behind,
particularly if they are local enterprises,” Eddie explained.
Eddie is remaining tight lipped about the opening of both
Coppers and the Phoenix bar, but vows to be open for business “sometime” this
summer. “I’m sorry I can't be more specific than that at the moment,” Eddie
said, “but we won’t be rushing things; we want to provide a top class place from
the get go.”
The plans for opening night are also “classified information,”
according to Brady, but “I’m sure we won’t disappoint,” he promised.
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