Two city nightclubs are set to get a new lease of life

By Katie Finnegan and Bernie Ní Fhlatharta

Two city nightclub premises are to get a new lease of life and will provide 50 new jobs between them when they re-open.

The Bentley at the top of Eyre Square opens its doors on Thursday while Central Park on Abbeygate Street closed its doors at the weekend for a complete overhaul and will re-open next month.

The Bentley re-opens in what used to be known as Cuba Nightclub and Bar 903 and will be operated by Dr Shane Broderick and his brother James, who are both in the medical field and who decided to open a late night premises as a project.

“We were always looking at opening a business as a project and we started looking at places around Galway. We saw a sign up in the window and rang the auctioneers and the rest is history,” said Shane.

‘The Bentley’ used to be one of the most popular entertainment venues in the West over 20 years ago and the brothers felt it would be a fitting name after running into legal issues with the ‘Cuba’ name.

“Everyone knew and loved Cuba and we would have kept the same name but we just couldn’t.”

While the inside of the venue is set to see a dramatic overhaul, the format of the club is set to stay the same, with different DJs and musicians spread over the three floors.

Meanwhile, the owners of Central Park have handed over the reins to a new team who will replace CPs, as it was fondly known, with a new venue.

The Electric Garden will not only be a club but a live venue for bands and a theatre of sorts for various events.

John Gillen, the new Creative Director, is son of Maurice, who with Declan Farrell established and operated CPs for 24 years. Though they will maintain their interest in the adjoining club, Halo, they are bowing out of CPs.

Read more in today’s Connacht Sentinel