A bustling Grafton Street came to a brief stop yesterday when an actress stood outside Bewley's to lead the crowd in a rendition of Dublin Can be Heaven.
People swayed back and forth and staff leaned out the windows to watch as Glynis Casson led the crowd in song about "coffee at 11 and a stroll in Stephen's Green".
Hundreds had gathered outside Bewley's to call for the rescue of the cafes on Grafton Street and Westmoreland Street.
However, it was more like a wake than a wake-up call, as singer Dav McNamara sang Cry Me A River and Bridge Over Troubled Waters.
Ronnie Drew of the Dubliners and actress Pauline McLynn also joined in the pleas for the cafes.
But, while speakers insisted they could still be saved, the campaigners admitted that the closure of both cafes at 6 p.m. next Tuesday seemed inevitable.
The shop and espresso counter at the front of the Grafton Street outlet will remain open indefinitely to honour the provisions of the lease, said Mr Cól Campbell, managing director of Bewley's Oriental Cafes.
Even if some last-minute rescue plan was miraculously produced, many staff had left, he said, and most of those who remained had other jobs lined up.
Mr Campbell said it was a sad time for staff, but they were very heartened by the hundreds of people who turned up to support the cafes yesterday. He has particular reason to be nostalgic because he met his wife, Ríonach, in the cafe.
After meeting Mr Campbell yesterday, the Dublin Lord Mayor, Mr Michael Conaghan, said he was very encouraged. He believed that some agreement could be reached within six months "whereby when we walk down this street next year and the year after and the year after, that we can walk in here and sample the great essence of Dublin, Bewley's coffee in Bewley's cafes". He said the city council, the Government and the Campbell family could work together to achieve this.
Mr Damien Cassidy, secretary of the Save Bewley's Cafes Campaign, said supporters had been left with an impossible task with such short notice to try and reverse the closure. "It's too much of a hurdle to climb and we are now at the 11th hour," he said.
Bewley's has stressed that next week's closures will have no imminent impact on the interior or exterior structures of the listed building. Should Bewley's leave Grafton Street entirely, the Harry Clarke stain glass windows will be removed and placed where they would be fully accessible to the public, a spokesman for the group said.
It is thought they might be installed in the Westmoreland street premises. The Campbell group plans to redevelop the building.
Campaign members will meet tonight at the Mansion House to discuss their next move.
The Green Party says it is tabling a motion calling on the Government to buy the cafes and franchise them to an operator.
