Councillors in Kilkenny have denounced a planned "pole-dancing" club in the city and called on the public to boycott it. Mayor Marie Fitzpatrick (Labour) said she had been inundated by complaints from members of the public who had been "phoning me and stopping me in the street" to express their opposition.
At the monthly meeting of the borough council, politicians of all parties expressed concern that such a club would damage Kilkenny's reputation, generate unwelcome media attention and attract stag and hen parties.
Fine Gael councillor Paul Cuddihy, a teacher at Kilkenny College, described the proposed club as "utterly disgraceful" and expressed concern that many of the women who work in such clubs are trafficked into the country to be exploited.
He said just because such clubs are legal does not make them socially acceptable, and pointed out that "it used to be legal to burn witches in Kilkenny or deny women the vote".
Councillors acknowledged that they may not have the power to stop such clubs, but agreed to write to the Ministers for Local Government and Justice to request changes in legislation to enable local authorities to forbid their opening. Fianna Fáil councillor Andrew McGuinness said he was "totally opposed" to such a "sordid venue" and that while "it may be legal . . . there is a point where money doesn't count and civil society and standards do.
"We cannot lower our standards or bend a knee to everyone who comes with 30 pieces of silver."
Cllr McGuinness added that "a strip club is a raw appeal to the coarse end of human nature" and he feared it would attract the "wrong element" to Kilkenny which is "trying get away from its title 'Stag City'. "
Deputy mayor Seán Ó hArgáin (Labour) said his concerns were "not prudish or old-fashioned" but that "adult entertainment is about the exploitation of women" and he pledged to personally picket the premises "to ensure it closes". He also called for the closure of an existing "adult" shop in Kilkenny. Cllr Pat Crotty (FG) said such a club is a "lawful business" and if councillors objected to it, "the remedy is to make a case to Government to change the planning laws".