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'{{short description|Alternative disco club from Clontarf and Raheny, Dublin, Ireland}} {{Use dmy dates|date=February 2022}} {{Use Hiberno-English|date=July 2022}} '''The Grove Social Club''' was an Irish alternative [[discothèque]] [[social club]] which ran for many years in [[Clontarf, Dublin|Clontarf]] (1967-1975) and later [[Raheny]] (1975-1997), [[Northside (Dublin)|Northside]] suburbs of [[Dublin]], [[Republic of Ireland|Ireland]]. ==History== The Grove opened in 1967 on Mount Prospect Avenue in [[Clontarf, Dublin]], in [[Belgrove F.C.|Belgrove Football Club]] (from which the club got its name). It moved to [[St. Paul's College, Raheny]] in 1975, when the old pavilion was burnt down.<ref>{{cite web| url = http://www.dublinpeople.com/news/northsideeast/articles/2015/11/05/4108801-the-grove-was-an-essential-part-of-teenage-life-on-the-northside/| url-status = dead| archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20160523105548/http://www.dublinpeople.com/news/northsideeast/articles/2015/11/05/4108801-the-grove-was-an-essential-part-of-teenage-life-on-the-northside| archive-date = 2016-05-23| title = Dublin People - The Grove was an essential part of teenage life on the Northside}}</ref> The Grove was known as the Northside's original alternative disco, because the music being played there was different from anything being played in other discos in Dublin throughout the whole 30 years of its existence. (e.g. Creedence Clearwater Revival, The Rolling Stones, The Doors, The Beatles, Led Zeppelin, Yes, Jackson Browne, Focus, Deep Purple, Wings, Black Sabbath, Steely Dan, Golden Earring, Queen, The Eagles, ZZ Top, The Boomtown Rats, Supertramp, Guns N' Roses, Rory Gallagher, Fleetwood Mac, Stiff Little Fingers, Thin Lizzy, Sex Pistols, Horslips, Roxy Music, Joy Division, UFO, Genesis, U2, Bruce Springsteen, The Ramones, Whitesnake, Simple Minds, The Cure, Metallica, The Cult, Neil Young, Nirvana, Ian Dury and [[the Blockheads]], AC/DC, B52s, Pearl Jam, Talking Heads, plus many others). Cecil Nolan was the DJ for the whole 30 years at the Grove until it closed in 1997.<ref>[https://www.irishtimes.com/news/ireland/irish-news/cecil-nolan-dj-of-grove-social-club-on-dublin-s-northside-dies-1.4410915 Cecil Nolan, DJ of Grove social club on Dublin’s northside, dies] by Jack Power, Irish Times, November 16, 2020.</ref><ref>[https://www.independent.ie/entertainment/going-out/obituary-cecil-nolan-39804101.html Obituary: Cecil Nolan] Irish Independent, November 29, 2020.</ref> Cecil influenced the musical taste of three generations of young northside Dubliners, and shaped their record and CD collections as well. The list of Grove alumni that went on to successful careers on radio and TV is truly impressive, and many of Ireland's best known media personalities regularly wax lyrical about their time at the Grove and acknowledge the debt they owe Cecil.<ref>[https://www.rte.ie/culture/2020/1126/1181544-cecil-nolan-the-man-who-made-the-grove-groove/ Cecil Nolan the man who made the Grove groove] by Jason Duffy, RTE, December 18, 2020.</ref> ==Tributes and reunions== In 2001 Joe McElwaine began running Grove tribute nights at The Isaac Butt Venue in Dublin's city centre. In late 2004, he eventually persuaded Cecil Nolan to make guest appearances, hence these tributes became reunions and relocated to The Sheiling Hotel in Raheny. These reunions ran four times a year - Easter, Summer, Hallowe'en and Christmas, until the beginning of redevelopment of the Sheiling Hotel into an apartment building in Spring 2008. The Grove Reunions moved to Clontarf Castle, and continued to attract large crowds. The spirit of the Grove is also kept alive all year round on a website and on The Grove Radio Show, broadcasting every second Friday between 9.30pm and 11:30pm GMT on [[Near FM]] radio station. The show is dedicated to the memory of Cecil Nolan and showcases playlists and Grove memories from its listeners. Current presenters are Jennifer Roche and Brian Tucker with former presenters Peter Gaynor, Lynne Kavanagh & Sean Duffy. Playlist and show enquiries to thegroveradioshow@gmail.com A documentary, ''The Grove - More Than a Feeling'',<ref>''Last Days of Disco'', by Paddy Kehoe, Previews, RTE Guide, Sept 16-22, 2006.</ref> about the Grove was commissioned by [[Raidió Teilifís Éireann]] and televised in 2006, it was also featured on RTE on its 50th anniversary.<ref>[https://www.rte.ie/culture/2017/0822/899102-the-grove-turns-50-a-love-letter-to-dublins/ The Grove rules - Dublin's original alternative disco turns 50] by Jason Duffy, RTE, August 28, 2017.</ref> ==External links== *[http://www.thegrovesocialclub.com Grove Social Club.com] *[http://nearfm.ie/the-grove-show/ Grove Show on Near FM 90.3] ==References== {{Reflist|1}} [[Category:Raheny]] [[Category:Clontarf, Dublin]]'