Olympia Theatre Named Hot Press Venue of the Year

The Olympia Theatre is the Hot Press Live Music Venue of the Year. The winners Maureen Grant, Kim O Callaghan and Noelle Fox (pictured) with Niall Stokes, were announced tonight as part of the IMRO Live Music Venue Awards.

Hot Press also made two special awards on what was a night brimming with good music – and great craic. They were presented to Coughlan’s in Cork and to Dolan’s in Limerick.
“There is a fantastic energy in Irish music at the moment,” Hot Press editor Niall Stokes said at the presentation of the awards, "with a huge number of brave and brilliant new acts coming through, who are ready to add to the already fantastically impressive success story of Irish music and Irish musicians.

"It is really important that these enormously talented emerging artists should be nurtured and developed. And great live venues, festivals and events are hugely important to that process. Which is why everyone in Hot Press attaches such importance to the Live Music Venue Awards – and why it is a privilege to present awards tonight to Coughlan’s in Cork, Dolan’s in Limerick and the overall winner of the Hot Press Readers’ Venue of the Year, the Olympia Theatre in Dublin.”

Meanwhile, the IMRO award for National Live Music Venue of the Year (via public vote) went to The Set Theatre, Kilkenny – which has also been the recipient of a Special Commendation from Hot Press in the past.

IMRO Chairman Keith Donald said of the awards, which are voted for by over 11,000 IMRO members: “This is our annual chance to give a really big thank-you to promoters and venues across the country. The work they do is invaluable, as young bands and artists can't build up an audience without them”.

Other IMRO winners in the regional categories were:

Dublin – Whelan’s, Wexford St.

Rest of Leinster – The Spirit Store, Dundalk

Munster – Levi’s, Ballydehob

Ulster – Allingham Arms Hotel, Bundoran

Connacht – Monroe's, Galway

Also nabbing accolades were Longitude for IMRO Live Music Festival of the Year and Other Voices for IMRO Best Small Live Music Festival.

This year saw the introduction of two brand new categories. The award for Best Live Music Crew was presented to the backroom team in Vicar Street; meanwhile, Úna Molloy (Turning Pirate) was presented with the award for Outstanding Contribution to Live Music 2015.

There were excellent performances on the night from hotly tipped Mullingar band, The Academic, the very harmonious Saint Sister and the very funky Rocstrong – who was the 2014 winner of the Hot Press competition The Big Break..