The owner of a language school has been losing business because excessive noise emanating from a late night bar next door has been disrupting students’ sleep, the Galway District Court heard this week after an objection was made to the renewal of a publican’s licence.
Objector to the seven day liquor licence, John Daly of 6 Ard na Coille, Maunsells Park, who owns an apartment at 1 Toon na Mara, Dock Road, and Thomas Patrick Sheridan, owner of Dock 8 Bar, at Niland House, 8 Dock Road, were both warned by Judge Mary Fahy to work together to find an adequate solution to the noise.
Mr Daly, who runs a TEFL language school, said that he bought the apartment five years ago but in October 2007 problems began and up to 13 students have so far been moved out because of persistent noise, people congregating outside, and putting drinks on the window sill. It was particularly bad between 11.30pm and about 3am on Friday and Saturday nights and his students couldn’t sleep and were fearful of people outside.
Mr Paul McGettigan, BL, for Mr Sheridan, said that his client had agreed to close down an entrance immediately adjacent to the apartment and patrons are now coming outside to smoke at the opposite end. He said there was also a security man who ensures that people do not congregate close to the apartment.
“The complaints keep coming. The last student had to be moved out in July. The room is lying idle,” replied Mr Daly.
Mr McGettigan then said that an acoustics enginneer, Mr Cian McPhee, had carried out an assessment and acknowledged music was audible. It was recommended that a sound limiter machine and soundproof cladding be installed.
Acoustic engineer Mr Diarmuid Keaney, employed by Mr Daly, said that the major problems were “sleep disturbance” caused by “amplified music” from DJs, and conversational noise. He said that he sees the premises “as a night club operating in a residential area”.
Mr Keaney said the the measurements he had taken on a Bank Holiday weekend were 10dBA over the World Health Organisation’s recommened maximum limits for sleep (45dBA ) and there was a “clear adverse effect on the apartment”. Mr Keaney said he would question the adequecy of the cladding insulation and that, in his experience, the sound limiter could be “easily bypassed” or disconnected. Mr Keaney said that a request for access to the bar was refused and that when he was requested to share his measurement methods with Mr Phee he refused as all his findings were in his report.
Mr Sheridan said that he only became aware of problems after June 16 of this year when a letter was received from the objector. He said that there were two apartments above the bar where there has never been a problem. He put procedures in place once he got a report from the engineer.
“I do genuinely try not to upset anyone. I never had an incident before, it’s a generally civilised place,” said Mr Sheridan, who added that the sound limiter which had been purchased from the UK will be installed as soon as it arrives and the proposal to install acoustic cladding was at the Planning Office and can be installed by October.
Judge Mary Fahy said that she would adjourn the case to October 22 as the court “was very reluctant to take away a person’s livelihood”. She warned that there needs to be a “level of co-operation from the two sides at this stage”. She also advised all parties to sit down together to work out a way to reduce the noise levels adequately instead of “trying to score points off one another”. Judge Fahy then granted Dock 8 a dance licence for Saturday nights only until the next hearing as this could aid monitoring of the noise levels.
