Documentary being made about Offaly's last ever night club

BIRR native filmmakers Gary Hoctor and Nicky Larkin are currently making a documentary about Offaly's last ever night club, Melba's in Birr.
They started filming “The Last Dance” on Monday when they chatted to a number of people about their memories of nights spent in the night club, including pairs – friends, siblings, or partners – who told them their best memories together.
Gary and Nicky want to capture the spirit of Melba’s as a place where attendees laughed, danced, and built lasting friendships. They asked the interviewees to revisit their experiences and convey what made the venue special.
In a promotional video about their documentary the filmmakers quote this great quotation from The Lonely Planet: “This popular club gives a fine insight into the potato-and-stout fuelled mating habits of rural Ireland.”
“On the 3rd of May 2025,” the promotional video tells us, “Offaly's last night club opened for the final time. The closure of Melba's leaves a void. How will we connect now as a community? The Last Dance will capture the spirit of Melba's through the decades, through the good times and the bad, from boom to bust, and back...Interviews with patrons and staff, reflections on what Melba's meant to them, and to the town...charting the good times...and the (delightfully) bad dancing of the past 40 years.”
If you have stories, photos, or recollections, please contact Gary and Nicky by emailing mail to: contact@
hellocamera.ie.