''We wanted to bring something different to Tullamore'' says owner of 'The Phoenix 'Tullamore

The owner of The Phoenix in Tullamore says he understands a recent court decision which prevented him from holding a three day music festival in a big top in the Roselawn car park.

''We are disappointed, but we respect the decision. We wanted to bring something different to Tullamore,'' said Kieran Conroy.

At last Wednesday's Tullamore District Court, Judge Andrew Cody refused to grant a licence to Mr Conroy to hold the event. The judge said the Roselawn Carpark was not a suitable venue for a big top and it didn't have insurance for such a festival.

Residents of Roselawn had objected on the grounds that there were a lot of elderly people living in the estate and the big top was too near their homes.

Mr Conroy said he appreciates the amount of support he has received from the people in Tullamore and from local businesses. ''Other towns have big top events. But I do understand the concerns raised by the residents,'' he added. ''It's great to see the support from everybody. Local business people and our own customers have reached out and we really appreciate it. It's great to see that everybody was behind it and thought it was a good idea.''

But the show will go on and the event will now take place in The Phoenix itself over the St Patrick's weekend. The venue has a capacity for 850 people per night.

''We are hoping to fill that for the three nights. It will thankfully save our bacon and provide a fantastic weekend. We hope people can support us by buying tickets,'' he said. 

''The experience hasn't put me off. There are definitely things looking back on that we could have done to make the process smoother. We will hopefully look at other venues for next year and work with all the local authorities to make it happen,'' said Mr Conroy.

''We will deliver the best Paddy's weekend that we can. We have three big days, The Whistlin Donkeys on the Friday night. They are a fantastic group, they usually play in a lot bigger gigs, but they are happy to stay onboard. We will have Ruaile Buaile and the Highstool Prophets. We are hoping to provide a fantastic weekend for everyone. We are happy we are still working with the original acts,'' said Mr Conroy.

Looking forward, Mr Conroy said, ''we have loads of great suggestions. The Roselawn car park will never be used, by me anyway.'' he said. ''Tullamore needs more events. Emmet (Lynch) does a great one in the canal quarter and we benefit from that too. We will try to work with the council to see if we can deliver an event. People would have loved it. We will talk to the council, they are open to events in the town,'' he said.

The event takes place on March 15, 16 and 17.