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The land based bingo halls in Ireland seem to be fairing about as great as they are in the UK and that is not very good and yet again we have just heard the news that the Star Bingo Hall that sees at least 2,500 players walk through their doors each week is under threat of closure and demolition. The local community, staff and players are understandably up in arms over this latest shock development relating to their local bingo hall in Crumlin, Dublin.
The decision as to whether the Star Bingo Hall in Ireland will close its doors for the last time is now in the hands of the Dublin City Council, as they are the people who will ultimately decide if a planning application that has been submitted for new apartments, shops and a medical centre will be approved to be built on the site of the Star Bingo Hall.
It has been stated by the Herald.ie, that the possibility of this closure to their local bingo hall has come as a great shock to loads of players that frequent their bingo club each week. We know from past experience that bingo hall closures can have a massive impact on their surrounding community as they can be a place for people to go with friends for a fun safe night out and a place where they can unwind and have a chat without it costing them the earth.
The building that now houses the Star Bingo Hall has been used to entertain to local people of Cumlin for many years as it has been a skating rink, cinema, bowling alley and for the past 25 years a bingo hall! Sandy Coleman is the manager of the Star Bingo Hall and she had this to say about this recent development threatening the very existence of her place of work, "We have 2,500 customers a week. They come from all over, from Kildare, Meath, Bray, Tallaght and Ballyfermot. It's a popular pastime for them. Seventy per cent of these women here don't drink, so this is their outlet."
Lots of their bingo players had something to say on the matter and Bridget Lynch, who apparently is known as “Mrs Bingo” in the Star Bingo Club had this to say, “I'd be dead and buried if it went, I've won the jackpot umpteen times. This is my home. I'd die from loneliness if it went." This was the general consensus from all the players that made comments relating to this possible closure.
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