HUNDREDS of people protested in Dublin last night in support of a venue that has been subjected legal action from a neighbouring hotel in an issue over noise.
The recently-opened Hoxton hotel on Exchequer Street has filed an injunction seeking to reduce noise transfer from the Yamamori Izakaya restaurant on South Great Georges Street.
The venue, which opened in 1995, also hosts late-night events in its basement.
(Image: Leah Farrell / RollingNews.ie)However, Hoxton leaseholder Trinity Hospitality claims that recent, frequent events held on the restaurant's ground floor have forced the Hoxton to close a quarter of its rooms following noise complaints.
On Tuesday night, protestors gathered outside the hotel, displaying signs in support of Yamamori Izakaya and dancing along to music played by DJs.
Among the messages of support displayed on the placards were 'Take Back the City', 'Fight Corporate Bullies' and 'Culture Vultures Out', with those gathered apparently seeing the legal action as an attempt to curb Dublin's social and cultural scene.
Closure is 'last thing we want'
In a statement, Trinity Hospitality said it is not seeking to close the neighbouring venue but wants to find a 'collaborative, practical solution based on acoustic testing and agreed resolution measures'.
It says that although the Hoxton opened in late 2025, the site has been used as a hotel for 140 years, while part of the recent refurbishment saw meeting rooms on the hotel's first floor converted back to bedrooms.
However, it says that while it was aware events were held in Yamamori Izakaya's basement, it claims that while refurbishment was being carried out on the hotel, 'late-night DJ-based events started in the ground-floor restaurant five days per week'.
A skylight from Yamamori Izakaya's ground floor opens into a courtyard beneath the bedrooms, says the leaseholder.
(Image: Leah Farrell / RollingNews.ie)Trinity Hospitality claims the noise from such events has led to the closure of bedrooms on the first, second and third floors, as well as complaints from fourth-floor guests.
It claims it took legal action over concerns that the matter was not being dealt with quickly enough but added that 'the proceedings are not intended to close Yamamori Izakaya, nor to stop it trading, or stop it playing music'.
"The Hoxton's approach is always about adding to the local community and collaborating with local creatives and businesses," read a statement from the leaseholders.
"Neither Trinity nor The Hoxton want one of our neighbours shutting down; that is the last thing we want."
'Difficult to accept'
However, Yamamori said the hotel's current owners chose to convert the former first-floor meeting rooms into bedrooms 'despite our concerns which were known to them'.
It said that during construction, it commissioned a report to measure sounds levels, which it provided to the hotel owners to assist in installing necessary sound attenuation measures.
It added that the sound levels recorded were 'considerably lower than typical late-night venues' and it has also installed a sound limiter to ensure the levels are not exceeded.
However, Yamamori said that despite seeking details of the hotel's own noise-reduction measures in November, it only received them on Tuesday after the injunction had been filed.
(Image: Leah Farrell / RollingNews.ie)"It is extremely difficult to accept the claims by the Company that it is not seeking to curtail cultural or nightlife activity, and that it would like to see us thrive," it added.
"Its actions are inconsistent with these sentiments.
"It is also hard to accept the Company's claim that it had no choice but to seek the injunction; it chose not to provide the requested information which would have facilitated a meeting between the respective experts immediately.
"The Company's claim that we have not engaged and have acted unreasonably is incorrect and should not have been made."
Yamamori added that it is now analysing the technical data that it had originally asked for in November last year.
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