In August 2024, former minister for finance Paschal Donohoe was fielding questions from reporters in advance of the publication of a report from the Dublin City Taskforce. Donohoe insisted Dublin was a “great city to live, visit and go out in”. He made these remarks in the markets area of the city between Capel Street and Smithfield at The Complex, a large multipurpose arts venue for which he reserved special praise. “We are standing in an amazing complex that’s only opened in recent years that is an example of the change that’s under way in the city centre,” he said.

Cut to December 2025, and the website of that “amazing” venue declares, “The Complex has been given notice to quit on 14th January 2026 #SAVETHECOMPLEX.”

The Complex is the only large multipurpose space in the city of its kind. News of its potential closure has caused uproar among the arts community and audiences.

Dublin City is used to this cycle; a cultural space is threatened, and people immediately organise to resist its potential loss, launch petitions and throw their hands up in frustration. All of this happens in a city with far........

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