Went to see King Kong Company last week in the Academy (excellent by the way, if you ever get a chance to see em!). I hadn't been here since the days it was Spirit Nightclub, a long time ago. I hadn't realised what a really great venue this is. I like a small music venue that still has the feel of a bigger one. It's got an intimate feel, but still great viewing from all angles, especially if you stand up on the balcony looking down. One thing I did not realise til I went upstairs - there are two bars people! One downstairs which was craaaazy packed, and one upstairs which had nearly no one at it. Hmm maybe I shouldn't be telling more people... One thing that let it down was the toilets - they are tiny and there were queues all the way down the skinny little hallway. Not great. Besides that though, sound enough staff, and nice vibe. I'll defo be back. read more

Me and my girlfriend wanted to go see fantasm on saturday at academy 22/12/24 I wasted 80 euros on two tickets. The security that night was a prick to her for no reason denying her entry to the club because she apperently didnt look like herself in the passport picture. She is 23 years of age she even provided a secound id to prove she was infact 23 and they still denied her. Meanwhile drunk people and minors were getting in this club is known for letting minors in with fake id's. I got scammed they ignore you aswell I cant even get a refund I tried getting to them in ever single way. I told my smaller sister about the news she is 16 and she told me her mates got in the club that night and they were 16 and 17 years old i wouldent be surprised if they let even younger people in i read other reviews about this place and this is what they do they dont let people over the age of 18 but they let mionrs into the club yous are seriously fucked up in the head if yous think that is okay. read more

Cannot find any POC in their pictures....hmmm. Makes you wonder? Just check out the video and see how that "special effect" is carried out.

The Acadamy serves its purpose as well as can be expected as a music venue. The cloakroom is downstairs, but we needed to ask as there didn't seem to be any obvious signs, but we may have missed them. The toilets were fine, all seats appeared to be in place (it seems to be a thing with music venues that there is at least one toilet with no seat in the ladies) and were fully stock with paper (hurrah). But there was the customary blocked toilet (another thing I find with music venues....) you guessed it, I'm not a regular night club or gig goer. The bar staff were effecient, but it wasn't a packed gig. We were drinking cider and found that the cider deteriorated after a barrel change (my partner was at the bar ordering the second round when the barrel was changed), but they can't do anything about a bad barrel. read more

Impressive, intimate concert venue in the centre of Dublin 1. The Academy's main venue can accommodate up to 650 people over two levels - downstairs is for the plebs and upstairs for VIPs - what I wouldn't do to be up there with the beautiful people... As far as I'm concerned, The Academy is the perfect sized venue to catch a gig by a band of relatively mid-range fame. Possibly your new fave band that no one else has discovered yet, or a golden oldie that has resurfaced one too many times for most of its die-hard fans. It ain't no Croker, that's for sure, and there'd be a queue the length of Ireland and deathly jostling matches if a band of the likes of U2 were to attempt to play a date there. A wide range of bands finds its way to the Academy's main stage, including The Cribs, Amanda Palmer, Asher Roth and Beatles tribute bands. While attending a gig at this venue watch out for psycho crazy women who will threaten to batter you if you accidentally trip them over with your mad dancing style, and also for 'close dancers' - you know, the ones who decide that your dancing space is their dancing space... ewww!! read more

The Academy - Music Venues Near Me - Dublin, D

Super rude staff. Sent me and my friend out for absolutely no reason. Will not be returning and will be discourage others from going.

The Academy has a lot of gigs going on throughout the year, but I've only come here a few times for college parties. There are 3 floors with various events, but the top floor where I went is quite small but they have a nice stage for live music and an upstairs part to look down from. Entry is pretty cheap and they have some good deals on drinks in Fridays. There's also various bands that play here every week. It's located right near Arnott's on lower abbey street so it's easy to find. Besides the small venue size, it's a pretty good place for live music. read more

The Academy - Music Venues Near Me - Dublin, D

Academy two is like the Academy's cooler, more rebellious little sister. It's a tiny little place with a tiny little bar and a really low ceiling. Said ceiling is held up by twelve pillars with the stations of the cross on said pillars, which is weird, but is a throwback to when The Academy was known as Spirit and House music was pumped through the little sweatbox that is now Academy 2. Nowadays you're more likely to see indie and up-and-coming acts in Academy 2. I went to see Manchester Orchestra here a few weeks back and although the crowd wasn't that into it, the gig and the venue were great. You'd want to try and get to the front though because it is very hard to see stuff on stage from the back. Sucks to be short. read more

Yeah so, The Academy. When did that all happen, eh? The Academy on Middle Abbey St used to be renowned knack-box Spirit, which specialised in the bad trance so beloved of Dublin's soccer jersey-with-Fred Perry masses. Then, pretty much overnight, it had transformed itself into into a hip indie club. And they have some pretty good acts - Eagles of Death Metal are playing on the 25th of next month. I had cause to go to a sort of Spirit revival at the The Academy recently. After paying €10, my companion and I were greeted with a scene very much reminiscent of Spirit: half empty dancefloors, with howyas occupying the half that was full. We stayed two minutes, and then it was off to the Twisted Pepper with us. So, Spirit is not that terribly missed. One of the things that goes against The Academy as a live music venue, though, is that the main room is vast. Not in terms of square feet, but in cubic feet, if you get my drift. I'll elaborate. The dancefloor of the main room is a nice big size, but the ceiling is really high, so the room seems absolutely cavernous. If a band is playing and the room is in any way empty, even if it is over half-filled, it can still seem very empty and echo-y. It's still fairly good though, definitely worth a night out there. If you do go there, stick to the main floor. Upstairs is alright in that it has a bar and a few booths, but nothing really of note. Not up to much in "VIP Area" terms. And downstairs, when it is open (is it ever open?) - I wouldn't really rate, either. So yeah, stick to the main room. One thing I like about The Academy though, is that, as a non-smoker, the smoking area (or lack there of) is singularly unappealing, so your smoker friends won't have much of an impetus to stand out there all night missing all the good songs. Who'd want to stand out on Abbey St (and you're on the street itself so you can't bring your drink out) and have all the beggars and derelicts buzzing around you? So if you are a chain-smoker, perhaps The Academy is not for you. Otherwise, it's pretty decent. read more

The Academy - A load of emos outside The Academy. Notice knacks with JD Sports bags to left of frame. - Music Venues Near Me - Dublin, D

If you like the game Pac Man, Academy 2 is the place for you. It's a bunch of hipsters walking around in the dark, munching pills and listening to repetitive music. If the music doesn't make you crazy it makes for great social observation. There was Lonely Drunk Guy who kept trying to bum fags from my friends. I told him, "You're drunk. Go away." But once LDG latches on he will find you even in the ladies bathroom. Yes, he went there. It got good when Tripped Out Girl asked me if I knew where she could get pills. Being decent and truthful I told her no, but I was tempted to send her in the direction of LDG. If they met, LDG probably would have left me alone. But, LDG and TOG could have hooked-up and reproduced, shattering the foundation of society. As I was feeling generous, this didn't happen and you can thank me for that. When Moby Wanna-Be asked my friend if she knew where he could score some E I knew it was time to hit the road. Also, don't come here if you are looking to hook up, or maybe if you are. The lines of sexuality are blurred like a Monet painting. I was sitting at a booth with two girls who looked like they were really into one another, then bam. One of the girls got up and started dancing/practically having sex with nerdy-overweight-I-wear-glasses-and-watch-p0rn-in-my-mums-basement guy. It was probably the pills on her part, but I thought she was doing pretty good with her girlfriend. This place gets two stars because we got in free on a Saturday night, it's normally 8 euro. And, the drinks were all 3 euro. Pretty decent. Otherwise, I don't think I'll be back, especially if I have to pay. read more

So this is where the cool kids hang out nowadays. I remember when it was spirit, hell I remember when it was hotpress HQ... which all points out that I'm too old to go here... and that's probably right! My time at the academy was really to see a friend's gig, however a last minute line-up shuffle and the fact that the venue want all bands out by 10 means that I missed half of my mate's gig despite being early. This can't have been helped by the confusion I experienced at the door about whether or not I was going to the boxing - and confusion that such a venue had boxing, and whether one of the bands was called boxing! But less about that and more about the venue - we were downstairs in what must be Academy 2 if all the signs are anything to go by. The bar was shit. I apparently cleared them out of bulmers by having one small bottle. The barman seemed mostly interested in pointing out problems. "Do you want ice? we don't have ice" etc. A friend trekked to the bar upstairs to bring me back a pint and it tasted fairly horrible. Toilets, while not awful, certainly didn't meet the golden toilet brush standard. When you flush it makes a noise like a departing sea-liner - somewhat alarming! All in all I think the cool kids can keep this place! read more

The Academy is a decent venue for gigs, not too big not too small but I wouldn't even consider the nightclub part of it. Just not for me. The door staff is always friendly and they have recently added a smoking area to the upstairs section. The frustrating thing though is their bar staff! They are so slow, you could re-heel their shoes whilst they are walking. We got upstairs to the bar 10 to 9pm with the main act scheduled to play at 9pm. It was 9.15pm when we finally got served! We completely missed the first 2 songs, not cool if it's only a 70minute set. Yes, it was busy just before the band was due to start but the 2 staff was just slow, every movement was slow, completely avoiding eye contact with everyone waiting to be served. Very disappointing! read more

I've been here a couple of times and still have no idea where the bouncy house goes or what days it is up...regardless of if it is there, this club is a lot of fun and has great music. I think the price to get in varies by night and time, but drinks are always pretty cheap when compared to other clubs. read more

Night was very good and i enjoyed it but bouncers was very ignorant. i lost my ticket to clock room and bouncers let me wait outside in minus 2 degrees. i was so cold and i asked them wait inside, they didn't even answer me. i waited more than 40 min outside with t-shirt. Now they never gonna let me in. Because i tried to get my jacket. Bouncers was so angry when i took their pictures. This is my right to review. read more

Recently went to the Bootleg Beatles at this venue. The venue itself is a pretty decent place to see a band. I stood behind the sounddesk and has a good view of the band, and not far from the bar. Bar prices were reasonable as venues go. The negative part of the experience was gaining entry. My friend and I did not have tickets and were not surprised to have to join a long queue. What I did not expect was it didn't matter whether you had a ticket or not, you still had to queue. I thought this to be very messy and resulted in our standing in the freezing cold for nearly an hour. I'm sure the management could come up with a better system. Still, a nice, intimate venue, the band were great too. read more

Last night would have been the second time I would have visited the place, if it wasn't for the fact that the bouncers did tell me to step aside. There was a very small queue waiting to get in and half of it got rejected. If you do manage to get in it's nice tough. read more

I personally found this venue difficult to find the first time I was here as nobody knows where it is so you can't ask for directions! But it's a good venue, nice staff and the size is decent. Probably my favourite Dublin venue anyway read more

See all

Staff have amazing ability at treating customers with contempt but management are the real experts at treating customers badly few bad stories.. but one i will say is when i went for a cigarette, i was the only one in smoking area.. went back in ,, and the security guard wouldn't let me in cos I didnt have a stamp i said i was never given a stamp he said i should have got one i said how am i supposed to know about what stamping system of a place i don't work and have nothing to do with after much arguing , i was let in to get a stamp after leaving my phone.. but the door was closed, and stamp lady not there anymore so i went to the manager, who just coughed "don't know" in an angry dismissive / rude way.. and walked off as quickly as they could.. this place has really horrible staff AVOID LIKE THE PLAGUE read more

This was by far the best dancing experience i've had in the city since I arrived. The Academy costs 10 Euros a person, and on a Saturday night at 11 when they open, it's packed. I will warn you though, on this night the crowd was extremely young...like 18 years old young, but my friend and I didn't care, we just went for the drinks and music as they had many different levels of dancing to choose from. The decor on the inside was impressive, it had a circus theme and one level we tried had house/techno and the second level had hip-hop and rap (be still my beating heart). The hip hop level had video games on it and a lot of open seating and room to dance which was great. They had two separate bars with one being for cocktails only, the prices weren't bad and it was 2 euros to check your coat if you wanted. All and all I would go back again, though I would check what type of night it is going to be as sometimes they have live music and it's not a club. read more

The security at this venue are terrible. They don't do their job, instead of making sure everyone's safe they just stood in a corner, letting crowdsurfers be dropped to the ground. Then tried to drag 2 of us out for crowdsurfing without any warning and were unnecessarily forceful. Worst security I've ever experienced. read more

Went to it one night for shits and giggles the nightclub is horrible the floors are dirty and the acts were boring the atmosphere was strange fights could breakout in seconds horrible place truly. read more

I've been to a number of gigs at this venue now, both downstairs and upstairs in the "vip" area (right!!) ... overall its nice, the only issue is the complete lack of places to park your bum if you need to! ... theres a good sound system and the place is really perfect to get up close and personal with up and coming bands. Thumbs up! read more

Went there on Wednesday to see Marina and the Diamonds. I am not a big fan, at least until I saw this girl live. I felt in love with her songs! The venue was wisely organised, the room was small, so you'd easily see the stage from every angle. Also, the balcony was quite capacious. The prices were sky high, I left two jackets in the clock room and I been charged 4 euros for the pleasure of not carrying it around. Its a ver good place for gigs, I will defenetly comeback for more. read more

Sigh. I have come to realize there is nothing sadder than watching old men in mosh pits trying to relive their lost punk rock roots. However, if it has come to this, it must mean the music is so loud it has caused brain damage and the vibe is so incredible they may actually believe themselves to be 14 again. The Academy seems to be the perfect prescription for this. I have to admit, I have only been there once, and it was for the same reason as the 40 year old moshing men, to see one of my all time favorite bands. The music was so loud I swear I have permanent hearing damage, which is always how one should feel after a punk rock show. It is small enough to get see the band from pretty much anywhere in the club, which is nice. The bathrooms are nicer than almost any bathrooms I have used during my misspent youth, which as someone older than 24 is nice. I will definitely go back for more eardrum rupturing fun. Next time however, I will stay away from the guys recapturing their hoodlum days. read more

The Academy is the one venue when it comes to seeing acts that are not yet ready for the O2, so you'll find some fairly big names playing on one of the two floors. Thrown in is a smaller bar/club for some socialising in between shows. I do not like the setting (and the fact that pint prizes vary depending on artists and pre-sales), but with the closure of the Ambassador all rock bands that I like have stop over here when visiting Dublin. The Academy also hosts the monthly "First Friday"-event of Phantom 105.2. read more

Formerly known as Spirit, The Academy is one of Dublin's best dancing spots with four floors of nightclub, the music tends to be electronic, dancefloor euphoria etc. Known acts like Mika, Lilly Allen have played the Academy as well as other well-known celebritys. The club does have a reputation for drugs unfortunately so caution has to be exercised when leaving the club in the early hours and minding your drinks. However don't let this spoil a good night out as this applies to everywhere realistically. read more

Small enough, not bad but an employee took me downstairs and wouldn't let me leave. I missed the whole gig and got shouted at and when I tried to ask an employee why I was there I just got "I don't want to talk to you". Won't be back if they keep hiring aggressive eejits. read more

Great for gig and a double whiskey and coke. always had a blast when i went to this place.ahhh the memories..Big floor area and stage thou it will get packed when theres a big band on..Tke La Doors was the best..cheers huys , deadly venue read more

Bouncers and security were nice the coat check was a pain in the ass decent overall but not the best place to go in Dublin

This venue is really good would highly recommend going! Although bouncers are very forceful and will not let you in for no reason. Me and my friend decided to go after collage completely sober after getting our paychecks on a Thursday we were planning on buying all of our drinks in there, We both got refused for absolutely no reason and they told us to come back in half a hour so we did then another bouncer let us in and as we walked in the door the bouncer with the blonde hair saw us coming in and made us turn around and leave the other bouncers were asking him why because we were both sober he just had something against us so we went to a pub for half a hour to catch a drink and then went back again still not being allowed in for no reason then eventually at 2:00am they told us we could go in but at that stage people were already leaving so we just went home. Worst night of my life. If you are planning on going there make sure you have more then one form of ID and wear revealing clothing as if the bouncers don't like the look of you your not getting in. read more

Went to see Joey badass in this venue with a group of friends. We all had free tickets and guest list because our friend had been talking to Joey for a while before the show. We were on the balcony and a bouncer ran up and started yelling inaudably and aggresivly getting in my brothers face because he was standing on the wrong side of a barracade with one of joeys entourage members a couple minutes before, we laughed it off after my brother passively apologized and the bouncer walked away in anger that we didn't react in a different maner. The girls we were with were terrified and when I attempted to talk to management there was no one to be found to talk to except the "head bouncer" who laughed in my face and told me to go away. If my brother had have reacted in even a defensive way this definitely would have ended in violence provoked by staff. I work in the entertainment industry in Dublin city and I will be letting every promoter and performer know about this, not to mention joeys friends who I got to know on the night. For your safety and security, stay away from this venue. read more