A 600 capacity venue and a HUGE new nightlife and live music space for Leeside

08:42, 23 Jan 2026Updated 08:42, 23 Jan 2026

The Savoy(Image: Eoin Shortiss/CorkBeo)

It once played host to everybody from The Rolling Stones and The Bee Gees to Indie icons The Smiths, Shane McGowan, Rory Gallagher and Run DMC.

Now The Savoy is coming back, with the inconic former cinema, music and nightlife venue re-opening after more than a decade in the dark, with the big first night on Valentine’s Night, February 14th.

Local promoters The Good Room are taking the big step of opening a much-needed new music venue on Leeside. Cork has been somewhat of a desert for bigger acts on tour, despite the best efforts of the very active Cyprus Avenue, which has a capacity of around 500.

The newly re-opened Savoy will have a capacity of around 600 and will be a multi-use venue showcasing the best of local, Irish and international talent.

It was first opened as the city’s biggest and most stylish Art Deco cinemas in 1932 and the building later found new life as an arcade and at the turn of the millennium as one of Cork’s most legendary nightclubs. Throughout the noughties, the Savoy was synonymous with late-night culture in the city, hosting generations of club-goers and live music across all genres.

The reopening of the Savoy will be led by The Good Room, who have built a formidable reputation for producing high-quality, ambitious and community-focused events, including Cork Podcast Festival, It Takes A Village and Island Drift on Garinish Island. The also promote live shows across the city at venues such as Kino, Cork City Hall and Live At St. Luke’s.

The Savoy was a legendary gaff for all who went (Image: )

The Good Room guys say; “Key improvements have been made to the Savoy to enhance its role as an intimate live performance space, with a strong focus on sound, sightlines and atmosphere. Alongside the main room the building will now house a second smaller venue in the upstairs lounge, broadening the range of live music, club nights and special events on offer with the venue’s new public entrance located on Drawbridge Street.

Savoy reopens on Saturday 14th February with a special opening night event, headlined by BoolaBoom, the super-sized brass and percussion collective renowned for their high-energy blend of jazzy techno and drum & bass. The night also features the fiery Spanish guitar duo Zurito plus The Leon Stax Equation, whose soul-driven sound is infused with psychedelic funk, with DJs Stevie G and Angi keeping the energy flowing late into the night.”