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Past Client Testimonials

The work Dave and his team did for our Fitzmaurice theatre event was simply the best we have experienced in four countries. They were all professional to the core. We could not have asked for more thorough, supportive, knowledgable crew. Dave met us on the first meeting with a list of questions to better understand our needs. He took notes, listened well, made us feel at ease and created an atmosphere of collegiality and bonhomie that lasted all week.  Whenever I had a request or a question, Dave went out of his way to answer our needs with his knowledge and expertise. His ease of command of the space and the great teamwork of his technicians meant that our varying technical needs every day were handled graciously and with time to spare. In four years of creating this festival on three different continents, we have never had such a flawless run of shows.  Everyone felt taken care of and never did the crew or our actors find themselves at odds. It was miraculously harmonious for a festival!  The space was clean, well-furnished, every need we had was met.  I would recommend Smock Alley, Dave Halpin and his crew for any rental company who was looking for a place to land and be treated not only with respect but like family.
– Amy Chaffee, Fitzmaurice Voice Conference, July 2016.

I want to thank you and all the technical staff for all of your help yesterday with the show.
All of ye really are lovely people to work around and it made it a very easy, enjoyable experience so thank you for everything.
Alan Chawke No Borders Theatre Event, July 2016

Smock Alley Theatre was always our first choice for the reception. The deal was sealed when we went to visit the Events Manager, Conor Byrne. Conor was incredibly accommodating and helpful, and we just got a great vibe. We booked on the spot and didn’t look back. He was very upfront about what was and was not possible – and as a general rule he was happy to do whatever we wanted. We dropped off boxes of DIY decorations and centre pieces the day before the wedding, and Conor and his team dressed the venue for us. The serving staff were incredible – they were the warmest bunch of people we have encountered in years. Thanks so much for everything; we were absolutely delighted with the wedding. The staff were incredible -really going above and beyond. Food was great, service brilliant and Conor you had the place looking spectacular! Thanks so so much for making it such a great day for us.
Ruth Blayney Wedding, December 2015

Just a little note to thank you and your entire technical crew for all the assistance you made available to us before, during and after our production. Take a bow. Thanks also to the Front of House crew, you all outdid yourselves.
Mike Donoghue, Aisteoirí Bulfin December 2015

It was simply incredible and I cannot believe that the small thought that crept into my head 7 years ago actually happened!
Niamh Fitzpatrick Wedding, August 2015

Thank you so much Smock Alley for your help from the beginning of our day and all the way through. The team really were amazing. I loved every second of it and you and your staff made it so easy. Every guest was blown away by the venue and the staff… It was fantastic!!
Sandra Kelly Wedding, September 2015

Smock Alley’s beautiful room and great location in the city was what first attracted us. The staff were easy to deal with, and Conor thought of things that we hadn’t, and made really helpful suggestions. A lot of our guests said what a great venue it was, and everything was great on the day – the staff were organised, the food was lovely, and we had a brilliant time!
Caroline Anderson Wedding, 2015

As a collection of event spaces Smock Alley is one of a kind – a truly unique venue with so much character.
It was however the great nature and attentive attitude of your staff that helped in large part to make our day such a resounding success.
Please extend a special thanks to Paul Clune, who was a pleasure to work with and absolutely nailed the food on the night. We were told as much by a lot of our guests (and we agree) so he comes highly recommended!
That said, everyone from the management to tech support were fantastic to deal with so THANK YOU ALL for the hard work a dedication along the way.
You took the stress out of our wedding, making the whole experience seamless and memorable for all the right reasons.
Tony & Ailish O’Brien Wedding 2015

Smock Alley is a magical location for a wedding! Our winter wedding ceremony was everything we hoped it would be and this was all thanks to Conor and the team at Smock Alley. We wanted a relaxed, romantic and fun ceremony and that is what they gave us as they made it totally stress free with their professional, efficient and friendly service. The banquet hall is a beautiful space and this meant that we didn’t need much to decorate the room. The room spoke for itself. The venue was able to accommodate our wishes for a home brew and prosecco reception in the banquet hall after the ceremony. Our guests repeatedly commented on how stunning the venue was. Thank you so much to Conor and the staff for giving us a fantastic day to remember.
Silje and Brian – Winter Wedding 2014

“To all the staff at Smock Alley, you should be very proud for the level of efficiency, professionalism, calmness and grace to which you performed on the day. The direction given to our guests, wedding party and those there to help make the day, was done so effortlessly and is a real testament to good management and organisation. Our sincere thanks and well done to all!
The venue of Smock Alley itself was an easy choice for us, having all the atmosphere of a church was such a lovely bonus, but then being able to tailor our ceremony to be more of a performance meant it was a very special day for all of us there.
The city centre location was fantastic, with Jury’s car park literally 2 minutes walk away, it really helped our guests.
Overall I have to say, fantastic wedding venue!”
Ruth & Daniel, Aug 2015
“On behalf of the organisers of the fifth International Spenser Society, I want to thank you and all your staff (especially the chef and waiting staff) for the wonderful evening we had in Smock Alley last week. The room looked wonderful and the occasion was utterly memorable – not least because of the excellent food, which drew comments from many of the delegates.
You really did us proud and we thank you sincerely for your assiduous care of every last detail” – Jane Grogan, 28th June 2015.

 

“I just wanted to say a big THANK YOU to all for your hard work and attentiveness. Your staff are so patient, professional, and pleasant to work with. We hope to see you again soon!” – Georgia, Gillian, and all the kids, teachers, and parents from ITW, May 2015

 

“I’ve used Smock Alley for several events. There’s a great variety of space options and the city centre location is really accessible.” – Ruairí McKiernan, Writer, Campaigner and Social Innovator, Feb 2015

 

“Your staff, crew and your good self are nothing but a credit to the theatre and well Irish folk in general. Each member of my crew mentioned to me how welcome we felt last week, how well we were looked after and how beautiful the theatre is. Thank you so very much for our first visit to Smock Alley!” – Kieran Griffiths, Creative Producer, Derry Playhouse, Over The Wire, Jan 2015

 

“We hired Smock Alley’s Boy School Theatre for a two-day training event and had a fantastic experience. The staff were friendly, the venue was beautiful, and the catering was perfect. Our attendees gave us great feedback having loved being in a unique and spacious venue. We will certainly use Smock Alley again for future events.” – Billy Hill, One, Jan 2015

 

“Everyone was really impressed with the venue and I’d especially like to single out the front of house/box office team and Gabriel for being absolutely fantastic.  So result all round…Hurrah!!!” – Colm Ó Foghlú, Composer, The Star of Bethleham & The Island Lullaby, Jan 2015

 

“The venue was a big hit with the attendees and everyone was really complimentary about it. The general consensus was that the venue made our event all the more intimate which was perfect for discussions and speaker audience interaction. Food was top quality too so please pass this on the Paul. All the Smock Alley staff were good natured, helpful and easy to get on with which always makes for a smoother event. Please thank Dave and Damien for their excellent tech support and flexibility in getting things up and running.” – Odile Le Bolloch, EPA, Decemeber 2014

 

“Thank you for the brilliant experience with Smock Alley Theatre, the crew, the actors and all the feedback from the audience is that everyone really loved the theatre and had a great experience from beginning to end. It is obviously a beautiful space but some of the other comments were that the box office were so helpful in the booking and on the night, people loved that they could bring plastic cups of drink in with them, that comment I got a couple of times! We also had quite a young audience and a lot of them said they would love to go back to a show in Smock Alley and would never have really gone to a show previously. Would love to work there again. – Kate Sheridan, Producer of The Waiting Room, November 2014.

 

“What an outstanding venue and one with so much history! It was a pleasure to work with the Team at Smock Alley Theatre, they were a huge help in the lead-up to and on the day of our events.” – Jo-Anne Higgins, EIL Ireland, November 2014

 

“We had a great night and Smock Alley was the perfect venue to host our celebration.

Can you please pass on to the all your staff, and especially Conor, Emily and Barry, how pleased we were with the friendly, welcoming and professional service we got. We would have no hesitation in recommending Smock Alley as a venue to our friends and business colleagues.” – Anne Tannam – Brand Manager, Islandbridge, November 2014

 

“From the day we first visited smock alley on a scouting trip right up to the day of our event our experience of working with the team at Smock Alley was first class. Initially wowed by the beautiful Banquet Hall we were most impressed by the staff who were extremely professional, thorough and friendly at every turn. It was our inaugural event and the technical and events staff helped us picture the event there and offered ideas and solutions to problems that helped us run a really successful event.” – Dónal Marren, Marketing Executive at Jobs.ie on their JobJunction job fair, October 2014

 

“Hi Paul, a HUGE thank you for a wonderful evening at the Long Table Dinner on Tuesday evening and for your amazing support in the lead in to it! I cannot tell you how you smoothed the path to the event. Your suggestions for the sharing platters and service were so welcome and we somehow managed to turn a diverse range of produce into a really interesting tasting menu; that was SO enjoyed by all. Please convey a special thank you to Rachel and Cian for the stunning job they did – we really delivered on the promise we made on our invite of ‘delicious food, divine design’. Your service team,led by Katie, were fantastic – there was a really nice flow of relaxed service throughout the evening. Thanks too to Dave and Gabriel for their support and to all for the help with pack-up!” – April 2014

 

“I wanted to take this opportunity to personally thank you both for making our Finance & Technology Offsite a very memorable occasion.

Everything about the venue is amazing, the history, the architecture, the different contrasts that worked so well for our event i.e. the setting for the meeting in the main auditorium was intimate and having Neil on hand from a technician point of view was great. And what can one say about the Banqueting Hall, apart from one word ‘Stunning’. It was such a perfect location for the type of activity that we did with Dave from Team Samba.

Sometimes it’s easy to take things for granted, but if something goes wrong, that’s all you hear about but from my first meeting with you Cliona to the delivery of the event yesterday everything was to perfection. Please pass on my thanks also to Paul for the catering, especially for his turnaround in catering for my last minute request for refreshments and fruit in the afternoon and to the lovely friendly staff on the day, they were all amazing.

Thank you once again and I know that you will be hearing from us in the future, maybe sooner than you might think.”

 

“Thanks for all your help last Thursday, we were delighted with the venue and everyone loved it. Your staff were also fantastic and really helpful.”

 

“I just wanted to say how impressed I was with your courteous, polite and professional staff. They were unfailingly helpful, cheerful and patient. They inspired calm and confidence in me as a performer and so many of my audience also commented on how friendly, smiling and professional they were. People also really liked the very polished bilingual safety announcement. Thanks a million Smock Alley!”

 

“The delegates and my colleagues were so impressed with their evening at Smock Alley. The venue looked beautiful, the food was amazing, the service was top class and the entertainment, both during and after dinner was high quality, really different and just the unique, creative vibe I was after.”

 

“Once again we had a fantastic experience at Smock Alley.  I don’t think there is a venue in this city that is as warm and accommodating as SA.  Many remarked on the warm and welcoming atmosphere and certainly most were utterly fascinated with the spaces.”

 

“I just wanted to say thank you to you and all the team at Smock Alley for a great opening night last night. And also congratulations on opening such a beautiful place in such a difficult time.”

 

“I just wanted to pass on our thanks to yourself, and the various staff involved with coordinating our event last Thursday. Dave had arranged the room perfectly, and the bar staff were extremely professional and couldn’t do enough to help. We will certainly be looking to return to Smock Alley Theatre for future events.”

 

“The venue was amazing and totally inspiring. Everything went off without a hitch and we were so delighted to have the opportunity to host our event in your beautiful theatre. Please pass on our thanks to the front of house team as well.”

 

“Just to drop you a mail to say a big thanks for all your help on such a successful event last week.We had excellent feedback from the guests and the clients on the lovely staff, the yummy food and the beautiful venue. Looking forward to working with you all again ”