Very sad news.
Organisers of the Dublin Flea Christmas Market are “devastated” following the closure of the popular festive attraction.
The market announced on Thursday that it would have to cease operations after losing its booking with the Point Square Shopping Centre.
They said that they did look into alternative options for the market, but that the financial risk was too great for them to carry on.
They also applied for numerous grant applications, reached out to many organisations, individuals and public bodies for support, but to no avail.
In an emotional Facebook post explaining the situation, they described the situation as “unbelievable”, while also stating that they attracted 73,000 visitors last year.
It read: “So sadly we have come to the heavy realisation that there is insufficient infrastructure and support for an event of this type and scale in Dublin city.
“It is quite unbelievable that an event which had an estimated spend of well over €3.5 million, which received over 600 submissions from Irish-based creative businesses all over the country and attracted 73,000 visitors in 2018 can be closing down because there is nowhere for it to operate and no support forthcoming.
“We are devastated.”
They also thanked all of the customers over the years, saying:
“We thank you our customers for all your loyal support over the years, for turning up rain hail or shine, eager to buy Irish artisan, hand-made, designed and sourced products. Without you none of this would have been possible.”
You can read the statement in full here:
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