Drogheda By Night – Shaping the Night-Time Economy Together

Drogheda By Night 2025 is a trailblazing community engagement initiative led by Louth County Council in collaboration Drogheda Purple Flag, local businesses, community groups, arts institutions, and Drogheda residents.

The project invited people to help shape the future of the Night-Time Economy in Ireland’s largest town — using Commonplace’s innovative digital engagement tools to spark conversation, gather evidence, and inspire action.

Approach

1. A Visual & Local Story
To bring the project to life, Louth County Council partnered with Drogheda Photographic Club, whose striking night-time images of the town created a visual hook that drew people in.

2. Targeted Local Promotion
A local communications agency ran a geo-targeted social media campaign, ensuring that awareness reached the people who live, work, and spend their evenings in Drogheda.

3. Incentives for Participation
Partnerships with local businesses helped create an engaging prize draw — with three lucky respondents winning experiences and vouchers from the town’s hospitality sector.

4. Making It Easy to Join In
The survey asked simple, engaging questions, including:

• What would you like to see more of in Drogheda’s night-time economy?

• What are the most pressing issues?

• How do you hear about events and activities?

• What kind of live music would you like to see?

Results in just 1 month

• 4,952 site visitors
• 1,238 contributions
• 1,312 news subscribers
• 10% of Drogheda’s population reached — on a single survey.

Key insights & outcomes

Late-Opening Cafés – From Idea to Action
The most popular request for indoor activities was late-opening cafés. With clear evidence from the consultation, the council worked with local businesses to trial extended hours — hosting cultural events, open mic nights, and exhibitions.

Strong Support for a Local “What’s On” App
Respondents showed strong enthusiasm for a digital ‘What’s On’ smartphone app, highlighting the opportunity for a single go-to platform for events, offers, and night-time activities.

Informing future strategy
Heatmap functionality enabled the identification of a catchment area that supports future strategies for promoters and the demand for late night transport.

Why It Worked

• Striking local visuals that made the project recognisable and shareable.

• Partnership-driven incentives that boosted engagement.

• Evidence-led decision making that turned community feedback into rapid action.

• Sustainable engagement loop with over 1,300 subscribers for ongoing updates.

What the client said

“Commonplace gave us more than just a survey tool — it gave us a way to listen properly, and to respond. The platform was easy to adapt for Drogheda — visual, local, and accessible — and the team were spot on in helping us shape the graphics and user journey to suit our community. It also made partnership simple: when a nightclub shared the link, we saw a surge in responses; when feedback showed a hunger for late-opening cafés, we were able to act fast with a local arts centre and a few brave café owners. Over 1,300 signed up to hear more, meaning we now have a real ‘you said, we did’ loop.

It’s not just consultation — it’s connection.”

— Mark Davies, Louth County Council