New code of practice for Dublin buskers

Buskers and street performers in Dublin have come up with a new voluntary code of practice which they developed in collaboration with local traders and Dublin City Council.

The three-month pilot scheme is designed to find common ground between the performers, the public and businesses in the city. It sets out guidelines relating to issues such as volume, amp free zones, behaviour, crowd control and the sale of merchandise.

The capital's art officer Ray Yeates, who described busking and street performance as part of the fabric of Dublin, said that the council would review the code in three month's time.

Over the years, many of Dublin's buskers have gone on to achieve international fame, as immortalised in John Carney's 2006 Oscar-winning film Once.

The film’s star Glen Hansard and fellow-former Grafton St busker Damien Rice performed to raise money for charity on Christmas Eve last year. The crowd got an even bigger surprise when the musicians were joined by U2 frontman Bono who was passing by on his way to a family dinner.