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Ireland's 'overnight' gay evolution
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Temple Bar at night. Photo by: Ed Walsh
Brian Finnegan recalled going into a gay bar in Dublin 16 years ago. He had to knock on the door to get in.
A man on the other side pushed a peephole door to the side and made sure Finnegan belonged there before opening the door to let him inside.
"It was like Prohibition," said Finnegan, who now is an editor of Ireland's gay news-magazine, Gay Community News .
But almost overnight, things changed, Finnegan said.
That change coincided with the so-called Celtic tiger high tech industry boom in the mid-1990s that propelled Ireland from one of the poorest countries in Europe to one of its wealthiest. In the early 1990s, more people were moving out of Ireland than moving in. By the late 1990s, the trend had dramatically reversed. The unemployment rate plunged from 15 percent to less than 5 percent. Jobs attracted immigrants, primarily from Eastern Europe. About 10 percent of the 4 million residents of Ireland are now foreign born. In the early 1990s, that figure was a little over 1 percent. In 2007, Rotimi Adebari, a man from Nigeria, became the country's first black mayor in Portlaoise, a city that is about 55 miles southwest of Dublin. The recession is hitting the Irish economy hard now, but few expect the country to return to the bad old days when the Irish were running for the exits.
Visitors will no doubt notice the immigration boom as soon as they arrive in Ireland. You're more likely to meet a hotel or restaurant worker who hails from Eastern Europe than you are to encounter one who is native to Ireland. While the faces of Ireland may look a little different, the Irish spirit of hospitality is not lacking in the Emerald Isle. Things are also beginning to shift now in the recession. More Eastern Europeans are returning home because work is becoming harder to find.
Below video of Brian Finnegan, of Ireland's Gay Community News.
Dublin's gay scene
For the latest on the gay scene in Ireland, be sure to check out the superb Gay Community News. The monthly news-magazine also produces a gay map of Dublin. This map is currently being updated and will be available on-line soon for anyone to download.
While you won't be greeted at a gay bar in Dublin by someone peering at you through a slit in the door, you may notice a small vestige from the underground days. Unless you are very obviously gay or a familiar face, you will probably be asked by a doorman if you were aware that you were entering a gay bar.
Irish people are known for their gift of gab and you will notice that when you strike up a conversation. They love to chat with strangers. There is seldom a hidden agenda, just a natural curiosity about other people.
By the way, despite its reputation for hard drinking and smoking, Ireland banned smoking in bars in 2004. Bars usually close during the week at 12:30 a.m. but most stay open later on weekends. Notwithstanding subtle reminders of its recent underground past, the gay scene in Dublin is open and concentrated. All the city's gay bars and nightclubs are within short walking distance of one another in a section of downtown near the River Liffey, adjacent to the trendy Temple Bar area.
The newest gay bar in Dublin just opened less than two years ago and it is already drawing big crowds, even on the weekdays. It's called PantiBar. It is owned by Rory O'Neill, more commonly known as Panti, one of Ireland's best-known drag queens. It's gay/lesbian mixed but attracts mostly gay men.
The George is Dublin's oldest and best known gay bar. It's on the other side of the River Liffey from the PantiBar, closer to where the other gay bars are clustered. When it first opened in 1985, it was a small, traditional-looking Irish bar. The old bar is still there and known to locals affectionately as "Jurassic Park." But now it is attached to a cavernous two-level nightclub that features dancing and entertainment. The George nightclub is very popular with lesbians at night, although the crowd is mostly gay male.
Just down South George's Street is the Dragon nightclub. It's owned by Capital Bars, the same company that owns the George. The Dragon is the largest gay club in the city, and the second newest, after PantiBar. Dragon built up a loyal local crowd, in part, because it didn't charge a cover to get in. It now, alas, charges 10 euros to get in on weekend nights after 11 p.m.
The Front Lounge on Parliament Street is a bar and popular lunch spot. The front tends to be more popular with lesbians and the back with gay men. The aforementioned Panti hosts a popular karaoke show every Tuesday night. As its name implies, the Front Lounge is a lounge type bar, with sofas and easy chairs throughout. It is a popular place for gay people to bring their non-gay friends after work or after dinner.
Dublin has two gay saunas, the large and modern Boilerhouse, on the edge of the Temple Bar area just behind the Clarence Hotel, and the Dock Sauna, about a five-minute walk from the Boilerhouse on the other side of the River Liffey.
The sights
The River Liffey cuts through the heart of the city. Several charming pedestrian and vehicle bridges span the river, the most famous of which is the pedestrian-only Ha' Penny Bridge, so named because it once charged a half-penny toll. Now it's free.
The best-known gay sight is the statue of Oscar Wilde (1854-1900). He sits reclining on a rock in Merrion Square near Trinity College, where he was educated. Reflecting his colorful life, the statue shows him in a vibrant green jacket with red trim. He sits on a perch overlooking the home where he grew up. Wilde was known for his wit and some of his best-known quotations are inscribed on stone columns in front of the statue.
There are a wealth of museums, parks, and even a castle within easy walking distance in downtown Dublin. The city offers a number of walking and bus tours that allow you to take it all in without getting lost. I took the City Tour Hop On-Hop Off bus, which runs every 10 minutes, allowing tourists to hop on and off at a sight of interest. If you prefer to do it yourself, you can download an audio guide walking tour of Dublin through the city's Web site, http://www.visitdublin.com.
Dubliners love their parks and the city is home to Phoenix Park, one of the largest urban parks in the world. It is a little more than twice the size of New York's Central Park. The late Pope John Paul II celebrated mass before more than a million people there in 1979. A papal cross marks that spot. The park is also home to the Dublin Zoo and the Irish president's residence, which looks a lot like our White House.
There are reminders throughout Dublin of Ireland's struggle for independence from Great Britain. The best-known symbol of that fight is a jail, the Kilmainham Gaol, where Ireland's political prisoners were held. It was also where 14 rebels were executed following the 1916 Easter Rising rebellion. Ireland finally gained its independence in 1921 under an agreement that allowed the U.K. to carve out Northern Ireland.
The Guinness Storehouse is a must-stop. It has been called a Disneyland for beer lovers. It is a museum that uses high-tech multimedia to tell the history of Ireland's most revered export. It sits in a converted old grain warehouse opposite the Guinness brewery. The top floor features one of the best views of the city from the Gravity bar. A free glass of Guinness in the bar is included in the admission price. If you ask, they will artfully carve out a shamrock in the foam.
Getting there
Aer Lingus began offering nonstop flights between San Francisco International Airport and Dublin last fall. The airline is a perfect way to get a taste of Ireland before you get there. The Irish flight attendants will charm you with the brogue on the 11-hour flight. They also make the announcements in the old Irish language that the country takes pride in preserving.
Continental, United, American, and Delta offer connecting flights to Dublin from all three Bay Area airports but you will have to switch planes at a connecting stop.
Don't even think about renting a car in Dublin. Traffic and parking are as tough, if not worse than, San Francisco. Dublin is a very walkable city. Taxis are everywhere. The city has no subway but has an extensive network of double-decker buses that go just about everywhere in the city. If you want to take an excursion to the emerald Irish countryside, a number of tour bus companies will take you out for the day and return to your hotel in the city. Depending on the exchange rate and how far you go, bus fare ranges from around $1.50 to $3. You can take an express bus from the Dublin airport to downtown for less than $10.
Click here for my previous article the top five free things to do in Dublin.
Click here for my previous article gay-friendly hotels in Dublin.
Click here for my previous article on gay-popular restaurants in Dublin.
Click here for my multimedia blog on gay travel to Dublin. Be sure to check out the first video. It was produced a couple of years ago for the Bingham Cup but it is an excellent and entertaining mini travelogue of Dublin.
Click here to go directly to the gay travel page set up by Dublin Tourism, the government-sponsored official tourism department. The main website for is www.visitdublin.com.
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