Where did Ireland’s queers of the past go to play, flirt and dance? Join us for a night out in Dublin for the history books.

Led by temporal tour guide Hana Laine Flamm, this walking tour through time and space brings you to Dublin’s formerly gay pubs. Here, real oral histories bring you face-to-face with Ireland’s queer history in surprisingly familiar places.

The years between 1973 and 1993 were monumental for change in Ireland’s queer communities; they are years bookended by the formation of Ireland’s first gay rights organisation and the decriminalisation of homosexuality.

This is the time in history we’ll travel to, following the paths worn by Dublin’s queer nightlife in the late 20th century, sharing the sites of quiet historical moments. These moments that equally shattered and built new worlds for Irish queer people: the first time going into a gay bar, the first time seeing two men in love, the first time experiencing queer affection.

Understand the importance of social spaces in Dublin’s gay history as beacons of safety, sites of resistance, and places for Irish queers to explore building their future.

Meeting Point: Near Tourist Information, Barnardo Square, Dublin 2, D02 DR53

Pre-Book Only

Assistance Dogs welcome
Easy Read information (designed for people with intellectual disabilities, people who can’t read well, and people whose first language is not English)
Other

This walking tour involves walking through Dublin streets – it is therefore not wheelchair accessible. We would be very open to feedback from the Open House team on how to make the tour more accessible.

The introduction to the tour will take approximately 10-15 minutes in Barnardo Square, the tour group will cross the street at the Palace Street crosswalk, then regroup outside Brogan’s pub at Crampton Court. The tour group will head east on the north side of Dame Street. The group will cross south at the east crosswalk at the Gay Spar intersection, then walk through the alley that leads to Dame Court. From Dame Court, the group will turn east on Exchequer Street, then cross to South William Street. There are no crosswalks, so the tour guide and volunteers (and audience members) will make sure to cross safely when there are no vehicles present. Walking south along South William Street, the tour guide will briefly stop to point out where Hooray Henry’s, the first commercially licensed seven-days-a-week gay nightclub, once stood in Powerscourt Townhouse. Continuing on to Stephen Street Lower, the group will again briefly stop at the former location of Bartley Dunne’s, the unspoken gay hub of the 1950s-1980s, currently the Grafton Hotel. The group will walk down Digges Lane to get to the next pub location, as it is a low traffic street. The group will arrive at the Thomas Moore Inn. The tour will then move to The George via George’s Street.