This time around I would like to share a few ideas and experiences of having an affordable gay old night out in Dublin.

Ok personally I think Dublin is a great city for the gay community. There are a lot of different venues for both the guys and girls to choose from and if you have at least four people you can get very affordable hostel style accommodation right in the heart of Temple Bar within easy access to all the gay venues.

The Front Lounge, Parliament Street has a mixed crowd and is a great start of the night bar. Two minutes walk from there is The Dragon Bar, South Great Georges Street, a very up-market classy bar with trendy decor which hosts a lively gay disco bar that attracts both guys and girls. Just a few doors down is The George nightclub. The George hosts different themes each night so no two nights are the same. Even though The George is predominantly for the guys, the girls do show up in numbers as well. To reverse this the venue Kiss takes place once a month in the Temple Bar Music Centre and although predominantly female the guys are welcome as guests. On the north side of the Liffey about a 15 minute walk from The George there are a variety of gay bars including Gubo, Yello and Venu on Capel Street and Company on Ormond Quay Upper. These bars have a mix of themes, lively atmospheres and friendly faces. All in all Dublin is very much a happening city for our gay community.

So on returning from the fair city’s glitzy lights to Newry, I find myself wishing that our fledgling community had a gay venue all its own. Although it is great to travel to Dublin, Belfast and beyond it always strikes me that Newry now a city with an increasingly cosmopolitan mix of communities and nationalities and a nightlife the envy of any town in Ireland north or south, is still without a gay venue or even a gay friendly one but that is maybe a quandary we as a community need to look into ourselves.

There have been attempts made to this end in the past and all have failed to be successful largely because of a lack of support within our own community. If a future event is organised I would appeal to the gay community within Newry and the surrounding areas – Please try your best to support it for the good of all our gay community!

The next NRC Meeting is in Ballybot House next Tuesday the 4th of October at 7.30pm. All are welcome.