{{Short description|Gay bar and nightclub in Dublin, Ireland}} {{Use Hiberno-English|date=February 2024}} {{Use dmy dates|date=April 2022}} {{Infobox building | name = The George | image = Thegeorge.jpg | image_caption = | coordinates = {{coord|53.343747|-6.264655|region:IE-D|display=inline,title}} | address = George's Street | location_city = [[Dublin]] | location_country = [[Ireland]] | opened_date = {{start date and age|1985|5}} | website = {{URL|thegeorge.ie}} <!-- {{URL|example.com}} --> }}'''The George''' is a LGBTQ bar<ref>{{Cite web |title=Best Gay Nightclub Dublin {{!}} Dublin's Best Gay Bar {{!}} LGBTQ Nightclub |url=https://thegeorge.ie/ |access-date=2023-09-20 |website=The George |language=en-GB}}</ref> and nightclub on [[South Great George's Street]] in the city centre of [[Dublin]], [[Republic of Ireland|Ireland]].
It is one of Ireland's oldest and biggest [[Gay community|gay]] bars and is regarded as the best known gay bar in Ireland. [[South Great George's Street]] has historically been a popular location for gay men in Dublin.<ref>[http://www.independent.ie/opinion/analysis/uvf-had-no-need-of-british-collusion-for-dublin-and-monaghan-atrocities-124044.html "UVF had no need of British collusion for Dublin and Monaghan atrocities"]. ''Sunday Independent''. Retrieved on 8 April 2007. "The Garda report found that the man was a 'homosexualist' and was in Dublin because he liked to frequent establishments in South Great George's Street popular with gay men at the time".</ref>
==History== [[File:The George, Dublin close.JPG|thumb|upright|The George, Dublin]]
Opened in 1985, The George began as a gay-owned venture,<ref name=":0">{{Cite news |date=2023-04-16 |title=The queen of gay bars turns 25 |url=https://www.irishtimes.com/life-and-style/people/the-queen-of-gay-bars-turns-25-1.652871 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230920115615/https://www.irishtimes.com/life-and-style/people/the-queen-of-gay-bars-turns-25-1.652871 |archive-date=2023-09-20 |access-date=2023-09-20 |newspaper=The Irish Times |language=en}}</ref> eight years before homosexuality was legalised in Ireland. It was subsequently purchased by the group of bars and clubs owned by the [[Capital Bars]] Group and today it is owned by the Mercantile Entertainment Group who own several venues around the city including the popular music venue, [[Whelan's (music venue)|Whelans]].
Originally a traditional pub on the corner of George's Street,{{citation needed|date=February 2022}} The George was purchased by Cyril O'Brien who loved the atmosphere of the bar but wasn't quite so sure about the décor and thought the place could do with a revamp.<ref name=":0" /> In 1984 the area above the pub was transformed into a gay disco bar called 'The Loft', with the downstairs pub remaining as a straight venue. In May 1985 the venue expanded downstairs to the area now known as 'Bridie's Bar',<ref>{{Cite web |last=Dunne |first=Peter |date=2019-04-10 |title=The history of Bridie's Bar: One of Dublin's first openly gay bars |url=https://gcn.ie/bridies-bar-dublins-first-gay-bar/ |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230920120953/https://gcn.ie/bridies-bar-dublins-first-gay-bar/ |archive-date=2023-09-20 |access-date=2023-09-20 |website=GCN (Gay Community News) |language=en}}</ref> at which point the overall venue became known as The George. Eventually, The George became a dedicated gay bar.{{citation needed|date=February 2022}}
It was only the second bar in the city to be owned by a gay proprietor and to be opened specifically as a gay bar; the other was 'The Viking' on Dame Street.<ref name=":0" /><ref>{{Cite web |last=Casey |first=Jane |date=2015-09-18 |title=By George, Time Flies! : An Oral History Of The George |url=https://gcn.ie/by-george-time-flies-an-oral-history-of-the-george/ |access-date=2023-09-20 |website=GCN |language=en}}</ref> Prior to this point, the city had multiple 'gay friendly' bars, however these venues did not openly trade as gay bars or advertise for LGBTQ clientele.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Martin |first=Kevin |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=PwiWDwAAQBAJ&dq=Bartley+Dunne%27s+gay&pg=PT117 |title=Have Ye No Homes To Go To? |date=2016-05-01 |publisher=Gill & Macmillan Ltd |isbn=978-1-84889-582-9 |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |date=2013-10-06 |title=Rice's and Bartley Dunne's: Dublin's first gay-friendly bars |url=https://comeheretome.com/2013/10/06/rices-bartley-dunnes-dublins-first-gay-friendly-bars/ |access-date=2023-09-20 |website=Come Here To Me! |language=en}}</ref>
The George provided a safe space where gay people could socialise with their friends without fear and prejudice. Through the years, the bar continued to grow in popularity and post decriminalisation in 1993 there was an explosion of numbers onto the gay scene and for the first time The George expanded. In 1998, The George extended again into the building next door, which had originally been an Indian restaurant.<ref>http://www.thegeorge.ie website</ref>
For many years it was the only large gay venue in the city,{{Dubious|Hirschfeld Centre|date=February 2024}} however the [[Celtic Tiger|improved economy]] and liberalisation of [[LGBT rights in the Republic of Ireland|Irish attitudes to homosexuality]] in the 1990s resulted in a diversification of the Dublin gay scene. This somewhat reduced the club's prominence, although it is still a central fixture of gay nightlife in the city. It retains an iconic status in spite of competition from newer gay venues, such as [[Panti]]bar on [[Capel Street]] and formerly The Dragon, also on [[South Great George's Street]] and The Front Lounge on Parliament Street, with both closing as gay venues since 2015, and The Front Lounge having new management and being renamed Street 66 which continues to be a safe space for the community.
The original and smallest part of The George, referred to as 'Bridie's Bar', is a quiet bar frequented by an older crowd. Next door, the club venue extends over two floors and regularly stages popular [[drag show]]s as well as personal appearances by Irish and international acts. It is also home to some of Ireland's best-known [[drag queen]]s such as [[Shirley Temple Bar]], [[Veda Beaux Reves]], Davina Devine, Mizza, and Dolly Grip, [[drag king]] Phil T. Gorgeous, as well as a host of other drag acts. The venue boasts a drag act 'almost' every night apart from Fridays when the crowd are entertained by gogo-style dancers. The drag shows are "Win, Lose or Drag!" on Mondays, "The Dolly Grip Experience" on Tuesdays, "Witchy Wednesday" on Wednesdays, "Thirsty Thursday" on Thursdays, "Saturgay Karaoke" on Saturdays, & "Bingo with Shirley Temple Bar" on Sundays.
In June 2008, on the evening of the [[Pride parade|Dublin's LGBTQ Pride festival]], a hoax caller said he planted a bomb at the venue. The [[Garda Síochána|Gardaí]] evacuated the venue at 11pm until the all clear was given 90 minutes later. The festivities then resumed to normal.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.herald.ie/national-news/pub-bomb-scare-mars-citys-huge-gay-pride-festivities-1419176.html|archive-url=https://archive.today/20120909192306/http://www.herald.ie/national-news/pub-bomb-scare-mars-citys-huge-gay-pride-festivities-1419176.html|url-status=dead|archive-date=9 September 2012|title=Pub bomb scare mars city's huge Gay Pride festivities|date=23 June 2008|publisher=Evening Herald|accessdate=14 January 2012|location=Dublin|first=Alan|last=O'Keeffe}}</ref>
In September 2000, a 17-year-old student was raped in the ladies' toilets at the George on her first night in Dublin. <ref>{{cite web | title=Suspect in brutal rape 'is disturbed gay' | date=9 September 2000 | url=https://www.independent.ie/irish-news/suspect-in-brutal-rape-is-disturbed-gay/26256337.html }}</ref>
In May 2017, the pub was vandalised with swastikas and homophobic slurs.<ref>{{cite web | title=George Vandal Acquitted of All Charges | date=5 February 2018 | url=https://gcn.ie/george-vandal-acquitted-charges/ }}</ref>
==See also== * [[List of pubs in Dublin]]
==References== {{reflist}}
==External links== {{commons category|The George, Dublin}} *[http://www.thegeorge.ie Official website]
{{LGBT in Ireland}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:George, The}} [[Category:Pubs in Dublin (city)]] [[Category:LGBTQ culture in Dublin (city)]] [[Category:Drinking establishments in Dublin (city)]] [[Category:Music venues in Dublin (city)]] [[Category:Nightclubs in the Republic of Ireland]] [[Category:LGBTQ nightclubs]]