HE PROLIFERATION of gay establishments and venues in recent years is a sure indication of the vitality of Dublin's flourishing gay scene and the growing economic importance of the "pink pound". No longer consigned to the back alleys or concealed behind closed doors, exclusively gay facilities including bars, clubs, saunas, gyms and guesthouses are now highly visible in and around Dublin's burgeoning gay quarter.
Kevin Cunningham is entertainment co-ordinator of The George - one of Dublin's best known gay clubs. He welcomes this new openness and looks forward to even more gay-oriented enterprises setting up in the near future.
"I'm incredibly proud of the fact that The George stands on a main shopping street, fully visible to everyone," he says. "And yet there's no hassle - everyone leaves us alone to get on with running the business."
He points out, quite rightly, that this happy state-of-affairs couldn't have existed until relatively recently. "From what I've heard of the scene ten or fifteen years ago, it was very much underground and clandestine. You have to remember that the laws on homosexuality were only changed about five years ago. Even though they weren't heavily enforced, the commercial and business community usually doesn't like anything illegal in its midst."
Cunningham cites the increase in gay tourism as an indication of Dublin's growing reputation as a gay-friendly town. "Compared to London or New York, the scene here is much more homely," he says. "Visitors like the Dublin scene - it's relatively small, there's a nice community feel and everybody knows everybody. We're getting a lot of return visits from people who come back every six months or so, for a weekend."
The George has undergone extensive renovation recently, with the nightclub area virtually doubling in size, while a new club bar has also been installed. "It's a nice contrast," Cunningham offers. "Especially if you want a relaxing drink and don't want to listen to a DJ. We find a lot of our clientele use the place as a base - they come in early in the evening have a few drinks and go out to other places and come back later. That's the great thing about The George - we're very central with two of the major saunas within 50 yards while Parliament St, also becoming known as a gay area, is just around the corner.
FOREIGN VISITORS
The Boilerhouse at 12 Crane Lane, in the heart of Temple Bar, is Dublin's biggest gay sauna and this year celebrates its first year in business. Housed on all 5 floors of the building it occupies, the Boilerhouse features a full range of workout facilities with cardiovascular exercise machines, jacuzzi, sauna, steam rooms and solarium.
According to Richard Dobson, The Boilerhouse is one of the best known internationally, thanks largely to heavy marketing and advertising abroad. "We probably get a higher number of foreign visitors coming through our doors than most other similar businesses," he offers. "We're also very centrally located, close to all the clubs, bars and other gay business."
In conjunction with the upcoming Mardi Gras Festival, the Mr Boilerhouse contest takes place at the Music Centre in Temple Bar, on Sunday 24th May.
"It's a kind of a cross between the Rose Of Tralee and Mr Muscle," Dobson explains. "Six of the best known clubs will be entering their own finalists - so we'll have representatives from The George, Fresh, Mildred's at the Da Club, The Parliament in Belfast, Wonderbar and Playground in Republica. All of the finalists get free membership for the year and #100, while the outright winner will receive #500.
"It's a great night out," he promises. "There'll be all kinds of promotions and celebrities."
GREAT LOCATION
Dublin's gay quarter isn't confined to the George's St./Temple Bar axis. Across the river at 21 Ormond Quay, the Inn On The Liffey - a guesthouse which also incorporates, The Dock, a gay sauna - is doing a thriving trade since opening for business around a year ago. According to the exotically-named Oriel, who runs The Dock, there is now a small but growing pocket of gay businesses in the immediate area. "There's a bar, a shop, a guesthouse and there's another gay sauna opening up soon around the corner," he says, "although it'll be catering more for fetishes."
The Dock Sauna which also includes a steam room and showers, is open for over 64 hours over the weekend. "People often come out of the clubs and come down here afterwards," he says. "And on Sunday morning, men who are supposed to be at mass often come along to the sauna to spend a few hours. It's clean and hygienic - you pay your #8 in, and what you do is your own business. Everything is upfront and there are no rules, although there is an emphasis on safe sex and we have condoms available."
The Inn On The Liffey and The Dock caters for a wide variety of clientele including locals and regulars as well as tourists from abroad.
"We get a lot of clients coming across from England but they also come up from the country," says Oriel. "It's a great location for us and the views across the Liffey are fantastic. In fact 95% of gay businesses in Dublin are within a 7-minute walk from here."n