Best of Dublin - SexyTadgh

For multi-hyphenate artist SexyTadhg, defying expectations is a daily exercise. Whether they’re boldly fusing audiences, artforms and genres; expanding the image of the ‘typical’ Gaeilgeoir; or overcoming personal anxieties and insecurities, the self-proclaimed “sexy legend”, born Tadhg Griffin, has emerged as one of the most thrilling and authentic creative forces currently operating in Dublin.

This summer’s festival season was “a big turning point”, Tadhg tells me, in terms of combining elements of their work as a cabaret performer, with their work as a songwriter and musician.

SexyTadgh, Photo: Kate Lawlor

“It was like these two parts of myself met,” they resume. “I was the last person on the ThisIsPopBaby stage at Beyond The Pale. I had my nine-piece band – so obviously we were making a lot of noise. Marc Rebillet had just been performing in a bigger tent nearby, so people just started coming in, and soon every space in the tent was occupied. To me, it felt like, ‘I’m doing something right…’”

In addition to a busy run of performances, high-profile support slots, and the release of their latest single ‘Ride The Wave’, Tadhg also found time this year to bring their acclaimed cabaret musical Television to the Dublin Fringe Festival, having won the Radical Spirit award at the festival in 2023.

Television Photo: Kate Lawlor

Despite clearly being a natural performer – who originally honed their craft in church (“At the height of my liturgical career, I would do more masses than the priests!”) – the Carlow-raised, Dublin-based artist reveals that their “anxiety still rears its head up sometimes.”

“But I’m very grateful for music and performance, because I have to push through it,” they continue. “There’s no other option, really. You just have to face it, and keep going. If I wasn’t doing music or performing, I think I’d probably be in a very different place in my life – and I definitely wouldn’t have experienced all these different parts of myself.”

By pushing beyond their comfort zone on stage, Tadhg has developed a sense of confidence that permeates through their everyday life too.

“After a performance, I’d sometimes think, ‘I’m so confident having little to no clothes on on stage –  but I could never really do that off the stage,’” they say. “But then I realise that I can do it. It’s not physically impossible for me to get up in a bikini, and get my body out – or even wear clothing that would be traditionally assumed to be for women.

“For the Fringe Awards recently, I bought myself this lovely, flowy, pink dress in a department store back home in Carlow,” Tadhg adds. “I wore that, and I felt so gorgeous. I don’t know if I’d be able to do that, had I not already pushed through that barrier on stage.”

As a young student attending BIMM Dublin, Tadhg first experienced the city through popular spots like The Workman’s Club (“It’s like the pearly gates for any 19-year-old coming to Dublin”) and Whelan’s.

“But when I first came to Dublin, I wouldn’t have really known where to go for queer stuff,” they resume. “Obviously I knew The George was there, and I’d gone there a few times. But I wasn’t really integrated with the queer community then – I was integrated with the music community, which is different.

“Over the years, my music – because it has such queer subjects and stories in it – has pulled me towards the queer community. When I got to perform at EGG Cabaret, it was like the colliding of that. I not only met a community of people who really liked my music, but a community of people who really liked me – and who I really liked back. That opened me up to being not just someone who writes about the queer experience, but is a member of the queer community – and a proud one.”

Tadhg feels particularly grateful to have spent these past few years “connecting with and mixing with the leading queer artists of our generation in Ireland” – giving a special shout-out to the likes of Anziety, Annie Queeries, and the Haus of WIG.

“There’s some fabulous drag queens who are pushing Irish drag to a level that has never been reached before,” Tadhg says. “I’m constantly blown away by the talent. Sometimes I feel like, if the general population’s respect for drag was higher, these people would be superstars. Because I’ve seen much less talented people with far more fame.

Street 66

“It’s so weird when you see another white man with a guitar singing a song in front of 80,000 people – and then there’s a queen dancing, singing, playing an instrument, having done their own make-up and their own costume, and it’s incredible,” they add. “I always question, ‘What kind of societal internationalised homophobia is pulling all these incredible queens away from the spotlight that they deserve?’”

Although a jam-packed schedule prevents Tadhg from attending, as a punter, as many events as they’d like, they’re inspired to see the diverse selection of event nights run by queer creatives in the city – from cabarets to Anziety’s Brat Rave events at The Grand Social.

Project Arts Centre

For a few pints, they’re also a big fan of Street 66.

“During the Fringe Festival, when you’ve finished your show in the Project Arts Centre, everyone meets there,” Tadhg says of the popular queer bar on Parliament Street. “It’s gorgeous, and is a really cosy, safe place.

“I really love Love Tempo as well,” they add. “And Grogan’s has great pints. Oh my God, I just love Drury Street. On a sunny Saturday evening in the summertime, genuinely, it’s the cutest thing – everybody’s sitting out having pints. I could even go there by myself, and just bump into a friend, which is the nicest feeling.”

That sense of community is especially important to Tadhg.

“I’ve been living in Dublin for five years – on and off, with Covid,” they tell me. “But this year is my first year of feeling like I’ve really put down my roots here, and have settled in, which is really lovely.”

Drury Street

Of course, they were also shocked to see the riots in Dublin last year – and the amount of hate and anger that’s been directed at immigrants and queer people by certain increasingly vocal groups. But in the face of that, Tadhg’s also been encouraged to see the queer community continuing to band together, and fight for their rights.

“There was this idea that, after the marriage referendum, everything would be a straight line, of more and more rights,” they reflect. “But it’s just not the case. The marriage referendum was a win, but each win is going to have to be hard fought when you’re starting from the underdog’s corner.

“So it’s important for us to stick together,” they continue. “And it’s really important that Pride happens, but there are smaller protests that need your support – that need all of the queer community involved. Some people get lost in their bubble, and they forget that a fight still needs to happen.”

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