Safe Gigs Ireland: Searching for the country's 'Soundest Venue'

From innovative, community-focused projects, to zero-tolerance policies on violence and harassment, recent years have seen more and more Irish venues treating the wellbeing of gig-goers as a central priority – a long overdue shift that largely has the efforts of Safe Gigs Ireland to thank.

Initially established as an initiative of the Sexual Violence Centre in Cork, Safe Gigs have spearhead the movement towards safer nightlife and concert experiences right across the country – working closely with venues, artists, staff, crew, promoters and punters alike, in an effort to eliminate the threat of discrimination and sexual violence in the places we go to for a good night out.

The importance of Safe Gigs’ work was underlined in 2023, by the Central Statistics Office’s Sexual Violence Survey, which found that “the most prevalent location for sexual violence as an adult with a non-partner was a pub/club/disco, with 30% of men and 26% of women reporting this as the location of the experience.”

To recognise the efforts of the venues who are trying to bring a real positive change to Irish gigs and nightlife, Safe Gigs have announced the return of their Soundest Venue in Ireland award – launched last year, with Dublin’s Yamamori Tengu as the inaugural winner.

“The award is about recognising these venues for the care that they put into keeping people safe, and making sure that they have a great night out,” explains Safe Gigs’ Dola Twomey. “But it’s also about showing how simple it can be to do that. We want that to be the norm, rather than being the exception – which it was when we started out.”

Nominated by the public through social media, Tengu earned particular praise for their Night Time Monitor team, who have a visible presence at club nights, to prevent harassment and discrimination.

“It was a no-brainer, when we saw what they were doing,” Dola says of Tengu’s 2024 win. “This idea of having people as monitors on the floor is key to making a huge change. They’re there to mind people, and that builds a form of community. If you’re in an environment where you know harassment isn’t supported, then everybody can call it out a bit more.”

For Tengu’s venue supervisor, Vicky, the award felt like “a testament to the hard work of our Tengu crew, but also our amazing community”.

“Building a space that fosters the spirit of community, while also functioning as a safe space for people of any background, has been massively important to us,” she adds.

Venue manager and programmer Emma agrees that everyone who walks through the doors of Tengu “collectively looks out for one another.”

“We’ve built this together and we get a lot of positive feedback,” Emma continues. “We’ll continue to adapt and grow and listen to our visitors. At the end of the day, it’s about having good music and a sick soundsystem, creating a safe and welcoming space, and connecting with people. That’s what we focus on and will continue to focus on.”

As Dola points out, when it comes to nightlife, “we don’t just have to accept what’s accepted right now” – and creating a “new normal” is always a real possibility.

“We know people are in a very challenging industry, and people are busy, and this takes time – but it’s more than worth the time,” she concludes. “Places really have to decide what their venue is about, and what policies and procedures they need to keep people safe.”

To submit your nomination for the Soundest Venue in Ireland, message Safe Gigs on Instagram (@safegigsireland) – and tell them why your chosen venue deserves to win.