Photos by Hazel Coonagh and Rob Kenny PR.
The George, Davina Devine says, is a lot like Coronation Street.
“Sometimes I feel like I’m Rita, in The Kabin, and I’m still selling Bon Bons all these years later,” the queen of Thirsty Thursdays tells me amid the venue’s 40th anniversary celebrations. “Victoria is like Ken Barlow; everyone’s a character in the street. The players will change, but Coronation Street is a constant in everybody’s life. It’s that kind of steady character that’s always been there.”
While her podcasting co-host Victoria Secret might not be too thrilled with the Ken Barlow comparison, it’s hard to dispute the fact that throughout its 40-plus years in operation, The George has played host to a glitzy cast of characters, who are proud to call the Dublin LGBTQ+ venue home.
Before they were stalwarts of the scene, however, the DJs and drag artists that turn the party on a nightly basis first encountered the club as ordinary punters, in search of a safe place to dance, have a drink and meet like-minded queers. For many of them, their first memories of the venue are not adorned with glitter, sequins and the steely confidence of a drag performer, but rather jitters, nerves and a fear of being spotted.
“Stepping through that door was such a major moment of that coming out process,” says Victoria, who first experienced The George as an attendee at the age of 18, shortly after coming out. “Before walking in, I was making sure there was nobody out on the street that I was aware of, and I also made sure there were no buses passing, which is ridiculous. I got in, and it was the lesbian community that welcomed me. They were the ones to introduce me to lots of people, they were the ones to tell me about different things, and I didn’t really know it at the time, but they were the ones keeping me safe.”
When you consider Victoria’s dynamic stage presence today, it might be hard to picture her nervous 18-year-old self, but that initial apprehension is a common experience for many of The George’s mainstays. It is an understandable feeling too, particularly when you consider the fact that in The George’s early days, Ireland was a very different place for queer people.
“Back then, homosexuals were criminalised,” says Shirley Temple Bar, who will celebrate 30 years of bingo nights in 2027. “There was a lot of shame. There was the HIV/AIDS crisis, a lot of people were sick and dying, there was a lot of stigma and judgment and very few representations of queer people in the media. It was very difficult for a young gay person growing up to find like-minded people.”
Back then, life for the LGBTQ+ community looked very different from what it does today, and so did The George.
“The George has expanded in size twice over the years,” says legendary performer Dolly Grip. “Originally, it was just the upstairs over Bridie’s Bar – what is now the cloakroom and the green room. It would get so jammed they took away the barstools at busy times.”
The bar’s modus operandi was different too. Until the year 2000, nightclubs in Ireland were required to serve a substantial meal in order to keep their late-night alcohol licence, which meant a standard Saturday at The George in the ‘80s and ‘90s would be unrecognisable to today’s regulars.
“The music would stop at midnight,” says DJ Karen. “The lights would come on, and they had to serve food – it was bangers and mash, sausages and chips, or a curry, and there would be about two or three people eating it. That was the law to get your dance licence until 2:30am.”
As the years went by, The George didn’t just get bigger and less carby – it evolved with modern Ireland, becoming a more diverse place, as the country itself changed.
Veda, who hosts Witchy Wednesdays and co-founded Poz Vibe Tribe, recalls how the venue went from being very white and Irish to a melting pot of culture, welcoming Ireland’s newest residents, from all around the world: “I’ve been in The George long enough to see all these waves of immigration, and to have friends from all these communities, and I think that’s really special.”
Being a safe space for people who have faced hostility for their identity is an important part of The George’s fabric.
“It’s great to see how many queer people have made Ireland their home,” says Victoria. “I’m perfectly aware that some of them have come from places where it’s really difficult to be queer, and now it’s nice to know that The George has given them a safe haven in their new home.”
As Ireland became a more accepting place to be queer, The George welcomed more and more people across the LGBTQ+ spectrum.
“The amount of openly queer kids coming in has increased drastically,” says DJ Ruth. “Every year, to see their fresh faces coming in is so special, and it’s great to see so many different genders and sexualities.”
Veda echoes this. “Gender diversity is so important,” they say. “We have all these nuances of the gender spectrum now, and to actually have terms where I can describe myself as non-binary, that has been a radical change in The George, and outside The George as well.”
While the club has undoubtedly evolved over the years, a number of facets have remained constant. For Dolly, the venue’s atmosphere is unchanged from when she began working there in the mid-to-late ‘90s.
“The energy has remained the same,” she says. “It always feels welcoming and has a familiar and distinct smell, not sure what that is. It feels like home.”
For Veda, the club’s devotion to platforming Irish drag has also been unwavering.
“I think a constant has been The George’s dedication to the art of drag,” they say. “We, ourselves, are quite a diverse family, we all have different needs, but The George has always been somewhere between a good parent and a kind ex-husband who can listen to everybody and come up with a workable solution about who gets custody. That magnanimous attitude of the people who run The George is why it has remained so successful. The George, at its core, wants to see the community thrive.”
In addition to platforming drag, the club’s ability to foster connection has also been consistent throughout its four decades in operation.
“That feeling people get when they walk into The George has stayed the same,” says Shirley. “Once you find your tribe, you can relax and you’re no longer ‘the other’. It’s always been a place where it doesn’t really matter who you are or where you come from or what age you are. It’s about acceptance and sharing your space with people.”
As Victoria notes, The George “has magic within those four walls,” and it is perhaps this magic that has facilitated so many strong memories for the DJs and performers.
A standout for many was May 23, 2015, when it became resoundingly clear that Ireland had voted yes to marriage equality.
“I was with eight or nine of my friends and we were optimistic, we felt hopeful,” says resident drag king Phil T Gorgeous. “But as the day progressed, I started to fold in on myself more and more. By the time it got near the announcement, I was almost catatonic sitting there. There was this deep-set fear that this was not going the way we wanted it to go. Eventually, when the word came in, I just completely collapsed in tears. I just couldn’t fathom that we were finally over the hump. Town was electric afterwards – it was genuinely such a magical experience.”
That day in May ranks highly in DJ Karen’s memories of The George.
“We had TV3 in there broadcasting live with Vincent Browne and Glenda Gilson, and we also had a drag show on while people were waiting for the results to come in,” she says. “Everyone was on tenterhooks and the place was on wheels. When the vote came in, people were crying, people were screaming, and people were cheering. It was very, very emotional.”
Another key moment in The George’s history was its reopening following lockdowns during the Covid-19 pandemic.
“The first time we were allowed to dance together after Covid was a standout memory,” says Ruth. “I was so lucky to be DJing that night and I started off with ‘Applause’ by Lady Gaga. To see everyone run to the dancefloor after so long without being able to was amazing. Seeing people dance together, sing and connect again – I can’t lie, it was a very emotional moment to see The George back again in all its glory. A tear was definitely shed.”
Lady Gaga also features prominently in one of Davina’s most cherished memories. “Lady Gaga was doing a gig in the 3Arena, and myself, April and Victoria all went, dressed as Lady Gaga, and we got on the Luas, and we got the whole Luas singing Lady Gaga. We all went back to The George straight after the gig, and the club was heaving. I remember performing ‘Bad Romance’ and the place went wild. The manager was like, ‘I’d never seen a reaction like that to a drag performance.’ The Little Monsters were hyped up, and it was just one of those nights where you can all come together through a gay icon.”
Victoria’s favourite memories are similarly chaotic. “It’s been so amazing to see the likes of Sophie Ellis-Bextor, or the Vengaboys, or Kelis perform in The George. Kelis practically took the roof off the building. And then on a personal note, I remember all the giggles that we’ve shared backstage, and all the madness. I mean, everything can go wrong, but sometimes that means it goes so right.”
Chaos and connection have indeed defined The George’s 40-year history, but what does its future hold? For Phil T Gorgeous, anyway, that will be a future shaped by community-led activism, which is why they began incorporating a call to arms in their performances over the last few years.
“Over the years, I’ve realised there was quite a significant disconnect between the interaction you get with the community when performing on the Pride stage, and the way you perform in the club,” they say. “More often than not, people don’t want to hear you waffling on; they want to watch me do drag. I realised, we are privileged as performers in The George to have that platform, and it doesn’t mean you have to restrict yourself to just performing. There is a microphone in your hand, there is a willing and ready audience who are now captivated, who you can now engage with, talk to and share important things. About eight years ago, we made a point of ending every Monday night show with that kind of moment with the audience. You’ve had fun, great, now let’s have a little call to arms, let’s have a rallying call, let’s remind ourselves why it’s so important to engage with your community and show up for Trans Pride, to be boots on the ground when it matters.”
A massive happy 40th birthday to The George from all at Team GCN; cheers to all the good times past, and all the ones yet to come!