Party-people power: the Irish LGBT clubs rallying for gay marriage

http://www.theguardian.com/music/musicblog/2015/may/19/irish-lgbt-clubs-gay-marriage-referendum

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DJ, writer and prominent activist for the Irish LGBT rights movement, Tonie Walsh, will always remember the first time he went to Flikkers, one of Dublin’s first gay dance clubs, in 1979.

“I was 19 and approached the disco with intense anticipation, excitement and trepidation,” he says. “Before decriminalisation, so much of the fledgling nightlife scene was steeped in taboo ... pre-1990s, clubbing was an inherently political act.”

Decades on, Ireland is a very different place. Tolerance for homosexuality is far higher (it’s certainly legal now) and the line between “gay” and “straight” clubbing has never been blurrier. But, as with many places around the world where truly safe spaces for the LGBT community are often lacking, the social and political significance of nightlife hasn’t waned.

As Ireland’s equal rights movement prepares itself for another watershed moment in its history – the 22 May referendum on marriage equality – the country’s clubbing scene has rallied together to campaign for a yes vote. Over the past month, nights such as No Shame Glitter Disco, Love Like and YUSSS have been working hard to galvanise as many young people to vote as possible.

On the west coast, club and performance space the Electric Galway (with the help of a dozen DJs, a drag queen and a street theatre company) threw an extravagant wedding-themed party to encourage as many young people to vote as possible. The event also highlighted the socially progressive and supportive nature of the international underground scene; renowned German DJ Prosumer and Berlin’s Panorama Bar residents Steffi and Virginia all played for free (Prosumer even donated his fee from a later gig in Dublin to Yes Equality).

For John Gillen, who created the venue with inclusiveness in mind and planned Confetti along with creative partner Mary Nally, the significance of a yes vote can’t be understated. “We have both gay and straight staff and customers and we live in a town where, in the last couple of weeks, two young guys have ended up in the river,” he says. “This is constant here, and gay people in Ireland are seven times more likely to attempt suicide. We wanted to go loud and large for those kids that may feel they’re somewhat different, or less. So that no matter what the outcome of the vote they’ll know that there is somewhere that exists where none of that matters.”

Irish music blogger Niall Byrne has also been working hard for Yes Equality, raising over €5,000 for it with two events called Vinyl Love. “There was an overwhelming positivity and, importantly for me, a space and opportunity to really talk about what needs to be done,” says Byrne. “This was my way of using my skills to best support (the campaign).”

For Cormac Cashman, the promoter behind some of Dublin’s biggest gay nights – Mother and Sweatbox, which both have a big straight following –the response to their Yes Equality events has been “phenomenal”.

“People want this to go through,” he says. “On nights where we push marriage-equality fundraising or awareness-raising we get a big influx of straight clubbers as well as our usual crowd. But the clubbing scene is already pretty cool, pretty liberal. Maybe this referendum will show that the country has caught up with the clubbing scene though, and is a pretty cool and liberal place too.”

While current polls suggest the yes campaign will be successful, 58% are in favour, while 25% say they will vote no, as anyone in the UK will hasten to tell you, there is always a degree of uncertainty when it comes to polls and public votes. And despite enthusiasm, it’s difficult to say how much of an effect the club scene will have persuading hardened Catholic no voters to think differently. “I doubt a no voter would be hanging out at a gay party,” admits Cashman. “But I’m sure they have mass early on a Sunday anyway ... ”

For Gillen, it’s simply a case of getting everyone in favour to show up at the ballot box. “A lot of our open-minded straight friends don’t realise that this is even an issue and just presume everyone is like them and it will obviously pass,” he says. “They need to mobilise their friends and families to actually go out and vote yes and we’re hoping the party will encourage that.” Electric are even running an event on 23 May (with a tempting offer of free entry to anyone that votes yes), pitched as a celebration of inclusivity regardless of the result.

As someone who has seen the LGBT and clubbing landscape change around him over the past four decades, Walsh feels it’s impossible to overstate its importance. “The role of clubbing and nightlife in bringing people together, raising awareness and, as we’ve seen up and down the country in recent weeks, with fundraising, is immeasurable,” he says. “The nightlife scene is all about socialisation. But there is forever a subtle politicisation at work.”

As for whether Walsh believes the clubbing scene can get people out to vote on Friday: “Only if they go home early on Thursday night,” he says.