Talk:The George, Dublin

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The George is Dublin's oldest gay bar and club. In the 1980s, it was a small discreet bar opposite a gay sauna that preserved the anonymity of its clientele. Today, it is a large venue located in the city centre on South Great Georges Street near the junction with Dame Street, one of the city's busiest thoroughfares. For many years, it was the only large gay venue in the city; however the improved economy and liberalisation of Irish attitudes to homosexuality in the 1990s resulted in a diversification of the Dublin gay scene that largely ended its pre-eminence. It began as a gay-owned venture, but is now one of a group of bars and clubs owned by the Capital Bars Group. It remains an 'institution', but has been overtaken by newer gay venues. The oldest and smallest part, referred to as 'Jurassic Park' by gay Dubliners, is very much a traditional Irish bar that is gay, while next door, the newer venue extends over two floors and regularly stages popular drag shows as well as PAs by Irish and international acts. Most of Ireland's best-known drag queens – Shirley Temple-Bar, Panti, Veda Bon Rêve – started at the George.