Sir Henry's

Sir Henry's was a bar and nightclub on South Main Street in Cork, Ireland, which opened in 1978. Originally founded by Jerry Lucey, the venue closed in June 2003 with the building subsequently being demolished. The name is derived from Henry O'Shea who was a baker and building proprietor in the South Main street area of Cork city. The club was renowned for its Dance, Trance, R&B, Hip Hop and a regular live rock.

Early years

Sir Henrys was a rock bar for many of its early years, a large video screen in front of the stage showed rock videos for customers. It also served food for a period of time from its small kitchen before this was closed in favour of additional bar space and cloakroom facilities.

Many of Ireland's up-and-coming young bands performed here[1] and the 'Battle of the Bands' was held there for a number of years where unsigned talent competed for a recording contract. Artists that performed there over these years included Phil Lynott, John Martyn, ex-Clash Mick Jones' Big Audio Dynamite, The Pogues and The Sisters of Mercy under their pseudonym "Speed Kings".

On August 20, 1991, Sir Henry's hosted Sonic Youth who were supported by the then virtually unknown band Nirvana.[2] Some scenes were featured in the documentary 1991: The Year Punk Broke.[3]

Dance venue

As dance music became more popular and the demand for small venue live gigs decreased, Sir Henry's became a venue for the "Sweat" night. Started in 1988 by Shane Johnson and Greg Dowling, this was to become one of the top clubs in Europe in the early 1990s,[4] supplemented with the addition of the Back Bar with DJ's such as Donkeyman (Mark Ring) and Stephen Grainger (Stevie G).

Three-night long weekenders, with line-ups like Carl Cox, DIY, Laurent Garnier, Shades of Rhythm, Justin Robertson, Jon Pleased Wimmin, Billy Scurry playing side by side.

Over the 1990s Sweat built up an international reputation, being variously described as "a gorgeous blend of underground house" (i-D), a "deep house frenzy" (The Face) and "the best music on that side of the Irish Sea" (DJ Magazine). The night was one of Muzik magazine's ten best of 1998/99 and was named best regional club on three occasions at the Smirnoff Dance Club Awards.

By the mid 90’s Sir Henry’s had become a house venue, playing host to some of genre's better known artists such as Kerri Chandler, Jovonn, Joe Claussell, Jerome Sydenham, Roger Sanchez, Glenn Underground, Boo Williams, Cajmere, Gemini, Derrick May, Kevin Yost, Migs, Rasoul, Fred Everything, Erik Rug, Harri, Needs, Calum Walker, Ralph Lawson, Charles Webster, Kevin MacKay, Herbert, DJ Deep, Mike Pickering, and Graham Park.[5]

Short independent films such as "120 bpm"[6] and "The House That Cork Built" recorded the club's place in Irish House music. Coupled with this was the emergence of Fish Go Deep (Greg Dowling & Shane Johnson) as one of the premier house acts in Europe. Their latest single, "The Cure & The Cause", recently hitting the top spot in the British dance charts.

The venue also hosted the well-known alternative awardwinning club night Freakscene for many years.[7]

In its final year of operation Sir Henry's also gave birth to what is now Ireland's longest running techno clubnight "Bastardo Electrico.

The venue was seen by many Corkonians as transcending nightlife to become an integral part of the fabric of the city and is remembered with affection. For example, Cork hurler Brian Corcoran devoted a section of his autobiography, Every Single Ball, to the venue, saying it was the only nightclub in which he truly felt comfortable.[8]

The flyers and posters, designed by John McMonagle and crew of Raven Design, were collected by regulars as souvenirs. The monthly 93 minute compilation tapes 'Sweat' as well as the yearly "best of" compilation mixes were also collected.

See also

References

  1. ↑ "Go clubbing in Sir Henry’s in Cork? They want your memorabilia". The Journal. 17 May 2014.
  2. ↑ "Cork '91 - When Nirvana came to town". Irish Examiner. 4 April 2014. Retrieved 9 April 2014.
  3. ↑ The documentary documents Sonic Youth and Nirvana's 1991 European tour. The list of cities are shown at the beginning of the documentary and it includes the Cork date
  4. ↑ "Marking 25 years since 'Sweat' night in Sir Henrys". Irish Examiner. 26 November 2013.
  5. ↑ "Kerri Chandler describing atmosphere in Sir Henry's".
  6. ↑ http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qzo42oScRfY
  7. ↑ Brian O'Connell (8 May 2012). "The club night that won't stop the beat". Irish Times.
  8. ↑ Corcoran, Brian (November 2006). Every Single Ball. Mainstream Publishing. ISBN 1-84596-200-1.