Feature Front Lounge -Memory Lane -Queer History

33-34 Parliament Street, Dublin -known now as Street 66 but remembered by many as the Front Lounge. Countless fans of the venue even still refuse to call it by its current name, keen to grip onto the memories too fond to erase. But how did a venue, which originally opened as a straight bar, come to be such a beacon for Dublin’s LGBTQ+ community? Alice Linehan did a deep dive into its history, looking at the good, the bad, and the ugly of one of the most impactful queer hotspots in the country’s capital.

Alice Linehan

t all started in 1995 after gay bar, the Parliament Inn, housed on the corner of Parliament and Essex St West, was taken over by new ownership. The venue was rebranded not only by name, becoming The Turk’s Head, but also by clientele, as straight audiences were now the target. Frustrated at being forced out of their local, LGBTQ+ customers held protests at the bar, including the Lesbian Avengers kiss-in in 1996, which immediately led to a ‘no gay’ door policy being implemented.

Resilience and adaptability are undisputed features of the queer community, and before long, it was decided that the show must go on, although it would reluctantly have to happen elsewhere. Migrating from the Parliament Inn, concerned parties stumbled upon the Front Lounge just metres away, and christened it their new home.

Having opened its doors in 1995 under the ownership of esteemed publican and restauranteur Jay Bourke, the Front Lounge originally had no intentions of venturing into the LGBTQ+ market. The venue was a relaxed jazz bar, and due to its quiet nature, apartments had been developed above the establishment with residents having a relatively peaceful experience. That all changed with the bar’s new customers, as Ireland’s queer community were frontrunners in bringing dance, disco, and beat-mixing to the country’s nightlife scene.