Gay / Lesbian Bars, Dublin

Located just across the river from Temple Bar, on one of the city's happening strips stretching from Parliament Street to Capel Street, Panti Bar is one of Dublin's most hilarious bars. It began life as a hot spot on the Northside for clubbers gearing up for a night of dancing over the weekend but a few years ago the bar was relaunched as a full-blown gay bar. The all-new GUBU was created by the owners of The Front Lounge, who put the same care into opening up the exciting, stylish and heady atmosphere of a gay bar to the straight community and making it one of the hippest spots in the city.

After GUBU went bally up, Ireland's greatest and funniest drag queen Ms Panti Bliss took over the reigns and successfully launched a new place for the queer and alternative. Theme nights are plentiful, as are patrons of every walk of life. Not to be missed if you like a bit of fun after the more traditional pubs in the city!

Dress Code: The usual urban rags will suffice.

The George is located on George's Street. It has two floors and a nightclub. Bouncers on the door. Very friendly crowd and lots of fun to be had if you want to venture in. Mostly male crowd. Stays open until 2am most nights. Sunday night is bingo night hosted by TV personality Shirley Temple Bar. Veda's drag show is a must see on Wednesday nights
01 478 2983

Front Lounge is located on Parliament Street. It is a very modern bar with nice plush seating and caters to both gay and straight. The ladies normally hang out at the back door, which is named the back enterance by the locals. Very relaxed atmosphere.

PantiBar is located in Capel street. The bar hosts a number of special nights including drag performances, karakoe and movie nights. 353 1 989 7777. wwwpantibar.com

Company Bar is located on Ormond Quay. Have karaoke every Sunday from 4-7. Admission is free. Tel: 8722480

Dress Code: Trendy clothes for the Front Lounge, and l guess anything goes in the George.. not to sure about sneakers or jeans..

Ive noticed that the reviews seem a little outdated

Theres :

The george - http://www.thegeorge.ie/

The Dragon - http://www.queerid.com/gay-ireland-directory/the-dragon-.aspx

Panti Bar - Formerly GUBU (owned by Panti the drag queen)

Front Lounge - http://www.worldsbestbars.com/public/venue_listing.jsp?categoryId=16¤tVenueId=15

Glitz - Tuesdays at Dandelions - http://www.welovedandelion.com/

Spice - Fridays at the dragon

War - http://www.totallydublin.ie/nightlife-preview-war-1964.html

Ive always found the bouncers very friendly and polite and ive been going out here for years.

Check out www.queerid.com for updates on the dublin gay scene

Enjoy and have fun xx

The George is suppose to be part of Dublin gay history, so I had to see what the fuss was about it. It was an interesting place that provided some fun. The night I went there was a cover of 8EUR, and 2EUR coat check. At first it was fairly empty but became pretty full once the night progressed. There was a drag show for charity that evening with two performers whom I took to be regulars. They were fun & cheeky, and pretty good performers. After the show, the bar played current Top40s & remixes for dancing. It was an excellent mix of song to keep the crowd bumping.

There are two levels with two bars, as well as an outside smoking section. The bartenders were pretty quick and efficient, and fairly pleasant. The restrooms seemed clean and were not packed like some club can be. Drink prices were on par with most other bars & pubs. The other clubbers were friendly and quite mixed. I doubt many would feel out of place here.

Overall, I had really fun time at The George and can see why it remains popular. Although I did not attend, Sunday evenings are said to a big night with Drag Queen Bingo.

Dress Code: No dress code.

Well, to most young people going to the George or Dragon for the first time I would say be careful because the bouncers are nasty! They try to humiliate you by stopping you for no reason and then laugh about it to get some sort of reaction out of you...

Thye are complete idiots! they're so rude and one of them kept pulling at my female friend's bra strap (he's newish, young, tall, dark hair, from S.Africa or Austrailia) and she was rly annoyed and upset about it! The manager NEVER called her back about the complaint either...charming! The club itself is good, but I'm sorry to say those DOOR STAFF have to be changed!

The head bouncer likes to give the orders to pick on certain people, so please be careful!

Dress Code: No particular dresscode

Wehn this bar was still called SoSuMe it was already very gay-friendly. Lots of revellers hung out here in the early evening before heading off to the George. This turned into a common thing and when it finally switched identity to Dragon, the bar had turned into the latest gay nightlife hotspot. It's now very much a pretty-boy bar, but everyone will have a great time here. The bar is huge (your typical Dublin megapub), so there's enough space to spread out. And even then it's jam-packed normally. There's a small dancefloor, an upstairs smoking area and the cocktails are lush!

Dress Code: The usual urban nightlife gladrags will suffice.

The George is Dublin is the 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.

It is two levels club. The entrance fee should be not more than 10 Euro - beers about 5 - 6 Euro. There is a dance floor but not a big one. However, it was enough place to dance, even at weekends. You may also see some shows in early evenings that finish at 10 - 11 pm and than start to play DJ.

This question keeps coming up in the Dublin board, I notice.... time to add a tip (saves me writing out the same thing over again! ;p )

The George is the Queen of the Dublin gay scene. It's this big purple building on George st (off Dame St). It revels in its own tackiness, but everyone loves it. You've got your pole, stage, dance floor where everyone can strut around and be FABULOUS. It's €10 admission on Saturday night.

GUBU is a bar in Capel St (Dublin 1) with downstairs basement where you can play pool. I like it here, it's more Gay-friendly than a total gay bar, but so what. They have various acts on at the weekends.

The Front Lounge is located between GUBU and the George in Parliament St, Temple Bar. I've never been in there, so I cannot say if it is any good or not.

Out in the Liffey is on the north quays near GUBU is a male sauna... it's more of a pick-up joint, definitely not as trendy as the George, Front Lounge and GUBU. All I'll say about Out in the Liffey is that if you can't be good, be careful.

The thing about the gay scene is that by now, EVERYONE knows each other and has the little black book entry to prove it.

Other bars and clubs have gay nights during the week, but the above bars are the main gay spots.

Dress Code: FABULOUS DARLING!!!

The Front Lounge is certainly one of the friendliest bars in Dublin. It combines a lively, modern and bright ambiance with what might be considered the most versatile clientele in the city. Modern/old-fashioned, young/old, gay/straight all blend in perfectly and it never gets rowdy. It sure shows how open and relaxed the attitude towards alternative lifestyles has become in this town!

Since the recent change of management there are no more piano recitals during the afternoon, but there's still the karaoke on Tuesday and the usual busy Friday and Saturday evenings. It's a great way to start the night or to gather with friends and to soak up the nice surroundings. Now that the bar stys open till late during weekends, it's definitely worth a try!

Dress Code: This is one for the urban crowd, in stark contrast to the trad pubs that are omnipresent in Ireland. It's not über-trendy, but as most people make an effort, it sure will be appreciated if you do, too!

The George is Dublin's prime gay venue but everyone's welcome to party here. If you're into this thing you can be looking forward to a good night out with extremely danceable music; and even if you're not, there's no harm in overcoming your initial objections!

The open and liberal atmosphere in The George is something that might surprise the visitor who just came from the Irish countryside, but it certainly is of major influence. It is this particular place that has played a big part in setting the trend for the acceptance of gay lifestyles in Dublin and indeed Ireland!

Thursday nights are good fun for all as they have a 70's/80's night (with a dash of 90's towards the end of the eve) and it's not very crowded. Fridays and Saturdays are very busy. The crowd is relaxed and cruisy and the music is very dancy.

Sundays are reserved for the ever-popular bingo and here's what www.wcities.com has to say about this: "Shirley Temple Bar is one of Dublin's hottest entertainment properties, and Bingo at the George offers the perfect opportunity to enjoy her acerbic wit and lineup of bingo stars. This hyperactive "schoolgirl" with a Eurovision fixation and personal fatwa against Boyzone, has rejuvenated Sunday evenings in the city; and the Bingo slot has become immensely popular. Come early or be prepared to queue. Fun and games start at 8pm."

Dress Code: Go for the usual: no track suits, no runners. People tend to make an effort so go with the flow.