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GUBU was
relaunched as a full time Gay Bar on February 26th 2001. The venue boasts two floors, trendy design and a relaxed atmosphere.
Downstairs has a relaxed chill-out area, with pleanty of seating. The
bar is a stones throw from Capel Street bridge gets its name from a
political phrase used by Charlie Haughey.
Reviews
Relaunch
Night - Feb 2001
Monday
February 26th was the date for the official re-launch of GUBU
as Dublin’s newest gay bar. The event was strictly invite only, I had
to do a lot of sweet-talking with the hostess guarding the door to make
sure I got in.
Inside,
the bar was decorated in true fairy tale fashion, dressed from top to
bottom with 100’s of rosey red balloons with pink streamers. Many
walked around in costume, including one raunchy barman, who walked
around in a short metal skirt and little else!
As
advertised there were ‘free booze’ (two of my favourite words) which
lasted for two to three hours (I lost count after my 3rd
Smirnoff Ice)
The
nights entertainment was kick started by Miss Panti, who was delighted
to introduce ‘the same old queens’ to Dublin’s newest venue. Panti then introduced us to ‘Jerry Singer’ (or Jerry
Minger – depending on who’s introducing her) – Jerry is an
interesting addition to Dublin’s scene in that she actually sings her
own songs, no Steps Choreographed dance moves for this girl.
Jerry also invited us to help out with a raffle on the night,
with the proceeds going to a local AIDS charity.
Later,
the stage area transformed into a dance floor, the DJ mixed 70’s pop
tunes with a dance backbeat, at times the music might have been a bit
too loud (a comment that’s been mentioned to me by people that have
attended the venue on other nights) At times I had to stretch my vocal
chords a bit to make myself heard. The bottom end of the bar wasn’t
affected by the activity from the top of the bar and those who just
wanted to chill could head downstairs, which was a much more relaxed
affair. Only a small number of people stayed downstairs, which had a
movie playing on a big screen TV.
The
toilets are also downstairs, on the night in question, they were
spotless clean, the architect was obviously a Doctor Who fan, making the
most of a small space, using mirrors, ceramic tiles and bright colours ,
which help make the bathroom look much bigger than it actually is. One
example of this is the urinals, which have little mirrors suspended
above each of them at waist level. Now, for the record, I don’t have a
favourite toilet in Dublin award but if I did, I would be tempted to
award the prize to GUBU (with the PoD and Belgo restaurant in Temple Bar
taking runners up prize).
Being
a Monday night, I didn’t hang around for the end of the night but
things were still in full swing when I was leaving (the snow storm
outside half tempted me to head back to the bar). I popped into GUBU
mid-week to find that it already has built up a bit of a crowd, which
can only increase over the coming months. by
Vincent - March 2001
Note:- The
following review was sent before GUBU's relaunch
Reviewed May 2000 by Sharkey
Gubu is very busy
lately, its not a nice pub to stand in but its very relaxing if you get
a seat, the pool table is a big hit with the crowd, there is even a
queue at busy periods!! The jukebox is also a nice touch with a huge
range of music. It doesnt seem to be a big hit on the scene infact they
may not even be chasing the pink pound anymore but there are always a
few queens hanging round wanting to escape the regular haunts.
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