Chambers has been a safe place for queer people in Cork for many years now, hosting weekly drag events and becoming a haven for the LGBTQ+ community in the city. This September, in preparation for UCC’s freshers week, the venue received a complete makeover. All of the pride, posters and usual decor was removed with even the name being covered over to proclaim itself ‘Sinners’ on certain nights. This title is taken from the name for the student night that has been held in the venue every Wednesday as part of the venue’s regular schedule. That weekly invasion appears to have become a total takeover in an attempt to lure in more students and maximise profits.
This has left the venue’s usual drag performers and patrons in the lurch. One such performer, Krystal Queer, shared on her instagram that she had been given no notice that her main source of income “had been slashed in the blink of an eye with no compassion and no notice” as her show was cancelled for the following weeks. Krystal has since released a statement along with eight other regular Chambers performers announcing that, in light of the changes “We the Queens will no longer be performing in our former “safe space”.” A gofundme has been set up that is aimed at raising money to set up a new LGBTQ+ space in the city.
“We are all just kind of like where do we go now”
The UCC students union has come out in support of queer students and performers and has stated that the owner of the nightclub, the Rearden’s Group, “is a company not worth supporting and Sinners is a venue not worth giving your money to this Freshers’ Week.” The group is behind a number of other nightlife locations in the city such as Rearden’s Bar and the Secret Garden. Since Loafers closed in 2015, Chambers has been the only openly gay bar in Cork city and removing it has left queer people without a specific location to feel safe in. “We are all just kind of like where do we go now like where’s safe to go out and not be called slurs,” said Eoin, a 3rd year UCC student. “For the LGBTQ community it genuinely feels like we’ve taken so many steps back in the past week like it feels kind of unsafe to be outwardly gay.” This comes after a summer that saw the Cork City library getting repeatedly targeted by Anti-LGBTQ protestors seeking to remove and destroy queer books that they declared to be inappropriate.
The Rearden’s Group’s only statement so far has been to claim the change is only temporary but a change back is unlikely to be welcomed at this point by the queer community of Cork. As David, a 3rd year MTU student put it, “They’ve fully lost the Queens and the clientele.” On Thursday the 14th of September, a night where the regular Tipsy Thursday event was replaced by a County Colours jersey night, a peaceful demonstration was organised by the queer community of Cork. It took place on the courthouse steps across the road from Chambers/Sinners. In spite of the rain, a loud and proud crowd gathered to demonstrate that they will not be pushed to the side and forgotten about. Carrying posters proclaiming, “You can’t paint the gay away” and being protected from the elements by rainbow umbrellas, the Queens of Cork led this show of pride and power from the Cork LGBTQ+ community.
WORDS: Leo Callanan
