Reflections on the Archive: Drag in Dublin
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In 2024, drag and its accessory parts, including globally-acclaimed television programmes like RuPaul’s Drag Race, have become an integral part of queer life for many members of the LGBTQ+ community, both worldwide and in Ireland. As a result, it is no surprise that GCN has, in the past month alone, published as many as 10 articles focused on various drag events and drag artists, including a magazine cover feature exploring Dublin’s own Haus of Schiaparelli drag collective for queer people of colour.
GCN’s coverage of local and international drag, however, is no new phenomenon, with some of the first mentions of drag performances dating back to Issue 8 of GCN from September 1988. The article, penned by Tony Murphy, focused on a series of performances from Andre Adore, a London-based drag performer who brought his show to Dublin’s Parliament Inn from August 26 to 28 that year.
"The show started at quarter past ten, when a diminutive man got onto stage and started stripping to the music,” wrote Murphy. “Soon he was putting on make-up and a dress. With the wig in place the transformation was complete!
"‘Marilyn Monroe’ was on stage in front of us. There was even a wind machine to create that famous up-draft!!! While ‘I am what I am’ was playing, he changed into ‘Judy Garland’.
“After a ten minute break, Andre returned to give an impersonation of Shirley Bassey, with a massive pink boa. Another change and we have the man who took the stage at the start of the night’s entertainment,” Murphy continued.
Adore’s style of female celebrity impersonation was one of the hallmarks of drag in the 1980s, and is a facet that continues to this day, inspiring countless Drag Race challenges, including the now-famous 'Snatch Game'.
Following the success of Adore’s performance, the Parliament Inn later decided to bring more drag acts to Dublin, including appearances from Dame Roxy Hart and Bunny in October and December of 1988. Advertisements for Roxy and Bunny’s appearances were featured in Issue 9 of GCN.
Additionally, GCN frequently featured ads for Flikker’s Halloween Ball. Originally conceived as a drag ball, the annual event celebrated its 6th anniversary in 1988, the same year that GCN began publishing.
The Halloween Ball, was first mentioned in a GCN article titled 'Sin and Sleaze at Halloween', which predicted a busy holiday weekend, sharing that “gay bars and nightclubs in the capital city have planned for all kinds of funny, ghoulish and outrageous events to captivate their customers and ensure the party mood keeps flowing throughout the last, pre-Christmas holiday.”
The article continued, turning its attention to the “icing on the cake” of the weekend: The 6th Annual Flikkers Dance Club Halloween Ball. Pre-Ball Receptions were held at Dublin’s The George and The Loft bars, with the ball itself being held at the Irish Film Institute on October 30, 1988.
While the event did not feature drag in the way that it is presented today, the event brought out LGBTQ+ folks in every manner of fancy dress, including drag, at a time when the artform was not looked on in a positive, celebratory way.
