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RUINED BY A fire in the late 1980s, the Hirschfeld Centre had been the first LGBT community space in Dublin and was a home away from home for many young people.
Containing a restaurant, cinema, library and counselling rooms, on weekends it was also home to the Flikkers nightclub. The centre was integral to the development of gay culture in Dublin.
It was opened on St Patrick’s Day 1979, and funded by Senator David Norris. Speaking to TheJournal.ie at the site the veteran campaigner said the centre kickstarted the transformation of Temple Bar.
We ran discos not just for gay people – but for women’s issues, for environmental issues…[the centre] brought young people into this area, they saw the possibility and took short-terms leases and opened up second-hand clothes shops.
The centre was attacked several times, Norris recalled. There was even an attempted bombing at one point.
In response to a campaign from the senator, Dublin City Council has agreed to place a plaque at the site on Fownes Street where the centre once stood. Norris said it hadn’t been placed there yet – but that he was looking forward to its unveiling.
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Maybe David Norris should acknowledge how much money he made from the Hirschfield and explain the details behind the dispute. Why were the litigants silenced?
From the Irish Times:
Earlier the court was told Senator David Norris held a 60 per cent share of Hirschfeld Enterprises Ltd, which, in 1982 bought the property for £69,500 as a centre for lesbians and gays.
Mr Hayden told the court Mr Norris and a number of other members of the gay community had personally guaranteed bank loans to fund the purchase.
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Those who guaranteed the centre felt hard done by (by Norris in particular). Not the jolly figure he’s made out to be
@Goban Saor: more from the Irish Times
Mr Hayden said an attempted sale had fallen through because of the legal proceedings over ownership.
Mr Frank Callanan SC, counsel for the federation, said his clients believed that Hirschfeld Enterprises was a legal device to enable the purchase of the Temple Bar property, now conservatively worth £500,000, in trust for the gay community.
The federation claimed that as a charitable trust it had never been intended that the shareholders should obtain personal financial gain from it.
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We pay this man a large salary from taxpayers money, would be nice to see him doing a bit of real work for it instead of this kind of populist nonsense.
Good article … I’m
A DCC Councillor and I will propose the erection of a commemoration plaque which I’m sure will be well supported by DCC Councillors …
@Damian O’ Farrell: good man
@Damian O’ Farrell: maybe your time would be better spent trying to do something like helping the homeless people who are dying on our streets in this foul weather.
@Damian O’ Farrell: shame on you, wasting time and money on a silly vanity project like this while we have homeless people dying on our streets and as we head into winter it can only get harder for these unfortunate people to survive.
Can’t stand this guy,.
Such a pity we didn’t take the opportunity to disband this useless but expensive talking shop that is the Seanad here, this is where our money goes, vanity personal projects and absurd expenses claims. Another referendum please? When we gave the wrong answer on other referendums ( Lisbon etc) we were told to do it again until we gave the answer our masters wanted. Let’s get rid of them all now.
Great Ida but as sure as night follows Day somebody will have an objection.
@Dáithí O Raghailaigh: The serial whingers have arrived already
@DJ François: what’s your definition of ” whigers ” ? Do you mean people who have a different opinion to you?
Hirschfeld Centre in Temple Bar? Never heard of it. Named clearly after Dr. Magnus Hirschfeld who was director of the Institute for Sexual Research in Berlin and chairman of the Scientific Humanitarian Committee and a well-known homosexual. His institute was the first place raided by the Nazis after they came to power- it had many records of people sent there by the courts for pederasty. Many leading Nazis had much to fear about their records getting into the public’s hands!!
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