Comment: Sir Henrys is part of our history

THERE is a great quote from Niall Tóibín that I recently stumbled across in an old 1980 BBC radio documentary about Cork city and its inhabitants, called As Others See Us.

Tóibín observes that a peculiar form of nostalgia sometimes breaks out amongst Cork people, who can be afflicted with homesickness even when they are at home. This insight resonates with my experiences of curating an archival exhibition on the legendary and iconic Cork nightclub, Sir Henrys (1978-2003), which opens to the public in UCC Library this summer. For many locals, Sir Henrys was, in a sense, ‘home’.

Overwhelmingly, people describe the atmosphere in terms of warmth and collectivism, of shared meaning and experience. Sir Henrys is remembered as far more than a venue. As one of our blog contributors, Tríona Dunlea, recalls, it had a “sense of community that I have never felt anywhere else”.