A gay man was refused entry to the Dublin nightspot, Dicey’s Garden based on the fact that he had a half-naked man on his tank top

Adrian Lea, an Australian gay man living in Dublin and working in The George, was refused entry from Dicey’s club last Friday 29 July 2016 by one of the bouncers on the door, who objected to his clothing.

“On Friday at about 10:15 in the evening I arrived at Dicey’s,” Adrian told GCN.

Dicey’s Garden, located on Harcourt Street in Dublin 2 is not a gay venue. It’s website describes it as: “undisputedly the most popular venue this side of town. We offer fantastic value for money and an extensive range of drinks and food menus alike.”

Turned Away

“I was wearing denim shorts and a white tank top with a picture of Adam Levine on it,” Adrian said. “I went with another guy and a girl, it was all of our first time going to the club.”

https://twitter.com/iCelebrity_Buzz/status/760861557546823681

“I came to the door and was queuing up to go downstairs to the garden. I said to my mates that I’d go talk to the bouncer to see if we could go upstairs. We were only going to be there for 20 minutes, we were meeting some friends.

“When I asked the bouncer if we could come in he said: ‘What? Dressed like that?’”

Are You For Real?

But the most telling detail is the reason the bouncer gave for rejecting Adrian’s entry into the bar.

According to Adrian the bouncer said: “You’ve got a half naked picture of a guy on your shirt. If you had a half naked picture of a girl I’d let you in.”

Adrian replied, “Are you for real?”

Adrian says the bouncer then repeated: “If you had a half naked picture of a girl on your t-shirt I’d let you in straight away. Go home and get changed.”

This is not the first time that bouncers at Dicey’s have behaved questionably. Her.ie reported on the assault of a patron of the club by the bouncers following an altercation inside.

A video of this incident can be seen below.

This is the video of the incident outside Dicey's nightclub. The bouncer's boss said the patron wasn't hit by them. https://t.co/jdiItZxaEw

— Philip Boucher-Hayes (@boucherhayes) June 10, 2016

Discrimination

Of course, although same-sex marriage passed by referendum last year, the fight for LGBT equality continues as members of our community still face discrimination based upon their sexual orientation.

“I was shocked. I’m a 30 year-old man and I work in The George. Something like this has never happened to me before.”

Hailing originally from Sydney, Adrian said: “I moved to Ireland nine months ago thinking something like this couldn’t happen here.”

We have contacted Dicey’s for a comment on the incident involving Adrian, but are still awaiting a reply.

(Image: Instagram)