Meet Squeeze: The Queer DJ Collective Carving Out Its Own Space
Words: Rachel Hannon
Squeeze is a celebration of queerness. The Galway collective have been building this community for the last number of years, and there’s no stopping them now. Rooted in the west of Ireland, Squeeze was created as an alternative to the more conventional club experience.
Co-founded by Galway-based DJs and organisers Mikey, Lucy Birmingham, Ryan Conway and Maria Tonka, electronic music, performance and community all sit at the centre of what they do.
Teaming up with Jägermeister as part of their SAVETHENIGHT, venues across Galway, Cork and Dublin will be taken over by electronic heavyweights throughout October. On October 7, you will find Squeeze in their hometown of Galway at SULT. They, thems, femmes and allies all welcome. Get your tickets here.
Jägermeister’s SAVETHENIGHT initiative exists to champion local talent. This gives artists and collectives the resources to reclaim their city’s nightlife and while working to keep the night a space that’s safe, inclusive and sustainable for everyone.
Squeeze’s aim is to “spotlight and celebrate local queer talent through creating safe spaces for community, joy and resistance.”
There’s an important distinction between putting on a queer night and actually creating a queer space. Building a space like this has all to do with those who create the space as well as those who attend. It means thinking about who feels comfortable walking through the door and who gets to take up space on the dance floor. This is a place where people can really let their guard down.
That thinking has been part of Squeeze from the beginning.
“Squeeze was created with the idea of creating more queer nightlife spaces in a city that is lacking in such. With no dedicated late night queer spaces in Galway anymore, events like Squeeze, Cultúr Riot, Club Gass and many more are important. Events like these help create safe spaces for people of all backgrounds and identities to come together to celebrate one another.”
But this is just part of a much bigger story unfolding across Irish nightlife. Fewer than 100 nightclubs remain in Ireland. 84% have closed in the past 25 years.
For queer communities in particular, those spaces are paramount. Their importance that exceeds far beyond entertainment. A good night out can be one of the first places somebody sees people who look like them, dress like them or live like them. But it can also create a place where you make friends for life, or get your biggest DJ crowd yet.
Squeeze has become one of those meeting points in Galway.
“Squeeze has created a community more positive and vibrant than we could have expected! We’ve seen many of the same faces on dance floors across our events. We’ve had the pleasure of providing opportunities to many local artists through musical or drag performances in our time running these parties.“
And Galway needs it as the city has always had an interesting relationship with nightlife, especially queer nightlife. With no permanent dedicated gay bars or clubs, it’s last dedicated gay bar, Nova, closed permanently in 2024. Most mainstream pubs in areas like the West End are considered queer-friendly, but there is no permanent standalone LGBT+ club space.
That’s why Squeeze’s contribution isn’t simply another event in the calendar. It is another option for what a night out in Galway can actually look and feel like for the community.
“Squeeze provides a space to nurture creative expression but the real service comes from the people who come to our parties and support us, and each other. Allowing us to keep doing so!”
The collective’s nights are built around electronic music, with a genre-fluid approach that can move through heavier club sounds, techno, bass and breaks. Drag and performance have also formed part of the wider Squeeze world.
That has allowed Squeeze to grow beyond a single party. They have proven this time and time again through collaborations with other queer collectives, like Peach, happening across the country in venues from Hen’s Teeth in Dublin to Galway’s Áras na nGael.
“We’ve had many great parties over our time at Squeeze but two that jump out…. Our circus themed party in Club K last December and our after party for WTAF (Westend Theatre and Arts Festival) In Club Áras na nGael in July.”
When Irish nightlife works, it works so well. Scenes like this are small enough for people to know each other, and the roles become interchangeable. DJs become promoters, promoters become artists, artists start collectives, collectives share line-ups. Soon, you have an entire ecosystem.
“Irish nightlife has a certain energy that can’t easily be found elsewhere. Nights here are often compressed into a short few hours meaning the energy stays at a higher level all night. This unique characteristic gives Irish nightlife a special feel that can’t be replicated.“
That ecosystem, though, can only survive with support. So what does a collective like Squeeze actually need to survive in Ireland?
“A collective in Ireland needs community to thrive. Without the support of the people around it, it’s hard for collectives to succeed, whether that comes from buying tickets, sharing events, helping out on the day, sharing equipment or advice from other promoters.”
This is where Jägermeister’s SAVETHENIGHT initiative comes in. Built around the belief that nightlife is something worth actively protecting rather than simply mourning once it disappears, SAVETHENIGHT supports local artists, promoters and collectives with the resources to create nights in their own cities, while championing a nightlife culture that is safe, inclusive and sustainable.
This October, the initiative comes to Galway, Cork and Dublin for three takeovers spotlighting Irish electronic music and the communities growing around it.
For Squeeze, that means taking over SULT in Galway on October 7.
“We think to help save the night in Ireland, nightlife needs to be viewed in terms of its cultural and social impacts on people. Almost all of the local promoters we know or have met never have the goal of making money but rather creating nights they’d like to attend themselves. We think this approach is the only way to ensure some sense of improvement across the country’s nightlife.”
Because saving nightlife doesn’t just mean saving physical club spaces. It means saving the communities behind them. Squeeze reminds us why this is so important.
“People can expect our usual mix of multi-genre madness from residents and guests we’ve invited on the night 😉“
Early bird tickets are €1 and include a complimentary drink, with general admission tickets priced at €10. Seeing as the spaces they wanted didn’t exist, they built their own world. Now, Squeeze are carving it out in Galway as part of Jägermeister’s SAVETHENIGHT on October 7. Get your tickets here.
Please enjoy Jägermeister responsibly. Visit drinkaware.ie for more information.
