A Look Inside The Secret Gigs In Abandoned Spaces of Dublin
Words: Dray Morgan
Abandoned spaces in Dublin are commonplace. There seems to be a shared frustration within our community at how much vacant space we see and how long the process is to reclaim our city. One organisation has taken matters into their own hands and brought abandoned spaces around Dublin to life, through carefully curated music and revamping once-derelict buildings.
House of Hibernia has platformed Irish artists in the most unique way possible. The brainchild of the self-titled ‘Schaymon ‘The Schemin Demon’ Dreymon”, various urban areas have been transformed into hubs for a variety of sounds and Irish groups. We’re talking Gurriers in Pheonix Bar, Fizzy Orange under a bridge and Cooks But We’re Chefs in a once-forgotten warehouse. With the next secret gig being this Saturday 5 October, we dove into what it takes to run such a unique night.
“You have to be a bit nuts to go to a place you’ve never been to, to see an act you’ve never heard of and that’s who House of Hibernia is for.”
Born out of the pandemic, House of Hibernia was a means of circumventing the difficult relationship between venues and bookers as restrictions started to ease. “After a bad experience, I said I would never do a venue again,” Schaymon explained. “I saw my landlord playing at a punk gig in an abandoned space and was inspired to do my own thing.”
“We organised a backdrop, organised a stage and headed to a secret spot on the m50.” A large amount of work goes into these shows, often starting weeks before the big night. With the venues often being in a derelict state, Schaymon has to spend hours ensuring safety and cleanliness for his audience. “I spent a week disassembling a bonfire that kids had made in the middle of one of our spots”.
Many of these venues have since been adopted as rave spaces, however, House of Hibernia is explicitly not a rave.
“We respect the space, we respect the neighbours and we respect the times.” Understandably, the Gardaí seem to be more tolerant to the sounds of jazz and alternative rock than the thumping bass of techno. “We have a nine-person group with a brass ensemble, they have their decks,” Schaymon said as he delineated between the overheads and necessities of a gig like this versus the classic raves we’ve seen grow in Ireland post-covid. “Most people are on their last bust home, compared to an all-night rave”.
“People are looking to have fun, enjoy great music and not pay €7.50 for a plastic cup with a €40 taxi on top”. Schaymon described his nights as the best way to bring people together without a smoking area. Most of us when we enter a venue in town do two things, grab a drink and head to the smoking area. Free gigs like this, remove the red tape of socialising. No more queuing for a drink and no more having to leave the music to have a smoke or a chat. “20 minutes at the bar, 20 minutes in the smoking area and you’ve missed the first act. If I can see the music with a can in my hand and the freedom of open-air that’s everything I want.”
Schaymon hammered down that curation is a key to the night, “Most nights have lost money but it’s essential to platform the artists I enjoy. “There was a point where I was living off biscuits, trying to keep Hibernia alive.” With the nature of these gigs, sponsorship can be tricky to come by. Donations are a core part of the way House of Hibernia runs, with a policy of ‘pay what you can’ for attendees of each show.”
In the three years of Hibernia, there have been six gigs per year. Gigs are changing, with bottom lines getting tighter, Schaymon is looking towards expansion. “People need to take that step into the unknown, this is my way of making Ireland work for me”.
Schaymon described the atmosphere of these gigs as unlike anything else in Ireland. “We have so many people coming on their own. We strongly encourage meeting new people, we’ve even had relationships start from meeting at our gigs.”
House of Hibernia’s next show is on Saturday 5th October. With each show uniquely themed, this one follows a jazz soundscape, drawing on prominent acts from Dublin and beyond. Located in the ethereal landscape of the hills of North Wicklow, there is no setting more fitting for this sound.
If you want to find our more about House of Hibernia click here
