Let me be straight about my gay bar

Daily Features

James McCarron has had no problems since opening Strabane's first gay public house

Strabane publican James McCarron (36) has opened what is thought to be the first gay bar outside of a city here. The father of four talks to Gráinne McCarry about the reaction of the local community

Thursday, May 22, 2008

The rainbow flag, the universal symbol of gay pride, is flying high in none other than the border town of Strabane — a place that was once better known for having the highest unemployment rate in the European Union.

The town, with a population of around 15,000, controversially hit the headlines in 2006 when it featured on the Channel 4 show 20 Worst Places To Live (although, it subsequently dropped out of the Top 20 for the 2007 edition).

But, publican James McCarron hopes that the opening of his new business venture, a gay bar, will add a bit of colour to the area and show the town in a positive light.

James opened the Central Bar on Castle Street at the beginning of April and so far the pint pulling has been hassle free.

The publican, who has two decades of bar experience, says: "The reaction has been fantastic — even more than I thought it would be and from all age groups in the community.

"I wasn't sure how it would go down, to be honest with you. Some people said to me that it was a very brave thing to do, but I was prepared to take that risk."

Anxious to find out what was required to make them feel at home in their new 'local', James liaised with the Strabane branch of the LGB (Lesbian, Gay and Bisexual) group and gay support group, the Rainbow Project.

"I spoke to Steven Birkett from the local LGB and I asked him for advice on what they would look for in a bar — the first thing was security and safety concerns."

PSNI statistics show a decrease in homophobic motivated incidents in the Foyle area from 49 incidents in 2005/06 to 10 in 2006/07, while, in the same period, the number of incidents in Strabane rose from none to three.

This is not lost on James, who has done his utmost to address the safety concerns of the homosexual community.

He has installed state-of-the-art CCTV cameras in a bid to deter any troublemakers and put the minds of revellers at rest.

"We have also organised a radio link-up with one of the local taxi firms and keep a hand-held radio behind the bar. When someone is leaving the premises, we radio through to the firm and a taxi will arrive at the pub door for them and take them to their destination."

The married father of four boys admits that he thought his children might " get a bit of stick at school". Yet, anytime the subject has been brought up by classmates, it's to inform them that they have a gay relative.

"When someone comes up to one of my sons and mentions the gay bar, it's to tell them that their uncle or cousin is gay," he says.

"The young people in Strabane seem to be very open-minded — there's been no hassle at all.

"Local people have been saying to me that the pub opening is a good thing as now Strabane is being shown in a good light. It shows that we're moving forward — not stuck in the past."

The aforementioned rainbow flag is on display inside the pub alongside literature on the history of the gay movement, copies of GCM (the Gay Community Magazine) and literature from the Rainbow Project. James admits that he sees the bar, formerly called Brownes, first and foremost as a business.

The idea came to James after he "thought long and hard about what Strabane didn't have".

"I noticed that no one was catering for the gay community. There are about 30 pubs in Strabane, sports bars and nightclubs, but previously, members of the gay community travelled into Derry or as far as Belfast and Galway for their nights out," he continues.

"I thought it would be good for the gay community to have somewhere local to socialise instead of having to leave the area all the time.

"Not only that, people are coming from Galway and further afield to socialise in the bar now and that can only be good for the town. When they come, they are going to need somewhere to stay and restaurants to eat in. The opening of the pub is bringing trade to the area.

"The crowd so far has been about 70% gay and lesbian," he says, " and they're more than welcome to bring their friends with them, whether they are gay or not."

James is keen to highlight the difference in a gay bar and a gay- friendly bar.

"A gay bar is a bar, first and foremost, for gay people — whether they are gay, lesbian or bi-sexual," he explains.

"If anyone else outside of that wants to come along they are more than welcome — but they have to respect their way of life.

"Sometimes bars advertise themselves as being gay friendly which may not be the case when gay people actually enter them.

"I'd rather let people know what to expect and if someone does have an issue with gay people, they shouldn't come in.

"In this day and age, people should be mature enough to respect the choices of others."