Loafers Bar in Cork was one of Ireland’s longest-running gay bars; it opened in 1983 and closed suddenly in 2015. Loafers was more than a bar – it was a crucial community space, a home, a space for radical, alternative, artistic communities, and a refuge for the Cork LGBT community. Its rooms were filled with love, laughter, dancing, political discussions, and activism. LOAFERS Documentary marks 40 years since the opening of Loafers Bar in 1983. Using a combination of interviews, archival footage, photographs, illustrations, and animation it gives a glimpse into the legend and legacy of Loafers. The documentary explores what Loafers meant to the people who ran it, worked in it, and frequented it, and the impact of the loss of such an important safe space for the community.

Loafers

Through various voices this film explores the experiences of some LGBT people in Cork in the 1970s and 1980s - the community spaces, parties, pubs, clubs and political activism.