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The Dubliner Magazine - September issue
Whoso would be a man must be a nonconformist" said Ralph Waldo Emerson. But then, he wasn't Irish. In the land of Breakfast Roll Men and Decklanders, one fears that everyone is conforming to a type. The notion that following your own vision might be a good idea - even if it's not making you any money - seems like crazy talk. But throughout the boom, a great many people have been doing their own thing, with no regard for dull convention. This article is a celebration of such people. For the mavericks keep things interesting.
Dandelion - DJ, impresario
Watching dandelion and David MacDermott chatting at our cover shoot is hypnotising. She says they loved each other the minute they met, and even now when they run into each other in the street they can talk for hours about clothes. David says he is "1926-1934 - although I would've looked a bit out of style after 1929." Their mutual friend Star is 1945-1955. Another pal, Una, is 1956-1964. Dandelion is 1965. She knows a couple who "do the war years." They live in Tallaght, wear 1930s clothes and carry out self-inflicted rationing. David thinks they should move to Sheriff Street, but she says they're right at home where they are: "There's bad ground out there. It was Black Death country. The houses are built on a graveyard. When you dig up your back garden you find teeth and everything."
Dandelion is much more of a Dub than you'd expect. She grew up in Tallaght, getting strange stares as she "crossed the estates with a beehive and Sixties get-up in 1988." She's petite, bubbly and perfectly turned out in vintage, and she knows her shit. Not just about clothes but music, history, culture, people: despite having an appearance that makes everyone stare, she's an observer. And she could talk you under the table.
She's been an enigmatic presence on the Dublin music scene for years, DJing at RíRá's Strictly Handbag, the longest-running club in the country, since it started 13 years ago. She plays in the George on a Wednesday - "tough crowd, really picky but willing to dance at eight o'clock in the evening. Everyone should be dancing at eight o'clock in the evening" - and her own club, Sassy Sue's Go Go Inevitable in the Sugar Club on Fridays. There, people dress up and dance to thoughtful music "from pop to punk and everything in between," played as it should be, on vinyl. And unlike most other venues in the city, their hostess really seems to care if they're having a good time.
Dandelion - DJ, impresario
Watching dandelion and David MacDermott chatting at our cover shoot is hypnotising. She says they loved each other the minute they met, and even now when they run into each other in the street they can talk for hours about clothes. David says he is "1926-1934 - although I would've looked a bit out of style after 1929." Their mutual friend Star is 1945-1955. Another pal, Una, is 1956-1964. Dandelion is 1965. She knows a couple who "do the war years." They live in Tallaght, wear 1930s clothes and carry out self-inflicted rationing. David thinks they should move to Sheriff Street, but she says they're right at home where they are: "There's bad ground out there. It was Black Death country. The houses are built on a graveyard. When you dig up your back garden you find teeth and everything."
Dandelion is much more of a Dub than you'd expect. She grew up in Tallaght, getting strange stares as she "crossed the estates with a beehive and Sixties get-up in 1988." She's petite, bubbly and perfectly turned out in vintage, and she knows her shit. Not just about clothes but music, history, culture, people: despite having an appearance that makes everyone stare, she's an observer. And she could talk you under the table.
She's been an enigmatic presence on the Dublin music scene for years, DJing at RíRá's Strictly Handbag, the longest-running club in the country, since it started 13 years ago. She plays in the George on a Wednesday - "tough crowd, really picky but willing to dance at eight o'clock in the evening. Everyone should be dancing at eight o'clock in the evening" - and her own club, Sassy Sue's Go Go Inevitable in the Sugar Club on Fridays. There, people dress up and dance to thoughtful music "from pop to punk and everything in between," played as it should be, on vinyl. And unlike most other venues in the city, their hostess really seems to care if they're having a good time.