In many ways, I came out to the world as a wheelchair user by writing about the lack of access in music venues for the Irish Times in 2011. When I was making the change from crutches to wheelchair, I was so nervous about what people would think about me that I kept a low profile, but the lack of access in music venues meant that the big passion in my life - music - was out of reach. So, to write in the national paper and announce my wheelchair status was a big deal.
12 years later, I am still harking on about the lack of access in music venues, but this time, I get paid to do that. During the week, I spoke on a the Accessibility in Irish Venues and Festivals panel at Ireland Music Week. Hosted by Adam O’Brien, I spoke alongside the brilliant musician Róisín Ní Haicéid from Banríon, and the three of us discussed what it’s like to work in the music industry with visible and hidden disabilities.
This panel alone took place in the ground floor, wheelchair accessible Tapped Bar, formerly The Porterhouse, on Nassau Street, while the rest of the conference took place upstairs in the completely inaccessible Lost Lane. In the six live music venues for this showcase event, Tengu, Workmans Vintage, Workmans Main, Workmans Cellar, Grand Social Ballroom and Grand Social Left, only two are technically accessible; Tengu has a step at the front door, but has a wheelchair bathroom and is all flat inside; Workmans Main is on ground level, but has no ground floor or accessible bathroom. So are the two accessible venues fully accessible? No.
When I pointed this out on the day, I was clear that this isn’t the festival’s fault, it’s Dublin’s. So, what do we do about that?
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