Iconic Dublin LGBTQ venue Panti Bar targeted by vile anti-gay graffiti
Exclusive: "No arrests have been made and investigations are ongoing," a Gardaí spokesperson told Attitude.
Words: Jamie Tabberer; picture: Instagram/Twitter
A Dublin LGBTQ bar belonging to one of Ireland’s most famous drag queens was targeted by anti-gay graffiti yesterday (Sunday 13 June 2021).
Panti Bliss, known for her beloved PantiBar on Capel Street, shared pictures of the defacement – which technically appears on a neighbouring building – on social media today.
Her post shows the (misspelled) words ‘P*do Bar [sic]’ scrawled on the side of a grey-coloured wall, along with an arrow pointing towards her bar, which recently reopened after a period of coronavirus-induced closure.
View this post on Instagram
A spokesperson for Gardaí, the state police force of the Republic of Ireland, today told Attitude: “Gardaí have received report of an act of Criminal Damage involving graffiti being applied to a building in Capel Street, Dublin City that occurred last night, Sunday, the 13th of June 2021.
“No arrests have been made and investigations are ongoing.”
“Investigations are ongoing”
Speaking on Instagram, Panti – real name Rory O’Neill – said: “We had a fantastic re-opening weekend, and then this was painted on the building two doors up from Pantibar last night.”
In a subsequent post, it was revealed neighboring business Etsy Ireland had painted over the graffiti and dangled Pride flags in its place.
View this post on Instagram
“The graffiti I posted earlier was painted on our neighbor @etsy’s building,” updated Panti. “Here’s the ‘after pic’. Thank you Etsy!”
An Etsy Ireland spokesperson added: “We are deeply saddened by the graffiti found outside our office and condemn these homophobic actions. Our team immediately offered support to help cover the graffiti and we are cooperating with local authorities in their efforts to find who committed this crime. Etsy is a place of inclusivity and we stand with the LGBTQIA+ community not only during Pride month, but every day throughout the year.”
Attitude has approached Panti for comment.
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