Anyone there from 88 - 90?

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   Hi

Anyone go to the Grove between 88 and 90? 

I'm Orla, from Glasnevin and went with a gaggle of girls from here and who I've lost contact with since.

I probably don't know anyone here on the forum, but I'll be at the Shieling on Sunday. It will be the first reunion I've been able to make. Haven't even been able to make the tribute nights in Issac Butts because I dj for a goth club called Dominion.

Yes that means I'm still alternative and gothy after all these years - though a bit toned down now - ie no more backcombed hair or Siouxsie type make up!    For me, it wasn't just a teenage phase - actually I blame Cecil for playing the grooviest tunes that I've never looked back!  

I still think Cecil is the best dj ever and The Grove helped install and sustain the passion of music into me. 

So naturally I've found memories of The Grove.

Here's what I wrote in 2 emails for an Irish goth mailing list iegoth over the last few days about The Grove.

"My own favourite memories of the Grove, in St Paul's Raheny circa '88-'90 are:

The Compound. That was erm legendary (good girls didn't go there but I remember the guys trying to persuade and I know one girl (one of the gaggle I went to it with) who in her innocence (weren't we all innocent then?!), nearly got raped there - by some too eager bloke trying to get to 2nd base as they say and not having a clue of no meaning no and two blokes having to run over and pull him off her.

Slow sets.

The place turned into a cattle market for the 2 slow sets, with the blokes going "Do you want a dance" which meant a bit of a shuffle and tongue swapping, and thus snogging couples everywhere and once scored and if you did want to get to know the guy a bit better (and not dump him to go to the friends, run to the loos, chat about him, run back in when you heard The Cure being blasted out and then seek another bloke - your idol of fancy that you really wanted for the next slow set) went to the compound (but near the bicycles and *not* on the grass for marathon snog session. Classic songs for that were Hazel O'Connor and I think Stairway to Heaven, oh and Eric Clapton.. oh yeah. :)

The waft of weed from the end where the hippies and metallers was intoxicating, everyone sitting on the floor for the metal stuff in the beginning, until the Smiths or The Mish or The Sisters came on and then it was bedlam and the place really kicked off, the toilets with the cans of fanta with vodka/cider smuggled in, people puking, hair being backcombed, girls and blokes bitching, snogging couples in the loos, the bouncers - ex guards with their torches - going watchit no moshing, the place erupting for Black Betty and Rock Lobster (oh hell that's class - sweet Jesus just remembering the arse dance!) and to hell with the bouncers!

The place amass in either paisley, black, backcombed hair and the guys the same except for a phase of god awful white stripy shirts by some of the blokes - like why? Ugh.. shudder at the thoughts of those - never mind I snogged a few of them.. ugh!

And as for the knacker drinking! Booze, ie Ritz and Stag was bought in the Beachcomber and drunk enroute. It seems I still haven't outgrown the Pear Cider! :p 

Afterwards then stuffing ourselves with polo mints before being collected by the dads, and on the odd day and when we were a bit older and let take a taxi home muttering and asking each other "can you smell alcohol off me?" "Am I still drunk?" "Is my hair that messy?", "What was he thinking of - bastard?" "Wasn't he cute", "He was a great/bad kisser", "Oh you didn't? Did you" - ye get the drift!

Yes those were the days! 

And it was so renowned that there was a RTE Today Tonight special on it - regarding what the adults of now were getting upto back in the day. 

I remember this because I was there one of the nights and I remember distinctly, lights up on the roof that weren't belonging to the building - we were being filmed and while I was sitting on some blokes er knee having a snog. Or what we called back then getting off..

:p

Never saw that guy again - haven't a clue who he is/was other than I think him wanting to go into Engineering and moi science - we were both doing the Leaving that year! God forgot all about that.. oh heck! :p

Then again that TV special might have been an urban legend but back that night (it was 89) it was on everyone's lips and especially that night as some were on good behaviour and others went ah to hell with it, lets go out with a bang - sad to think, I think that was one of my last nights there before I hit the town pubs and goff clubs, ie the Olympic and Fetish in McGonagles.

So anyone else up for the reunion! :) 

It's the first time I'm going to make it since the reunion/tribute events started and yep I'm in the mood for nostalgia"

and 

"The best teenage club *ever* that a few of us would sneak back in on the odd night at age 18 and only up to our repeat leaving as after that I *defo* hit town - it was strictly for 16-18's but sometimes younger (14/15) would sneak in and older upto 21-ish would you believe, who hit the pubs, like The Nep and then onto the Grove!

It ran from '67 -'97.

I was there from '88 -'90. It was the place that started me going down the goff/alternative route. No doubt about that. Hand on heart.

It is *THE* original *Alternative* disco, at least on Dublin's Northside if not the whole city. 

Wesley's  (Old Wesley Rugby Club, Donnybrook) and Mary's (St.Mary's Tallaght?) wouldn't have had a patch on it, mind you Wesley's in the late 80's was ok, and is another home of much controversy but it was more pompous, with some Cureheads from Dalkey Islands who weren't real Cureheads, just dressed up for the night pretending to be cool. I'll never forget queuing up to get in and listening to some of the people, back in summer of '88 - some of the girls and I went scouting to get blokes, ie boyfriends to bring and keep long enough for our debs. Didn't work (though we did "shift" or "get off" with a few guys alright, so back to the Grove we went.

:p

The Grove was the *real* deal and was the tops and I doubt there was anywhere else like it in the country but that could be facetious of me. I didn't go to Mary's, I know people who did but I don't think Mary's ran as long. If I'm wrong on that mea culpa.

Anyway I've been reading some of the forum and it's nice and heartening to see that I'm not the only one who has found memories of the place.  There's lots of us ex Grovers.. 

Must dig out my Grove card and bring it with me - still have it would you believe! Actually come to think about it, I've a membership card from Wesley's too! :p"

I've also a got a few scanned images from The Evening Herald that a friend of mine (also an ex Grove head) scanned and emailed or put up on a website. I've them put up so that they aren't lost.

The Grove, Evening Herald, Saturday Dec 18 1993 - page 1

The Grove, Evening Herald, Saturday Dec 18 1993 - page 2

I've also put them up on my blog in myspace - mind I'm not really blogging but using it for networking purposes..

Here's the url DJ Orla anyhow just in the off chance that some of ye here are still gothy or indie/alternative and are into music - be ye dj's or musicans.

Anyhow a few friends of mine and myself will be out on Sat. Ye can't miss us - 3 blokes and a lady dressed in black and all in our mid 30's and all of us are ex groveheads!

I do hope the Shieling sells either Bulmers or Kopparberg Pear Cider!

Take care

Orla

Edited by aurnia