Regulars called it a magical, special place.

But if you never got the chance to visit Loafers, Cork’s longest-running gay bar, before it closed for good in 2015, a Cork filmmaker has come up with the next best thing.

LOAFERS, released last year to mark 40 years since the opening of Loafers Bar in 1983, will be shown twice daily throughout Cork Pride this year. You can catch the documentary, directed by Orla Egan, at the Arc Cinema (6pm and 7.20pm) from July 26th to August 1st, 2024.

The bar was opened by Derrick Gerety in 1983, a time when homosexuality was criminalised and where LGBT people faced enormous prejudice, ignorance and discrimination. In the LOAFERS documentary, Derrick recalls: “What I wanted to do was to create this sense of inclusivity where people who often didn’t feel comfortable in other pubs felt comfortable in my pub.”

Have you booked your tickets? LOAFERS Documentary @arccinemacork @CorkLGBTArchive @corkpride week
Tickets: https://t.co/JDB6mIk6uk

Film funded by @HeritageHubIRE @corkcitycouncil @creativeirl pic.twitter.com/Iu3kcbzm1P

— Orla Egan (@OrlaEgan1) July 22, 2024

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.

Director Orla Egan, who is also the founder of the Cork LGBT Archive, said she is delighted the film will be screened during Cork Pride week:

“Screen 6 provides a wonderful space to showcase Cork films and filmmakers,” Egan told us.

“Loafers Bar was such an important space for us for decades. It is important to capture and share our vibrant Cork LGBT history. I wanted to celebrate what Loafers meant to those of us lucky enough to have been there, and to share this with the community. I miss Loafers!”