"Jigsaw showed people what is possible" - saying goodbye to the heartbeat of Dublin's DIY cultural scene

• Author: Christopher Jones
• Published date: 11 May 2021
• Publication title: DublinLive (Ireland)

The venue, which operated on Belvedere Court off Gardiner Street in Dublin 1, was a hub for the city's creative and activist communities, hosting music events of all kinds, as well as facilitating a wide range of social causes, from marriage equality to the campaign to end direct provision.

It was also closely associated with Dublin Digital Radio, which got its start by setting up in the studio space upstairs and organised parties and fundraisers in the venue.

Jigsaw's life wasn't especially long – it was set up by unsung hero Barry Semple after a previous community centre, Seomra Spraoi, closed at the same location in 2015 – but its influence far outweighed its size and lifespan.

Countless DJs, musicians, partygoers and activists have lined up to talk about how they felt it made Dublin bearable in a time of housing crisis and disappearing cultural spaces, about how it gave them somewhere to belong, a tribe to be part of, and some of the best nights of their lives.

Here are five of them, in their own words:

"The first time I played there, all the pots and pans were hanging over us"

Cáit Fahey (photographer, DJ, DDR presenter and promoter with Dip): The first time that I went there was when it was Seomra Spraoi, I think that that was in about 2009. There was a really inspiring music scene happening at that time, artists like Angkorwat, Patrick Kelleher and Children Under Hoof. I was 19 at the time, and feeling very inspired about the potential that Dublin had.

Cathy Flynn (DJ andDDRpresenter): It was a community-run space, along the lines of what Jigsaw became.

Robbie Kitt (musician, DJ, DDR presenter and nightlife activist with Give Us The Night): Myself, Cáit and Enda [Rowan] ran our first night there in November 2015. We walked up to the door with a giant disco ball, and we were like, 'Is there any way we can stick this up for the night?'.

[Barry Semple] pulled out a drill, drilled it into the roof of the kitchenette, which is where everybody DJed, and it stayed there until the end [of the venue].

Kenny Hanlon (DJ, DDR presenter and Apartment Records boss): The first time I played there, all the pots and pans were hanging over us. Really weird but it was deadly. It went to about six in the morning.

Robbie: There was no stage, there was no separation. People were leaning over the counter as if you were having a cup of tea. But you were actually banging out really fast, loud techno and electro.

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"The toilets overflowed literally every single time you'd do a gig"

Cathy...