The O2, Dublin

The O2 (but The Point forever in our hearts)
Northwall Quay, Dublin 1
theo2.ie


For a long time, Dublin's biggest concert venue was The Point. It was a large warehouse with the mystique of a large, red velvet curtain separating us from the toilets and popcorn stands. In 2008, it reopened as The O2, the exact venue that you can find across the UK. For every complaint you can make about poor sound quality, remember, you're never more than a mere skip and a jump from one of their 14 bars.


What has it got?

Seating: There is an assigned wheelchair area (limited space so be sure to buy a ticket for the wheelchair area if you need it) with fold-up chairs provided for you, your friend or your carer. 

Doors: The doors are all very wide and easy to open. 

Ground: It's a type of lino which means that it doesn't become a complete ice rink when drinks spill. 

Stairs: There's lifts to every floor and at the end of the concert, all wheelchair users are brought to a larger, industrial lift to skip the queues for the main lifts. 

Bathrooms: To every ladies and gents with dozens upon dozens of cubicles, there is one wheelchair bathroom which is very large. You will often have to queue up for these. 

Spaciousness: Plenty of room here. 

Helpfulness of Staff: The O2 "angels" will direct you to your seats and help with the lift. Inside the venue, the staff in blue shirts are very helpful with getting to and from your seats. 

Parking: There is wheelchair parking available in the Gibson Hotel car park beside The O2. There is onstreet wheelchair parking but these are rarely free. 

Rating: 9/10

Why did it lose points? I docked The O2 one point because you will always have the same view at a concert here. The wheelchair viewing area has a decent view but if you go there regularly, if you could shake it up a little, that would be great. 

At least the silver lining here is that if you buy a wheelchair ticket a lot of the time, you will get a free ticket for your carer/assistant/friend. 

Hard Working Class Heroes: The Access Guide

Hard Working Class Heroes is a great festival that showcases some of the best music going on in the country right now and it takes place across Dublin's city centre. For €45, you can see over 100 bands in seven different over the course of three days (October 3-5). But if you're in a wheelchair or on crutches, what does that mean for you?

Here's a quick guide to all of the venues and their surrounding areas which will, hopefully, make your weekend a bit easier to navigate.

The Workman's Club, Dublin 2
Reviewed here
Wheelchair bathroom: No
Flat surface into stage area: Yes
How to get there: The Workman's is along the Liffey and if you can avoid Temple Bar, you will have a smooth trek there.

The Button Factory, Dublin 2
Reviewed here
Wheelchair bathroom: Yes
Flat surface into stage area: Yes
How to get there: Unfortunately, The Button Factory is in the motherland of cobblestones: Temple Bar. Bit of a nuisance but once inside, all is well.

Twisted Pepper, Dublin 1
Reviewed here
Wheelchair bathroom: Yes (ask for key at the bar)
Flat surface into stage area:
Ground level - Yes
Basement - No
How to get there: Abbey Street is a little rough in places (talking about the paths here) but it is easy enough to get through.

Meeting House Square, Dublin 2
Wheelchair bathroom: Portaloos a-go-go
Flat surface into stage area: Yes
How to get there: If you stick to the paths of Temple bar, you shouldn't have any nasty encounters with cobblestones.

The Mercantile, Dublin 2
Wheelchair bathroom: No (you must use the bathroom in the hotel next door)
Flat surface into stage area: Yes
How to get there: Dame Street is fairly easy to navigate just make sure you use the right entrance to the Mercantile as some of them have steps in.

The New Theatre, Dublin 2
According to their website, "The New Theatre is wheelchair accessible (except motorised wheelchairs)"
Wheelchair bathroom: Yes
Flat surface into stage area: Yes
How to get there: Have your sports bra on as Temple Bar's cobbles are there to cause havoc.

Bad Bobs, Dublin 2
Reviewed here
Wheelchair bathroom: Yes
Flat surface into stage area: Yes (lift to all floors)
How to get there: You guessed it, Temple Bar. Cobbles. Take heed.

Legless Goes To The Picnic

Electric Picnic
Stradbally, Co. Laois
electricpicnic.ie

Can you believe it's been 10 years since we have had more options than just Oxegen and Slane for a music festival? This year's Electric Picnic was everything you could want for in a festival. There was very little rain, zero mud and, of course, the music was delectable. This was my sixth EP and in comparison to other years, I didn't spend a lot of time fussing over the timetable, I just went with the flow and took a leisurely approach to stage hopping.

My musical highlights were:

Björk
This woman is the cutest little button and her Biophilia show was manic and extravagant. After she thundered out a massive track, she showed her gratitude by quipping 'Thank you' in her wonderful Icelandic way. It was a joy to watch and I'd like to invite her, and her giant crystal hat, to live with me.

Disclosure
Disclosure's Settle has been my main album of the summer. It has been firmly on repeat since its release so when their live set matched up to my pounding grá for the record, I was delighted. I hope that they're an act we'll see headlining again over the next 10 years.

David Byrne and St. Vincent
Not only was this the greatest set I saw all weekend long but it is the most fantastic set I have seen in a very long time. In 2012, the god that is David Byrne teamed up with St. Vincent for a brass-orientated album, Love This Giant, and the moment the horns kicked into action on the Sunday night, magic was made. St. Vincent rolled out some of her solo songs, including 'Cheerleader', but Byrne stole all of her thunder when he conducted the biggest sing song of the entire weekend with Talking Heads' 'This Must Be The Place', 'Road To Nowhere' and 'Burning Down the House'. He even threw in 2002's 'Lazy' for good measure. I will be talking about this show for years to come.



What has it got?

Seating: The Electric Picnic site is massive but, luckily, they have so many areas where people can rest their weary legs. If there's one thing that the Picnic does well, it's throwing together an assorted range of shit for people to sit on. 

Viewing platform: A lot of the time, the viewing platforms in the smaller tents felt like a creche. Children at a festival is a debate for another day but when I'm restricted to having one friend with me on the platform, it's a bit unfair that the kids can run riot. I avoided the platform at the main stage because it was so far away and my eyesight is useless. 

Ground: There was no mud at all this year which made getting around so easy. However, with an outdoor festival, you have uneven ground pretty much everywhere and if you're not paying attention, you could definitely tip out of your chair. Every now and again, you'd come across a tiled pathway but these would end abruptly or lead to the staff area. They should place more of these about the festival site just to make life a little easier for everyone. 

Campsite: There was a disabled campsite available at EP but it was the furthest campsite away from the main area. I camped in Oscar Wilde, which was just beside the Salty Dog stage. I camped on the very edge of the site so other tents weren't in my way and it worked out perfectly. If I had used the disabled campsite, I would had a huge trek ahead of me every day which is incredibly inconvenient especially with the rough ground. 

Bathrooms: At most toilet areas, there was a large portaloo for wheelchair users. The campsites didn't have this luxury. To find a clean portaloo at a festival is like a gift from the gods but when it came to hygiene levels in the wheelchair portaloos, things could have been better as many wheelchair users don't have the privilege of hovering. If they could increase the amount of wheelchair portaloos about the place, it would be much better.

Spaciousness: I didn't have any problems with space and didn't feel overcrowded at any point (other than the viewing platforms that doubled as childcare).

Helpfulness of Staff: The staff at EP is made up of paid staff and volunteers so the helpfulness depended on who you came across first. A number of the security guards went above and beyond to help out, especially around the main stage area.

Parking: I parked in the disabled parking area which was in the disabled camping area. It was monitored closely so it never got too packed. 

Rating: 7/10

Why did it lose points? Electric Picnic is Ireland's greatest music festival and because it is so large, it's hard to cater for everybody. They have all of the facilities for disabled guests in place but they feel a little bit like token gestures. The disabled camp site is so far away and the path to and from it is rough. The viewing platforms are far away from the stage and you are restricted to bringing one friend up with you. There aren't enough wheelchair portaloos about and more pathways could have been placed to combat the uneven ground. 

If I had used all of the facilities available, I would not have had as much fun as I did. I came up with my own system for camping and for watching bands. If EP focused a bit more on their facilities for disabled users, they could come up something that would enhance the festival experience for whoever used them. 

That being said, my voice is gone and I had a fantastic time but I wish that the organisers would be as creative and inventive with their accessibility as they are with everything else on offer. 

Legless At Festivals

Front row scrounger. 

Festivals are tricky when it comes to wheelin' or crutchin' around so these are my tips for making it as easy as possible.

• The disabled camping areas tend to be the furthest camp site away from the venue which is bizarre and completely inconvenient if you're on crutches or in a rush to get to the main stage. I usually camp in whatever site is nearest to the main arena. I place my tent on the very edge of the camping area with my door facing out so that pegs and lines and bodies don't block my way in and out.


• When it rains, the mud starts to pop up like Emeli Sandé at an awards show (i.e. everywhere). I have a very run-of-the-mill wheelchair so this is a big hassle for me. I have seen a few chairs that attach a 'third wheel' to their chair which makes mud and uneven ground much easier to go through. It's called the Go Free Wheel and even though it's a bit late to get one for the Picnic, if you save up your sheckles, your festival summer of 2014 could be easy sailing.


• If you're heading on crutches, the main problem with festivals is that there's not enough seating areas. It's a pain in the ass to get up off the ground when you're using sticks so keep a lookout for potential perching spots and own them like you're the Queen of Sheba.


• I'm not a fan of the wheelchair platform areas because you're kept far away from the crowd, the view isn't amazing and you feel removed from the festival. My main trick is to get to the very front of the barrier and watch from there. The key thing with this is to be sound to those around you and to the security guards and you shouldn't have any problems. Of course, this is probably against security regulations but you have paid for a ticket and you shouldn't have to be booted to the very back to watch everyone else have fun.


• Wheelchairs are great hiding spots for booze. I've given myself away here but it's all for the greater good.


• The ground is rough. Wheelchair users know how to navigate the ground because we're a metre away from it and can see when a dip or rock is in the way. Those pushing may not see what's ahead and you could end up flying out of the chair. So if you're wheeling yourself and getting a heave here and there, keep that in mind and hold on.


• If you're on crutches, avail of the piggy back. There's probably grounds for a romcom in someone giving you a piggy back at a festival because you broke your foot. If you get married, include me in the speech.


• Even though there are wheelchair toilets, there aren't very many. If there is a queue at the wheelchair portaloo, ask if you can skip it. There are hundreds and hundreds of regular-sized poratloos and very few wheelchair-friendly ones. Common decency and common sense should hopefully mean that you won't have to queue for too long at a wheelchair portaloo.


• A lot of the First Aid tents have a wheelchair portaloo behind them. Again, this probably isn't meant to be public knowledge but if you're miles from one (like in the regular campsites), this could be your best bet. 

Wheel responsibly and don't see a good weekend off-roaded. 

Legless In The Country: Caherconnell Stone Fort, Carron, Co. Clare

Caherconnell Stone Fort
Carron, Co. Clare
facebook.com/caherconnell

Caherconnell Fort is an ancient ring fort that is found on the farmland of the Davoren family. Once you've visited the fort, you can check out the sheepdog trials demonstrated by John and his furry pals, Sally and Lee, or try some Caherconnell Cheese in their café. The fort itself is very impressive as its shape is fully preserved and there are archaeologists working on the site for most of the year and just last week, they discovered the remains of a woman and two children which are believed to be from the 10th or 11th Century.


What has it got?

Seating: The tables all have moveable chairs here. 

Doors: The front doors are kept open and all the rest of the doors are very easy to manage. 

Ground: Inside the centre, the floors are a mix of limestone and wooden panelling. Outside, the path is a mix of light and heavy gravel. Out to the fort, the ground is rough but because it is a preserved site, very little can be done about it. However, it is possible to get a wheelchair up to the fort. All you need is a bit of a heave here and there. Out to the sheepdog viewing area, it is up a slight hill so a push will be needed but once you get there, it is a flat and sheltered area. 

Stairs: There are no stairs but keep in mind that the ground will be uneven and rocky around the fort. 

Bathrooms: They have a large wheelchair bathroom in the café area which is beside the ladies and gents. 

Spaciousness: There is plenty of room to maneuver here. 

Helpfulness of Staff: The staff are very helpful and if you ring in advance, they can help you plan your visit. 

Parking: There is a car park at the bottom of the hill which has a graveled path leading up to the centre. But if you ring in advance and say that you need easier access to the building, you can park beside the centre which has a tarred car park with a flat surface. 

Rating: 9/10

Why did it lose points? The fort is a preserved site so it is difficult to get everything perfect in terms of access but what they have in place is very good for an outdoor and rocky site. The staff are very helpful here and will do their best so you can enjoy your time at the fort. Make sure you don't miss the sheepdog trials. 

Twisted Pepper/Vice Coffee Inc./Elastic Witch/Boxcutter Barbershop

Twisted Pepper/Vice Coffee/Elastic Witch/Boxcutter Barbershop
54 Middle Abbey Street, Dublin 1
bodytonicmusic.com/thetwistedpepper/


By day, Twisted Pepper houses Vice Coffee Inc., Elastic Witch and Boxcutter Barbershop. By night, you can gorge on cocktails and watch a wide array of DJs from all genres. If you want some of the best coffee in Dublin, want to peruse a decent collection of records collected by a man with a thorough knowledge of music, get a cleancut shave or want to get your groove on, stop by here. I mean, you'd never have to leave this place with the amount of things going on.


What has it got?

Seating: There are booths a-plenty here with moveable chairs and stools. 

Doors: The doors are easy enough to push open and a wheelchair fits through all of them without any problems. 

Ground: They have wooden flooring and tiling here and there's a sort of black lino thing going on in the music venue. 

Stairs: There are no steps in and out of the ground level but to get to the music venue and barbers downstairs, you have about 15-20 steps. The smoking area is upstairs and there's around 15 steps to get up there. There is no lift. 

Bathrooms: There is a wheelchair bathroom on the ground level, just past the stage area. You will need to ask at the bar for the key. The other bathrooms are located upstairs and downstairs and these are all regular sized cubicles. 

Spaciousness: There is plenty of room here as the chairs and tables are to the side and there's a clear walkway. There will be a bit of human traffic to deal with as it gets busier at night. 

Helpfulness of Staff: Super helpful here. The Vice staff can bring your coffee right over to your table and in at Elastic Witch, you'll be blushing by how helpful there are. At night, it can get very packed so if you need a hand at any stage, ask the bouncers or bar staff and you should be ok. 

Parking: There is wheelchair parking on Great Stand Street (map here). 

Rating: 8/10

Why did it lose points? Twisted Pepper lost two points simply because if there is a DJ on downstairs or if you want to go to the barbers, it would be very difficult to get down those stairs. On the ground level, you have a lot of space and the wheelchair bathroom is located there too. So if all you need is on that floor, you should have no problems. 

Whelan's

Whelan's
Wexford Street, Dublin 2
whelanslive.com


This is one of Dublin's finest music landmarks. Most bands are gagging for their first gig here and as a drinking joint, you can enjoy its faux old man pub vibe. The tunes are decent (sometimes a bit overkill on the Arctic Monkeys and The Strokes - 2007 wants its groove back) and the crowd can be a laugh.


What has it got?

Seating: We have stools at the bar and moveable chairs and stools at the tables as well as some benches. 

Doors: You will possibly need a hand with these doors. They're wide enough for a wheelchair but they're split in the middle and there are two at the front entrance. However, there is a door beside the Whelan's off license which has a flat entrance but you will need someone to open it from the inside. 

Ground: Textured wooden floor. 

Stairs: On the ground level of the front bar, there are no steps, just a slight raise at the front door,  and you can gain access to the music venue from this entrance. If you are going to a gig here, use the front door as there are a number of steps to get down to the stage area from the music venue entrance. 

There is another music venue upstairs and that is also where the smoking area is. There is no lift. 

Bathrooms: There is one wheelchair bathroom on the ground floor and you will have to ask the bar staff for a key. There is no mirror in this bathroom so you will never know if your smoky-eyed look has gone a bit Courtney Love. 

Spaciousness: This is a busy spot and other than bodies, there is plenty of room to get around. 

Helpfulness of Staff: Again, the fact that Whelan's can get really busy means that the bar staff will be on their toes with serving drinks so if you're looking for the key for the bathroom, you could be waiting a while. However, they are very friendly and if you ask the bouncers, they will look after you. 

Parking: There is wheelchair parking about 5/6 doors down from the front entrance of Whelan's.

Rating: I shall split up the rating here.

As a bar: 9/10

Main music venue: 8.5/10

Upstairs music venue: 0/10

Why did it lose points? As a bar, it lost one point. Even though you can get in and out with no problems, the fact that you need to go all the way to the bar for a key for the bathroom is very annoying and makes an accessible bathroom fairly inaccessible. 

The main music venue lost a point and a half because you have to use a separate entrance to get in and unless you make your way up to the front of the crowd, it is very difficult to see the band. On the plus side, the bouncers will often help you up to the front. 

The upstairs music venue got no points because there is a flight of stairs that you first need to conquer and there are more steps from the smoking area down into the venue. 

The Grand Social

The Grand Social
35 Lower Liffey Street, Dublin 1
thegrandsocial.ie


The Grand Social is a very laid back and easy-going bar and they have bands playing very regularly in their upstairs venue. It's one of my staple bars.


What has it got?

Seating: The majority of the chairs here are moveable and will fit a wheelchair. They also have couches. 

Doors: The doors are easy enough to open. The front doors are manned by bouncers almost all of the time and they will grab them for you. 

Ground: The floor here is lino, I believe, so when drinks are spilled, you won't go sliding too far. 

Stairs: There are no steps at the entrance and on the ground level you have a bar and a wheelchair bathroom. There are about three steps down to the second bar and, unfortunately, their music venue and lovely smoking area are up a flight of stairs. 

Bathrooms: They have a decent sized wheelchair bathroom here and it has a mirror. You'd be surprised how many wheelchair bathrooms don't have mirrors. You need a code to open the door for the bathroom but ask at the bar and you'll be looked after. I would put the code here but I don't want to be the reason behind any bathroom babies. 

Spaciousness: This place can get pretty busy. The front bar is a bit of a bottle neck with people coming and going. I normally sit at the far end of the bar and I have enough room to get to and from the bathroom but I send my mates up to get my drinks. 

Helpfulness of Staff: The staff here are very helpful and have often leant an arm and some muscle when I want to go upstairs. 

Parking: There's wheelchair parking on Bachelors Walk and on Great Strand Street (map here). 

Rating: The rating will be funny here.

As a bar: 9/10

As a music venue: 1/10

Why did it lose points? As a bar, it only loses one point because it is quite tight to move around but you have everything you need on the ground level. 

As a music venue, it lost 9 points because you can only get up there via piggyback. I personally have no problem being lifted up but it is not ideal, probably not very safe and basically a pain in the ass. It got one point because the upstairs is totally flat, so if you make it up there, you can go between the venue and smoking area with ease. However, the bathrooms up there are small cubicles. 

Festival Review: Castlepalooza

Castlepalooza
Charleville Castle, Tullamore, Co. Offaly
castlepalooza.com

As I said many, many times over the course of the weekend, Castlepalooza is my new favourite festival and, no promo, but I did a wee review of it for the Irish Times (the first half is the work of Una Mulally and the second half is all me). And now, down to the Legless stuff.


What has it got?

Seating: There were plenty of picnic tables and benches about the place but they were high in demand so you'd have to fight tooth and nail for them. 

Doors: The only doors you'd have to tackle here are in your tent, the toilet or the doors you metaphorically constructed yourself.

Ground: The castle grounds were very easy to get around. There was very little mud, even after it rained, which was great for wheelchairs but tough if you were trying to pitch a tent. Wood chippings were scattered around potential danger zones. But all in all, easiest festival site I've ever had the pleasure of rolling through. 

Stairs: If you wanted to get into the castle, you had two steps into the front entrance and there was a big staircase that brought you up to the other rooms. I just loitered in the entrance playing with kittens. 

Bathrooms: Big props to the ladies in charge of the toilets at 'palooza. There was one wheelchair toilet that actually flushed (and it had a sink! VERY exciting) and the two wonderful women were there at all times to make sure that no one used the wheelchair toilet if they didn't need it. 

Spaciousness: Castlepalooza is a small festival so you were rarely overcrowded. 

Helpfulness of Staff: Ridiculously helpful. 

Parking: I got to park right beside the site entrance which meant I only had a 5-minute walk between my car and the stages and camp site. 

Rating: 10/10

Why did it lose points? I literally have no complaints. 

Live reviews: Blur, IMMA, Kilmainham

Blur
Irish Museum of Modern Art, Royal Hospital, Kilmainham, Dublin 8
imma.ie

You've heard of Blur. They've managed to space out their live shows enough that you have to admire their stance on reunions. They're not milking it and, from Damon Albarn literally bouncing off the walls, you can see that they actually enjoy what they're doing.


What has it got?

Seating: The wheelchair area was mixed together with the VIPs so, near the end, there was a scramble for chairs. I also had to sit up there on my own as wheelchair users were only allowed one person with them and unfortunately, I had more than one friend there.  

Doors: No doors. You're outside. A land without doors. 

Ground: There was a light gravel on the path in and then the wheelchair area was up on a platform with white, plastic tiling leading up to it. Elsewhere it was grassy. Thankfully it didn't rain which would have made it a very messy affair. There was a few speed bumps along the way which would have toppled my chair over if I didn't have someone with me. 

Stairs: Slopes and mild hills as far as the eye could see. 

Bathrooms: As far as I was aware, there was one wheelchair portaloo right beside the wheelchair area. The VIPs got to use it too so maybe they should have added another one because you know what those VIPs and portaloos are like when they get together.

Spaciousness: It was a sold out gig so you claimed your space and hung on to it for dear life.

Helpfulness of Staff: One security guy in particular was very helpful. He made sure I had a good spot. Without him, it would have been a crap night. 

Parking: There was wheelchair parking about 20 metres away from the concert venue which was nifty. UPDATE: A friend of mine who broke her foot was not allowed to get dropped closer to the venue. She had to walk up a hill with no help from anyone. 

Rating: 5/10

Why did it lose points? I had to watch a gig on my own because of the silly plus one restrictions a lot of gigs use. When you could see the VIPs swanning in and out at their leisure, you'd wonder why I couldn't have two mates up there.  And the queues for the bar were woeful. 

I deducted another two points from this because my friend with a broken foot (cast and crutches in tow) had a lot of difficulty getting into the venue with very little assistance from the Gardaí or onsite security.