Elska Gets Intimate With the Gay Community of Dublin, Ireland

Elska Magazine, a publication dedicated to revealing the bodies and voices of gay communities around the world, has put the spotlight on gay Dublin, Ireland for its latest issue. Inside readers are invited to travel virtually to the city and get to know a cross section of local gay men through intimate photography and personal storytelling.

Made late last summer during a brief but welcome lull in the pandemic, Elska Dublin is an uplifting and positive issue that makes for a great escape from the current new COVID-19 waves that have been sweeping across Ireland, Europe and the world. The stories the men of gay Dublin share in this issue are some of the most breezy we’ve ever featured, including tales of boozy nights out on the gay scene, intimate nights in and even tales that highlight some of the good moments to come from this pandemic era. It reveals a city and community that remain happy and hopeful despite the troubling times.

Photographically, too, this gay Dublin issue highlights a hopeful Ireland. There are smiles, candidly caught laughter and even a sun that chose to shine for us throughout most of the outdoor scenes — a rarity, or so the stereotype suggests. And regarding other stereotypes of a conservative and Catholic Ireland, the images reveal rather a lot of nudity, more than the average Elska edition, proving that this is a city full of freedom, frivolity and fun.

This Dublin issue was such a surprise. We’d just lost two planned shoot trips for future issues and were nervous that our next two trips would also end up cancelled due to the pandemic and resulting travel restrictions. So on a whim I decided to hop over the ‘invisible’ border from where I was in Northern Ireland to the Republic of Ireland and see if I could make an issue while the COVID-19 rates were at a low. To my delight, within days of announcing my plans on social media, dozens of guys had come forward, keen to take part in my project. So I grabbed a train and quickly got to work, finishing a busy week of 17 photoshoots just before a new set of lockdowns came into effect. It was still a scary time, but also really joyful, and I’m happy to now present an issue that will give readers a bit of joy when we really need it.

Elska Dublin is divided into 11 chapters, each dedicated to a different Dublin local lad. These chapters include a story written by the subject themselves and a selection of photographs shot in their homes and in their streets. A special limited edition companion zine called Elska Ekstra Dublin is also available, containing six more guys and their stories for whom there weren’t enough pages for in the main mag, plus behind-the-scenes tales and bonus outtakes.

Elska Dublin is 196 pages and is available from a select group of shops around the world as well as for order online from the Elska website. The list of stockists and details of the subscription service can also be found online at elskamagazine.com.

Peer into gay Dublin, Ireland, with the new issue of Elska now! View more images from the Elska Dublin issue below.