Totally Dublin 1
Show Up are just starting back up their ‘Summer S
essions’ which run from May to September on a Wednesday morning. Each week at Dún Laoghaire Baths and Bull Island, people are encouraged to come along for yoga-based movement, breathwork, an ‘optional’ sea swim and a well needed coffee. Russell says that “these communities are out there but they can be hard to find, Show Up is different because of the consistency. You know we’ve never cancelled a sesh in the three summers it’s been going…and there’s been a lot of rainy mornings”. Many people can come up with an excuse to not wake up before the sun and attend an event, but if ‘no way to get there’ is on your excuse list, scratch that. Russell has created a group chat that offers a carpool which offers a mode of transport and another way to meet people because admittedly “it takes community to get people there”. Like Mish Mash Café, Happy Out in Dún Laoghaire opens their doors an hour early on these mornings to provide a space post stretch where people can gather. For those anxious about going alone she promises that “you can go knowing there will be a lot of other first timers there, and you are encouraged to talk to your neighbour… we even finish with a hug”. For this many people to drag themselves out of bed, early in the morning, in an unreliable Irish climate just shows how much these spaces are needed. Russell has seen how important this is for people “I’ve had messages from people who tell me how much it means to them, this one guy told me you know you don’t know how much the consistency means to me, to have something that I knew wouldn’t go away each week…it means more to me than you will ever know”. Show Up promises that consistency, that connection and “something they can count on”. There is a demanding need for productivity today. For our days to be filled with purposeful outings, a focus on how we can achieve the next thing or reach a new goal. With this agenda as our main focus, connection cannot possibly coexist. Interactions feel rushed or consumed by the next thing that ‘needs’ to be done. These kinds of gatherings are a haven away from our own busy lives, allowing people to just exist, a lost art. That same sense of ease exists within Runners Up run club. Run clubs nowadays are possibly more popular than the actual club. People attend for their physical health, for social connection, routine… and I’m sure a few are using them as an alternative to dating apps. Like many things fitness has also managed to form its own ‘trend’. A Hyrox ticket is harder to get than an Eras tour one. Padel has replaced tennis and people don’t just run at a fast pace anymore, they have the Instagram story to prove it. Runners up was built on an agenda less flashy, but offering the same thing we all seek, something that no matter how hard we try cannot be found through a social media following, this event too offers a community. After two years in Melbourne and attending cycling groups that were “a bit too fast”, Paul McCabe turned to run clubs that appeared a bit more friendly (for your soul, lungs and legs). He attended run clubs that offered long runs, short runs, track sessions and of course ‘the chats’. On his return to Ireland McCabe decided to mix all these together with his own personal offering, something that makes it all worth it, something that will get you running… coffee. Runner Up was founded in February of 2025 and is described my McCabe as a “community-based run club”. “Community means doing this for other people without expecting anything back. Every week I brew coffee and bring it down; there’s no payment or anything but through doing that other people have given back. Some people bake, some people bring chopped oranges, one of the guys was even making juices for a while” he says. The runners gather every Thursday at Kilbogget Park at the crisp hour of 7am (a scary time to wake, an even scarier time to start running laps). Two Fifty Square coffee make the early mornings slightly more bearable by supplying beans for McCabe to brew coffee for the community. He, like other community gatherers, finds the weekly aspect crucial, “Its really beneficial it being weekly, it can be hard even finding time to meet your mates, but this is something that’s set in the calendar”. People have expressed their gratitude in cards, claiming that the meet up has ‘added value to their life’ and that’s what keeps these communities alive and thriving, those who lay the foundation and those who maintain it. There is rarely a time when our phones are off, and even when they are, they are still glowing in the corner of the room or buzzing against your thigh. Joining a real-life community allows you to take a step away from the one you’ve created for yourself online. McCabe recognizes this want for a shift “I think as we go more digital people actually want more time away from their devices and that’s how it is at the track, you know, everyone’s phone is in their bag and we’re just running and chatting, its that simple”. photo: Ben Selmi That’s how these communities are built and maintained, in simplicity and consistency. Community events are a great way to connect with others, and these events are there to suit to the masses. But community comes in all shapes and sizes, not only in organised events. Community and connection can be built by looking up. By talking to the same person you share the bus to work with most mornings instead of drowning them out with earphones. By asking your local shopkeeper about themselves instead of the ‘Lost Marys’ behind the counter. Or even by sitting across from someone at a café, that way more of us could get in the door to even see the inside of these trendy spots popping up… ah community. 40