A Word From Our Publishers

The National LGBT Federation (NXF) has been working voluntarily to improve LGBT+ lives for almost 40 years. Founded in 1979 in a very different Ireland, the National Gay Federation (NGF) opened The Hirschfield Centre in Temple Bar as a place where it was okay to be gay, to connect with others in the community and to find out what was happening politically and socially.

In a country where being LGBT was illegal, dangerous and socially abhorrent, it was a brave move to even be on the NGF board and to work publicly for gay rights. Ireland owes so much to the people who were dedicated enough to be activists at that time and who worked to reshape the country into the more modern, liberal place that it is today.

I joined the NXF in 2015, when we were still high on the celebration of Marriage Equality, in the same year as the Gender Recognition Act was signed into law and Section 37 was amended to make it illegal for Catholic-run institutions to discriminate against LGBT+ employees. The main way that

I had known about the NXF was through GCN magazine and the GALAS. Like many people, I remember sneaking into a bookshop on Dame Street and smuggling GCN into my bag to read later and get a window into an exciting but scary new world!

I’ve always been part of voluntary groups – from Tidy Towns committees to workplace D&I – and some very special, meaningful results happen when a group of people give their free time to get something important done together.

The commitment that brings people together on a cold Monday evening to write a proposal or pore over spreadsheets can be rewarded with a ‘sold out’ GALAS ceremony or a ground-breaking piece of research, and the NXF provides so many opportunities to do great things in our LGBT community.

We are currently expanding the NXF board of volunteers and I am honoured to have recently become chairperson. It is an exciting time as we celebrate 30 years of GCN in 2018 and 40 years of the NXF in 2019. We look forward to continuing the work started in 1979 – representing and informing the community through publications and research, recognising and connecting the community at events such as the GALAs, and celebrating our LGBT history on the continuing Road to Equality.

Caroline Keane is the Chair of the National LGBT Federation, www.nxf.ie (pictured at the GALAS with Steve Jacques, also of the NXF board)