No: 3 GCN’S Lesbian Pages

I arrived in Ireland in 1993, just as the decriminalisation bill was signed into law, and friends steered me towards Lesbians Organising Together (LOT), which had set up a publishing group to improve lesbian representation, particularly in GCN. Among them were Íde O’Carroll and Anita Thoma, who was already working at GCN but deeply involved with LOT.

LOT Publishing Group, left to right: Kathleen Comerford, Bernie Carolan, Anita Thoma, Deborah Ballard, Ide O’Carroll, Jane Coulson

We met GCN’s publishers, the NLGF, and asked for stronger lesbian representation in all sections of the paper, but this was not seen as feasible by the NLGF and GCN. However, they did agree to reserve two pages for lesbian content, provided LOT could guarantee copy to fill them. To ensure this, I was made responsible to GCN’s then editor, Richie Prendergast, and was put on the FÁS scheme as the Lesbian Pages editor.

Although there was some grumbling, most people at GCN were supportive and welcoming and the women on GCN’s FÁS scheme, including Anita, supported the pages from the start. LOT members, including Íde, Kathleen Comerford, and the LOT FÁS workers, Bernie Carolan and Jane Coulson, formed a support group, suggesting articles and feeding in information, so we had no trouble filling the pages. GCN showed willing by putting a picture of the support group on the front page of February 1994, the first month the Lesbian Pages appeared.

But the most important thing about the pages was the effect it had on other parts of the paper. The support group was part of a wider lesbian network – more books of lesbian interest got reviewed, because we knew who to ask to review them. Lesbian artists got coverage; news stories of interest to lesbians began to appear. And more women joined the GCN FÁS scheme.

As GCN’s staff shrank at the end of the 90s the Lesbian Pages were discontinued, lesbian coverage diminished too, although in recent years there has been much better coverage of issues of interest to lesbians.