Charting 30 years of the evolution of LGBT Ireland through the stories that appeared in these pages.

Civil ServiCe BanS anti-gay DiSCrimination

OCTOBER 1988:

The civil service is to ban discrimination on the grounds of sexual orientation, becoming one of the first employers in the State to do so.

Historic Decision

JANUARY 1989:

Both houses of the Oireachtas have for the first time passed a measure granting rights to homosexuals. The measure was required to enable the Government to ratify the UN Covenant on Civil and Political Rights. It is now an offence to incite hatred on account of race, colour, religion, ethnic or national origin, membership of the traveler community or sexual orientation.

VIDEO BREAKS THE SILENCE

MAY 1990:

Stories From The Silence, an Irish-made documentary about people living with HIV/AIDS had its first showing and launch on May 16 at the Riverside Centre, Dublin. This Irish first was produced jointly by the AIDS Action Alliance and the Irish Family Planning Association.

Festival First

SEPTEMBER 1991:

The first Irish Lesbian and Gay Film Festival will take place in Cork on the weekend of October 11 to 13. A collaboration between the established Cork Film Festival and the newly-opened resource centre, The Other Place, it promises to bring together the best in international lesbian and gay cinema and to provide a forum for interested Irish filmmakers to air their views.

ALAF: DUBLIN’S LESBIAN ARTS FESTIVAL

Ireland’s lesbian arts festival, aLAF ran from 2002 to 2004, becoming one of the biggest queer cultural events on the calendar. It started over pints in a Dublin pub, where a few friends were talking about the dearth of opportunities for lesbian artists to exhibit their wares. The festival ran for four days each year, and it had an international presence. “That was one of our aims at the start,” aLAF committee member, Iris Elliott told GCN in 2003, “to not have just more Irish artists but artists from all over the world too.” aLAF was briefly revived in 2009, becoming dLAF, the Dublin Lesbian Arts Festival.

OUR DEMANDS

NOVEMBER 1988:

The Oireachtas must introduce new legislation following the Norris decision by the European Court in Strasbourg. GLEN calls on the Oireachtas to introduce full civil rights for all lesbian and gay citizens in Ireland.

UCC MAKES HISTORY

APRIL 1989:

When the governing body of UCC voted 13 to seven to recognise the college’s Lesbian and Gay Support Group, it became the first constituent college of the National University of Ireland to accept a lesbian and gay group as a legitimate student society.

ILGA: CONFERENCE FOR DUBLIN

AUGUST 1990:

The International Lesbian and Gay Association (ILGA) is to hold its 1993 Annual Conference in Ireland. The conference is expected to attract over 350 delegates from around the world and will pose a major organisational challenge for Ireland’s lesbian and gay organisations.

DIRTY LAUNDRY ON THE HA’PENNY BRIDGE

FEBRUARY 1992:

Dublin ACT-UP staged a public ‘wash-day’ on Saturday February 15 to air some of this government’s ‘dirty-laundry’ connected with AIDS and HIV. Starting at 4pm, activists hung a clothesline from the Ha’penny Bridge over the Liffey. Hanging from it were sheets detailing the Irish government’s recent record on AIDS issues. Overhead were flown kites, showing washerwomen busy with the grime of the last few years.

Youth Federation Launched

JULY 1991:

The Lesbian and Gay Youth Federation of Ireland was founded in Dublin on Saturday June 8. The brainchild of Paul Gorry, coordinator of the Dublin Lesbian and Gay Youth Group, it promises to be an umbrella organisation for any group with members under 25 years. Its purposes include lobbying for lesbian and gays from different parts of Ireland, and offering support for new youth organisations across the country.

A PRESIDENT FOR ALL OF US!

DECEMBER 1992:

On December 12, 1992, Mary Robinson, Ireland’s first woman President, welcomed 34 Irish lesbians and gay men to Áras an Úachtarain. The significance of this special reception was widely recognised in the extensive coverage given to it by the press, radio and television.

ST. PATRICK’S DAY PARADE WILL INCLUDE US!

MARCH 1993:

Dublin Tourism has accepted an application from the National Lesbian and Gay Federation (NLGF) to enter a float in the St. Patrick’s Day Parade. Michael Dillon secretary of the NLGF said: “We are delighted to be participating in the St. Patrick’s Day Parade on this our very first application. The decision of Dublin Tourism to allow the NLGF take part in the national holiday shows a level of maturity and openness sadly lacking in the Ancient Order of Hibernians in New York.”

MAGNUS HIRSCHFELD AWARD PRESENTED TO THE MINISTER FOR JUSTICE

JANUARY 1994:

The Minister for Justice, Máire Geoghegan-Quinn, is this year’s recipient of the Magnus Hirschfeld Award. The award is presented to individuals who, in the opinion of the National Lesbian and Gay Federation, have advanced lesbian and gay equality. Earlier this year, the Minister introduced legislation which decriminalised homosexual acts and brought in an equal age of consent of 17.

DE ROSSA DEFENDS GRANT TO LESBIANS

OCTOBER 1995:

The Minister for Social Welfare Mr Proinsias De Rossa has attacked the coverage in the tabloid press of his decision to allocate £50,000 to LOT, Lesbians Organising Together. Mr De Rossa was speaking at the opening of the LOT offices in Dublin last month. “We need to have room for all minority groups in an inclusive and tolerant society,” Mr De Rossa said.

Dundalk Centre Launched

MARCH 1998:

Senator David Norris and Jeff Dudgeon, whose cases at the European Court of Human Rights liberalised laws against gay sex north and south of the border, launched Dundalk Outcomers’ new city-centre premises at a champagne reception on March 21. Rooms at the premises on Roden Place have been named in honour of the veteran campaigners.

GCN EDITOR WINS JOURNALISM AWARD

JANUARY 1999:

Gay Community News Editor Deborah Ballard and Irish Times journalist Suzanne Breen were presented with the Women’s News Awards for outstanding work by a woman journalist on Belfast on January 17.

PRIMA! DONNA

APRIL 1993:

On April 26, 1993 Donna McAnallen was dismissed from her job at Brookfield Holiday Village as a lifeguard and fitness instructor after allegations were made that she had been seen kissing another woman. Her supervisor informed her at the time that she was being fired because having a lesbian working at the fitness club would ruin its reputation. The Cork LGBT community came out in support, sporting t-shirts saying ‘I kissed Donna McAnallen’.

Lesbian Avengers’ First Action

DECEMBER 1996:

The Lesbian Avengers have carried out their first action on Turk’s Head Chop House, Parliament Street, Dublin 2. The Avengers, a ‘non-violent direct action’ group, chose the Turk’s Head because of its reputed policy of refusing service to customers assumed to be lesbian or gay.

VICIOUS ATTACK IN SLIGO

FEBRUARY 1999:

The American writer Robert Drake is still in a critical condition in Dublin’s Beaumont Hospital after being brutally attacked at his home in Sligo. He was unconscious when he was found on the evening of January 31, and is believed to have been lying there for well over 12 hours. There was apparently no evidence of a break-in or a burglary.

WATCH THIS SPACE

JUNE 1999:

A large-scale media campaign to promote lesbian visibility will be launched by LEA (Lesbian Education and Awareness) on June 14. Billboards with imagery and text about lesbians in Irish society will appear for two weeks in Cork, Galway, Limerick, Belfast, Derry and Dublin. “The aim of the campaign is to de-mystify what mainstream society perceives lesbians to be. The message is that lesbians are mothers, sisters, neighbours teachers – even taxi drivers,” said Anita Thoma, Public Relations Officer at LEA/NOW.

First Openly Gay Candidate

MAY 1994:

The first openly gay candidate is contesting the Dublin South Central by-election on June 9. John Goodwillie, a member of the Green Party, was a member of the National Lesbian and Gay Federation Management Committee from 1989-93. A librarian in Trinity College, John is also involved in environmental organisations and has been involved in the development of policy on economic matters, foreign affairs, Northern Ireland and constitutional reform.

NEW LAW TO PROTECT GAYS

AUGUST 1995:

The recognition of lesbian and gay partnerships in a new law has been described as epoch-making by the cochair of GLEN, Kieran Rose. The Domestic Violence Bill extends the right to obtain barring orders to people who live together “in a relationship the basis of which is not primarily contractual”.

MCALEESE AT OUTHOUSE

APRIL 1999:

President Mary McAleese became the first head of state to visit Outhouse, Dublin’s centre for the LGBT community on April 16.

This move by the President represents the changing face of Ireland, although she is very aware that homophobia still exists. “Our aim must be to create a society that us truly equal,” she said.

IRELAND DELAYS UN GAY RIGHTS VOTE

MAY 2003:

Ireland has abstained from a vote to enshrine the rights of the gay community into UN law, effectively postponing the vote for a year. All other EU states voted against postponing voting the resolution, which would have forced the international duty of UN States to protect and recognise the rights of LGBTs.

STATUTORY BODY ACCUSED OF DISCRIMINATION

MAY 2004:

Gay Peer Action Group, Johnny has expressed outrage at “continued blatant discrimination” against gay and bisexual men by the Irish Blood Transfusion Service (IBTS).

“Every day in Ireland countless citizens are exposed to the IBTS’s communications drive to encourage more people to donate blood. However, the communications campaign should say, ‘We Need Blood, Not Excuses – Except If You’re Gay’,” said Conor Coughlan, Chairman of Johnny.

CAN WE HAVE THE BILL, PLEASE!

MARCH 2005:

On Wednesday, February 15, Senator David Norris introduced his Civil Partnerships Bill to the Seanad and despite an effort from Fianna Fáil to vote it down, managed to garner enough cross-party political support to bring it to second stage.

MAY 2003: LESBIAN LIVES

The Lesbian Lives conference in UCD, now in its tenth year, attracts a diverse array of women from Ireland, the UK and beyond. Between two and three hundred women attend the conference and up to 500 more can be found frolicking at the Friday and Saturday night parties. This year’s serious socialites can continue on to Sunday’s pub quiz and cabaret.

Originally organised by Ger Moane, Rosemary Gibney and Ailbhe Smyth a decade ago, Lesbian Lives is run on a minuscule budget. Funded by registration fees and a donation from WERRC (Women’s Education Research and Resource Centre), the weekend is a fantastic opportunity for the lesbian community to meet, think, present, view, discuss, learn, listen, entertain and be entertained.

Organiser Katherine O’Donnell of WERRC says: “The major success of the conference is that it is a definite date on the Irish lesbian calendar and it is a place where friends from around the country can meet up, have a good time and renew their energies, get some information, new ideas or feedback on their work and spark new ventures.

SAME-SEX REGISTRY

JANUARY 2000:

In a historic first for an Irish local authority, Cork County Council is set to adopt a procedure where same-sex couples will be able to register their partnerships. The proposal, the domestic partnerships bye-law, will allow any group of people who share a residence to register with the council. The draft law explicitly refers to lesbian and gay couples among those benefiting from it.

THE WEST ROCKS

MARCH 2003:

Castlebar town received a big surprise on Saturday, February 8 as the largest OUTWEST event ever took place in the TF Royal Hotel and Theatre. Three months of planning and widespread advertising paid off when 450 people showed up on the night.

EQUALITY WINNER WANTS MORE CASES TAKEN

JUNE 2004:

A Waterford gay man, who won compensation from a hotel that refused to serve him, has urged more gay people to contact the Equality Authority when they are discriminated against. Last week, Martin O’Regan was awarded €1,000 compensation in a case taken out against the Bridge Hotel in Waterford. He claimed that he was asked to leave the hotel and refused service at the bar on the grounds that he was gay.

CORK WOMEN JUST WANNA HAVE FUN

MAY 2005:

The annual Cork Women’s Fun Weekend is gearing up for its 21st fun-filled weekend this May Bank Holiday weekend, and over the years has become one of the biggest lesbian events on the Irish calendar.

“The first Fun Weekend took place in 1984, right in the thick of the feminist movement in Cork,” explains one of the organisers, Helena Crotty.

GAYBASHING SURVEY LAUNCHED

June 2005:

Following a spate of attacks on gay men in the vicinity of Dublin’s pubs, one of which has left a victim in a coma, a campaign has been launched by the gay peer action group, Johnny, to try and source information on levels of queerbashing in Irleand.

Equal Status Bill Passes

APRIL 2000:

Following amendments in the Seanad, The Equal Status Bill was passed by the Dáil and now goes to the President to be signed into law. The bill outlaws discrimination in the provision of goods and services on nine grounds, including sexual orientation.

STUDENTS IN THE PINK

NOVEMBER 2004:

Pink Training, organised by the Union of Students of Ireland, entered its 11th year this month and saw University College Cork host the event, which was attended by over 200 students for sessions and workshops on topics such as activism, queer theory, dealing with the media, exploring sexual identity, coming out, sexual health, and setting up and running an LGBT society in college, and discussion groups on men’s, women’s bisexual and transgender issues.

One Voice Wonders

JUNE 2005:

In the heart of Dublin’s Temple Bar, a Vivaldi chorus floats through open windows, pouring wonder and joy into the balmy night air. 50 voices – male, female, soprano, alto, tenor and bass – merge and separate in beautifully layered harmonies as Glória, Ireland’s Gay and Lesbian Choir, rehearse for their 10th anniversary concert, coming up in Dublin’s National Concert Hall on June 25.

BELFAST HOLDS THE UK’S FIRST SAME-SEX UNION

DECEMBER 2005:

On December 16, Shannon Sickels, 27, and Grainne Close, 32, became the first same-sex couple to use the UK’s new civil partnership laws to publicly register their commitment at a ceremony in Belfast’s City Hall. The Civil Partnership Act, which came into effect on December 5, enables same-sex couples to obtain legal recognition of their relationship, granting them new rights in areas such as employment, pension and inheritance.

LABOUR PUBLISHES CIVIL UNIONS BILL

JANUARY 2007:

The Labour Party has published a Civil Unions Bill that, if passed by the Dáil, would give same sex couples all the rights, protections and responsibilities currently afforded to married heterosexual couples, but stopping short of calling such an arrangement Civil Marriage.

GCN PUBLISHER WINS NEW IRISH AWARD

JANUARY 2009:

Ailbhe Smyth, Chair of the National Lesbian and Gay Federation, has won an ‘Ireland Involved’ Award for her voluntary contributions to Ireland’s LGBT community. “It’s wonderful to get an award for campaigning for LGBT issues,” Smyth told GCN. “Who would have thought it 30 years ago? I certainly didn’t.”

JUNE 2008: DREAM TEAMS

After winning the hotly contested race to the Bingham Cup, an international gay rugby tournament and the largest biennial amateur 15s rugby tournament in the world, 25 rugby teams from across the world, and their fans, will descend on Dublin on June 13.

Commonly referred to as the Gay Rugby World Cup, the Bingham Cup is named after Mark Bingham, one of the heroes of Flight 93 on September 11, 2001 in recognition of his membership of the San Francisco Fog RFC, which was the first club to host the event. The Mark Bingham Cup has subsequently been hosted by London (2004) and New York (2006). Endorsed by the IRFU, the competition will take place at the DCU Sports Complex.

Speaking at the announcement, Emerald Warriors Chairman, Barry Joyce said: “On behalf of The Emerald Warriors I’m delighted to welcome the Bingham Cup to Dublin. This is a great honour for our club and a world event for Dublin to host bringing visitors from all over to our capital city. We look forward to welcoming new friends from the international rugby fraternity - many of whom we have played in our recent competition in the Bingham Cup in New York and previously in London.”

TAOISEACH TO OFFICIALLY OPEN GLEN OFFICES

APRIL 2006:

The new offices of Ireland’s leading gay equality organisation, the Gay and Lesbian Equality Network (GLEN) will be opened by Taoiseach Bertie Ahern on April 13. It will be the first time a leader of the Irish government will officially endorse equality for gay people.

Youth Tackle Anti-gay Bullying

November 2006:

In response to research by the School of Education in Dublin City University, which shows that nearly four out of five teachers surveyed were aware of instances of homophobic bullying in their schools, the Equality Authority and the BeLonG To youth service are to launch a campaign targeting the problem.

EQUALITY RALLY MAKES NOISE

APRIL 2009:

An estimated 700 members called for full same-sex marriage and not “an inferior piece of legislation” at a rally for marriage held at the Central Bank on April 19. This led to the first March for Marriage which took place on August 9 the same year, to which 5,000 people turned up, all brandishing cards simply saying ‘Equal’.

FIRST NATIONAL LGBT CONFERENCE

NOVEMBER 2011:

The first LGBT Diversity National Conference took place in Dublin’s Westbury Hotel on November 29, providing a packed day with a variety of speakers and workshops. The conference was spoken to by President Mary McAleese, who acknowledged LGBT organisations all around Ireland as being “strong and powerful advocates, promoting human rights, insisting on equality and diligently chipping away at the hardened old mindsets and prejudices built up over centuries”.

KATHERINE ZAPPONE APPOINTED TO SEANAD

MAY 2010:

LGBT history was made when the Taoiseach, Enda Kenny appointed the first out lesbian to the Seanad, on the advice of the Táinaiste, Joan Bruton. “I think the fact that the two top leaders of our country agreed to appoint me to become a lawmaker is just a huge statement,” Senator Zappone said. Katherine went on to be elected to government in 2016 and was appointed Minister for Children and Youth Affairs.

FEB 2010: MAJOR LGBT CHORAL FESTIVAL FOR DUBLIN

Glória, Ireland’s lesbian and gay choir have secured Dublin as the location for the Various Voices LGBT European Choral Festival in 2014.

“Glória are thrilled and honoured to have been awarded the festival,” says Ian Doyle of the Various Voices Bid Team. With over 2,000 participants, it will be the largest international event ever held in Ireland.”

The Festival was awarded by Legato Choirs, the European association of LGBT choirs at their general meeting in Berlin, after a competition process involving six European cities. “It’s an enormous privilege and an incredible challenge to host this event and we look forward to welcoming our European friends to Dublin,” says Doyle. “We want to send out a huge thank you to all who helped us with the bid.”

Children’s Voices

SEPTEMBER 2010:

A conference launching research documenting the experiences of children growing up in Ireland with LGBT parents will take place in Dublin on September 8. Entitled ‘Voices of Children’, the conference will be a space for the exchange of information between experts working in the field of children’s rights and young peoples’ first-hand experiences.

LGBT YOUTH RIGHTS CONFERENCE

JUNE 2013:

On Monday June 17 in Croke Park, BeLonG To, together with the Department of Children and Youth Affairs brought together the main EU institutions and LGBT activists from across the world to discuss the rights of young LGBT people. The conference was opened by the Minister for Children and Youth Affairs, Frances Fitzgerald.

ACT UP DUBLIN PROTEST

NOVEMBER 2016:

On the eve of World AIDS Day, ACT UP Dublin brandished an alarm clock outside the Department of Health at Hawkin’s House to “wake Ireland’s dormant institutions to the need for action on HIV prevention”.

“Last year alone we had 485 new diagnoses and 51% of them were among men who have sex with men (MSM),” said Robbie Lawlor of ACT UP Dublin. “HIV is a political crisis because of the inaction that’s happening.”In the main ACT UP are calling on the government not to delay in making Pre-Exposure Prophylaxis (PrEP), commonly known as the drug Truvada, available in Ireland.

NEW LGBT EMPLOYEE STRATEGY FOR DUBLIN CITY COUNCIL

MAY 2017:

Dublin City Council has published a new strategy to ensure it is an LGBT aware and inclusive employer. The plan focuses on three objectives: to facilitate LGBT visibility in DCC, to promote and strengthen LGBT inclusion at all levels in the City Council, and to provide education and awareness of LGBT-related issues.

FIRST NATIONAL HIV PREVENTION CAMPAIGN

DECEMBER 2011:

On December 1, World AIDS Day, the Gay Health Network (GHN), in association with Dublin City Council and in partnership with the HSE, will launch the first ever National HIV Prevention and Sexual Health Awareness Programme for men who have sex with men (MSM). It will be a year-long social marketing programme with an emphasis on those residing outside urban centres and younger men aged 18 to 24 years.

Constitutional Kiss In

APRIL 2013:

The possibility of introducing same-sex marriage will be discussed at the upcoming Constitutional Convention on April 13 and 14, and a recommendation will be made to the government whether they should legislate or not. To celebrate the Convention’s commitment to discussing same-sex marriage, and to encourage lawmakers to do the right thing, LGBT Noise will hold a ‘Kiss for Marriage’ demonstration on Sunday, April 14 outside the Gaiety Theatre in Dublin.

REBEL WINNERS

NOVEMBER 2013:

The fifth annual Rebel Awards took place at the Imperial Hotel in Cork on November 16. The awards were set up by the Cork Gay Project, Cork Pride, GayCork.com and LINC to acknowledge LGBT people and organisations for their contributions, work and support to the Cork LGBT community. Deputy Lord Mayor John Kelleher delivered the opening address.

NI SAME-SEX MARRIAGE COURT CASE

AUGUST 2017:

On August 17, Belfast’s High Court dismissed two cases challenging the lack of provisions for same-sex marriage in Northern Ireland. For 12 years both couples in the case have struggled to have their relationships recognised, only for the DUP to doggedly challenge every attempt by the power sharing executive to introduce same-sex marriage in the North.

DUBLIN TO HOST INTERNATIONAL GAY SOCCER CHAMPIONSHIPS

JUNE 2012:

Dublin Devils, Ireland’s gay men’s football team, will host the International Gay and Lesbian Football Association’s European Football Championships next year. The Devils secured the event after an extensive lobbying campaign, which the IGLFA President Klaus Heusslein described as “first class”.

REGISTER TO VOTE CAMPAIGN

NOVEMBER 2014:

A joint campaign has been launched by GLEN, the ICCL and Marriage Equality, encouraging people to register to vote in November so that they can vote in next year’s marriage referendum. The campaign will be run in collaboration with LGBT organisations across the country, as well as USI, student unions and trade unions.

LGBT IRELAND LAUNCHED

MARCH 2018:

The Minister for Children and Youth Affairs, Katherine Zappone officially launched LGBT Ireland.

LGBT Ireland will provide key services to LGBT people in three core pillars of service provision: Support in non-judgemental, confidential helplines, including online web chats and peer support services; training to statutory and voluntary agencies and community groups; and acting as an advocacy organisation for the rights of all LGBT people living in Ireland.

LESBIAN COUPLE URGE IRISH LGBTS TO TAKE ANTI-DISCRIMINATION ACTION

MARCH 2006:

On March 7, Myra McGuirk and Eileen Twomey, both residents of Blarney, Co. Cork, won the first discrimination case on sexual orientation grounds. Over a year ago the couple were asked to leave Malone’s Bar in Blarney after exchanging a good luck kiss before playing a game of pool.

GAY RIGHTS GROUPS WELCOME DE FACTO FAMILY RULING

APRIL 2008:

On April 16, rejecting a High Court guardianship claim of a gay man who donated his sperm to a lesbian couple, Mr Justice John Hedigan said: “There is nothing in Irish law to suggest that a family of two women and a child have any lesser right to be recognised as a de facto family than a family composed of a man and woman unmarried to each other and a child.”

MARRIAGE EQUALITY IS TOP BURNING ISSUE

OCTOBER 2009:

Throughout 2009, the National LGBT Federation (NXF) conducted the largest ever survey of the LGBT community, assessing the issues that are chief on their minds. The results confirmed that equality for same-sex couples under marriage law was of prime importance. The NXF followed up with a second Burning Issues survey post marriage equality legislation in 2016, this time finding that the inclusion of LGBTs in hate crime legislation was the top issue.