No: 26 Coming Out In Sport

“I know I am different; but just in this way.” I remember exactly where I was when I read this line in Donal Óg Cusack’s 2009 autobiography Come What May, as the Cork hurler became the first elite Irish sportsperson to publicly come out. It was a groundbreaking moment. Queer athletes were no longer an abstract in our country; this made them real.

Many may have expected the floodgates to open – but change came in a much more subtle form. Five years on, when St. Vincent’s captain Ger Brennan stood in the Hogan Stand of Croke Park and lifted the 2014 All Ireland Club Championship, acknowledging the “girlfriends and boyfriends” of the players in his victory speech, it was a casual mention that meant so much to so many.

“I’m completely comfortable with myself, and how I am.” Retired Irish hockey international Nikki Symmons became the first Irish sportswoman to come out publicly in November 2014, on a Second Captains TV panel discussion about homosexuality in sport. There’s a common perception that coming out is somehow ‘easier’ in women’s sports. It’s not. But having role models to lead the way certainly helps.

“I just want to live happily with the person I love.” The words of Cork footballing legend Valerie Mulcahy followed in a documentary in 2015 – the first high-profile female GAA star to come out publicly, several months before the marriage equality referendum. The impact that Mulcahy candidly sharing her personal experience has had is immeasurable. She changed the game; and galvanised the next generation.

Last year, Kildare football captain Erica Burke spoke about her sexuality in a deeply affecting interview with The42.ie – citing the passing of the referendum as the push for her to feel comfortable in doing so. Recently, Dublin football All Star Nicole Owens spoke out about how coming to terms with her sexual identity in her teenage years was a contributing factor to her depression; and how she went about seeking the help she needed. Her ‘coming out’ wasn’t the story – it happened in the course of courageously tackling a separate stigma. That, in itself, is a major development. These women, both in their early 20s, are the modern vanguard for queer athletes.

Sure, there hasn’t been a stampede out of the closet following in the footsteps of Cusack. Like most areas of LGBT+ life in Ireland, progress is slow – but just because it’s not reflected at the very top level doesn’t mean it’s not real. Because every day, in every sport, in every club, in every county, queer athletes – bolstered by those who have come out before them – are making their own indelible marks on the Irish sporting landscape.

Elaine Buckley is the co-presenter with Emily Glen of the women in sports podcast, Fair Game, www.headstuff.org