Coming Out with Pride

With no colourful Pride Parade making its way through the centre of Dublin, members of the LGBTQ+ community who had wanted to use the moment to ‘come out’ or to celebrate recently doing so, sadly didn’t have the chance.

Now, in a new campaign by Dublin Bus in association with Do Dublin, and your very own GCN, six members of our wonderful rainbow family get to ‘come out’ with Pride to the whole city - on the sides of Dublin buses!

Come Out with Pride will see our awesome LGBTQ+ family adorn buses and bus shelters, celebrating their own Pride and Pride Month. Their pride and bravery will hopefully encourage others to also be themselves, without fear or shame, and let them know we’re a family who look out for each other.

Dublin Bus have long been supporters of the LGBTQ+ community. Every year, their images and videos detailing the support and love from our friends, families and allies have raised smiles, as well as the odd tear! And this year will be no different.

While we don’t want to ruin all of the surprises, the fine folk featured each told us a little bit of what being part of the campaign meant to them. Adam shared, “I really wish there was a Parade this year, I’d love to be going to it and saying, ‘Hey, I’m out as me finally, this is awesome,’ so it’s great that Dublin Bus are doing this.”

Lockdown restrictions haven’t just meant a very different type of Pride this year, it also meant that a lot of folk couldn’t see their loved ones. Louise explained, “I still haven’t seen my family in person since I came out, but I feel like I will be able to relax a bit more now, because that was always the worry - like, what if I let something slip?”

Jorge detailed an experience familiar to almost everyone who has shared their truth, saying, “The perfect way to describe coming out is freedom - you don’t need to pretend to be someone else.” Carina agreed: “Coming out is more than happiness, it’s a relief, it’s a peace inside. That’s how I’m feeling at the moment.”

There’s never a right time to share your truth, and sometimes it needs a lot of time. But when you feel comfortable enough to do it, there’ll always be support. Tom who is ‘coming out’ later in life, shared, “You’ll be surprised who is supportive, I’ve two 90 year-old aunts who are nuns, one is the next Reverend Mother. And they have no problem. So if a 90 year-old next Reverend Mother can accept someone who’s gay, what’s the problem?!”

Keeva shared, “In school, I didn’t really embrace being queer properly as an identity, and I think I didn’t realise that was missing. But then when I fully embraced it, I thought ‘it’s definitely an important part of my identity as a human’. So I feel much more comfortable now.”

It’s going to be a stunning and heartwarming campaign, and GCN are delighted to be a part of it. Managing Editor Lisa Connell shared, “GCN is proud to be chosen as Dublin Bus’ community partnership for Pride 2021. As Ireland’s national LGBTQ+ press, GCN marks 33 years in publishing this year, Dublin Bus marks 34 years, both organisations have been connecting communities across all those years.

“LGBTQ+ visibility and representation is so important in supporting and affirming our community and in challenging discrimination. This partnership gives visibility at the most wonderful, dynamic level and signal to our society that LGBTQ+ folk are valuable and respected members of our society.“

Vivienne Kavanagh, Dublin Bus Employee Development and Equality Executive added, “For over 10 years, Dublin Bus has worked to champion the community and play our part for LGBTQ+ causes. We’re really looking forward to bringing this celebration of diversity and inclusion to the streets and help the newest members of the community celebrate this milestone and tell their story with GCN. As a company we take great pride in our progressive and pioneering D&I policies, and want to ensure all employees and customers feel welcomed and supported.”

Alongside the fabulous Dublin Bus images, you can read the full stories of all six of the fantastic folk involved on GCN.ie. Happy Pride, everyone!