IN ON THE JOKE

FROM THE TEAM
Welcome, dear reader, to the first issue of GCN for 2024.

Support GCN
GCN is a registered charity and has continuously operated on a not-for-profit basis.

A FLOURISHING OF QUEER HISTORIES?
The Institute of Historical Research in the University of London will host an online roundtable which will feature papers on Queer Irish History.

TINA KOLOS ORBAN
In memory of an inspiring activist, friend, and colleague.

Inside SLM
Over the course of the last year, in commemoration of the 50th anniversary of the founding of Ireland’s first Sexual Liberation Movement (SLM), Ethan Moser has been highlighting the movement’s founding members. Those involved have been profiled for the roles they played in moving Ireland towards LGBTQ+ equality.

EMIS2024
EMIS 2024 is the European Men-Who-Have-Sex-With-Men and trans people internet survey.

A Pocket Guide To Transitioning
The process of transitioning can be daunting, let alone finding the information on how to navigate it. As many know, most of the information is dispersed across multiple websites, forums, and resources, and can feel really overwhelming to source. Tiernan Arnup Egan shares info on a new pocket guide that will provide essential help.

COMMUNITY FOUNDATION SURVEY
This year, with the support of the Community Foundation of Ireland, we carried out a survey amongst our readership to get insights into what our community feels about aging and dying.

Royalty
When most people hear the word “drag ” one idea immediately comes to mind: a hyper glamorous drag queen sashaying across a stage with a huge wig and a tuck, but that’s only one genre of this incredibly artistic and genderbending world. Nicole Lee celebrates our amazing community of drag kings.

IN ON THE JOKE
Ireland is a nation of storytellers, and as everyone knows, the best stories are the funny ones. With that fact in mind, our queer community has been punching above its weight on the comedy scene for years. Sarah McKenna Barry caught up with some of the brightest mirth makers in the business to hear about their own journeys, and have some laughs in the process.

YES AND YES EVERY VOTE COUNTS
On March 8, the people of Ireland will be asked to vote on two referendums to change our constitution - the first refers to the definition of family under our constitution and the other concerns the role of women as caregivers in the home. If you’re anything like Ranae von Meding, perhaps these referendums have snuck up on you and you aren’t entirely sure what the changes might mean in practical terms were the referendums to pass.

YOUR VOICE MATTERS
The upcoming referendum on March 8, 2024, will see a revision being proposed to Article 41.2, removing the outdated language in favour of a more progressive and equal definition of care. But how will this change the role of women in Irish society, and what impact, if any, will it have? Han Tiernan elaborates

Lovers & Other Strangers
While the release of a major film depicting and discussing queer lives is always an exciting event, there’s an extra thrill involved with Andrew Haigh’s excellent All of Us Strangers as it stars two of Ireland’s most exciting talents. Alice Linehan chatted with Andrew Scott and Paul Mescal about their film, alongside the evolution of queer lives

GRIN & BEAR IT
With the upcoming 2024 Béar Féile, Ethan Moser takes a stroll through the woods of gay history and celebrates our beloved bears, before discovering all the festival has to offer.

STANDING UP TO THE FAR RIGHT
In recent times it has often felt like the shadow of far-right extremists has been looming over our communities. In Ireland, we can see it in the shocking riots that happened in Dublin late last year or the anti-LGBTQ+ library protests that have been going on. When we shift our gaze towards continental Europe and the wider world, it becomes obvious that there too the far-right is gaining ground. But, as Swantje Mohrbeck describes, everywhere where the far-right is advancing, there are also people standing up to defend our communities.

ASEXUAL & SEX POSITIVE
One of the main misconceptions about asexuality is that all asexual people want absolutely nothing to do with sex. While this is accurate for some asexual people, it couldn’t be further from the truth for many others. Beatrice Fanucci spoke to members of the community to get the facts.

Directory
Dublin & The East ACT UP Dublin Individuals

NO ONE SEES THEMSELVES IN US...
While the eyes of the world are fixed on the awful events currently taking place in Ukraine and in Palestine, there is another large-scale power struggle that is not nearly gaining as much attention. Beatrice Fanucci reports on the full-blown war that erupted in Sudan in April 2023, killing over 12,000 people and causing what the United Nations deemed the world’s largest human displacement crisis. This article contains distressing content.

PROTECT QUEER CULTURAL SPACES
Queer Spaces — Mother — Love Tempo The