MAEVE DELARGY

Maeve Delargy, a fierce lawyer and LGBTQ+ activist, was among those shortlisted for the Person of the Year award. She spoke to Beatrice Fanucci about her work and what it means to receive this recognition.

Maeve Delargy’s tireless work as an LGBTQ+ campaigner has taken many forms. It has included everything from working with the Pride Committee at Philip Lee LLP, the OUTLaw Network, and fellow campaigners in LGBT Ireland, Equality for Children and Irish Gay Dads to participating in a panel in Maynooth University about Frances Marshall’s amazing Queer Religion collection as part of the Arts and Minds Festival. She has also worked with the Irish Women Lawyers Association and Law Society of Ireland Younger Members Committee, collaborating with them on a Pride event in Trinity College Dublin’s School of Law with Swethaa S. Ballakrishnen.

Moreover, she assisted Anthony Kinahan with the legal details for his play Unguarded, dealing with the issues arising from the lack of surrogacy legislation in Ireland. Maeve has also collaborated with Dr Claire O’Connell, whom she thanks for being an invaluable member of the LGBT+ Parenting Alliance, having done great work, including drafting a Private Members Bill which the Labour Party put forward.

If this wasn’t enough, Maeve is also now a mother of four. As part of a same-sex couple, she knows first-hand the struggles that LGBTQ+ parents face in Ireland due to the lack of legal protections.

“My activism has been focused on my family and other LGBTQ+ families and just ensuring that all children of all LGBTQ+ families have equal legal recognition,” she said. “That the choice made by LGBTQ+ people on how they form their families are recognised and respected and therefore given effect to in the law.”

While she is not a solicitor in family law or equality law, being a lawyer has helped her with her activism. “It has been helpful for bringing this issue to the attention of lawyers. It is a legal issue. Obviously, the effect is social and it’s felt by families and felt by children. But the only way to fix it is by way of legislation, and legislation is also changed by court cases. That’s the remit of lawyers,” Maeve explained.

Discussing what changes need to be made in the legislation in Ireland, Maeve said: “I would just love to see that the government respects the choices of parents - believes that they have the best interest of their children at heart.

“There could be lots of reasons why you choose to form your family in a certain way, and I just hope that the legislation can reflect that. In practical terms, what that would mean is surrogacy legislation that doesn’t have a disproportionately negative effect on LGBTQ+ couples because of the way it’s been enacted. Something that’s practically workable, that’s actually going to allow surrogacy to happen in the future, for all families.”

Speaking about the Assisted Human Reproduction Act 2024, Maeve said that it could actually be more restrictive than having no legislation at all. “You’re really left with very few avenues as an LGBTQ+ couple for surrogacy. So we need something workable. We need for it to be that surrogacy is more available in the future for people, rather than less.”

About being nominated and shortlisted for Person of the Year at the 2024 GALAS Awards, Maeve said: “It’s just absolutely incredible. I honestly can’t believe it. I don’t really know how it happened. I’m certainly not a household name in the LGBTQ+ community. But it’s amazing to be shortlisted with the other people as well; it’s just incredible. I know the amazing work they’ve done. It’s just such an honour.

“Yes, I did give birth a few days ago, and that was a proud moment. But this is also very much up there, and it’ll be staying in the list of achievements for a very long time.”