Photos by Elena Horgan.
Cléire is a hilly Gaeltacht island of green fields, red fuchsia and orange montbretia. When you arrive on the island after the 45-minute ferry journey from Dún na Séad in West Cork, the harbour smells of fresh chips and vinegar and is filled with the sounds of people laughing as they splash about in the water. On a sunny day, across the glittering sea, you can make out the hazy outline of Carraig Aonair, the Fastnet Rock Lighthouse across the glittering sea.
In summer, the island is dreamlike. And every summer since 2024, one of the ferries sailing there now brings a group of queer Irish-speakers with it to take part in the Cléire Irish summer camp for LGBTQ+ adults.
The camp is the brainchild of language planner Ruairí Ó Donnabháin of Meitheal Chléire, who reached out to me for a call in 2023 to see if our queer Irish-language arts collective, AerachAiteachGaelach (AAG), would be interested in collaborating with the people in Cléire.
Agus ceithre bliana caite anois ón gcéad ghlaoch sin idir an bheirt againn, tá ár bhfís bhunaidh fíoraithe ar bhealach níos mó ná mar a shamhlaigh ceachtar againn riamh, agus caidreamh bríomhar tógtha againn idir ealaíontóirí AAG, pobal oileán Chléire agus foghlaimeoirí Gaeilge LADTAIÉ+.
Ruairí had been following the activities of our queer arts collective since Ciara Ní É and I established it in Amharclann na Mainistreach in 2020, and was keen to invite us to co-design the first-ever Pride event on a Gaeltacht island. After our initial conversation, Ruairí and I both sensed we had a unique chance to create something unusual and special.
Tá an pobal ar an oileán beag (tuairim is 400 sa samhradh) ach dlúth, agus labhraíonn mionlach ar an oileán an Ghaeilge go laethúil fós. Is é jab Ruairí é úsáid na Gaeilge ar an oileán a chaomhnú, a chothú agus a chur chun cinn, agus theastaigh uaidh imeacht a chur ar siúl le freastal ar na cainteoirí Gaeilge LADTAIÉ+ ar an oileán agus cuireadh a thabhairt do dhaoine aiteacha eile an turas a dhéanamh isteach ar an oileán.
The first Pride celebration on the island in 2023 took place over a single weekend and consisted of a conga line sashaying in and out of Tigh Chiaráin Danny Maidhc, a bilingual night of poetry and song, and a fascinating conversation between locals and visitors, who compared and contrasted their lives and found common ground as differing minority groups speaking the same minoritised language.
An t-earrach ina dhiaidh sin, sheol AAG deichniúr dár gcuid ealaíontóirí isteach ar an oileán le tabhairt faoi chónaitheacht seachtaine faoin teideal An Todhchaíochas Gaelach agus le tógáil ar an nasc leis an oileán. Cuireadh an t-airgead a bhí buaite ag AAG i gComórtas Dea-Chúiseanna an Chrannchuir Náisiúnta an fómhar roimhe sin i dtreo an tionscadail agus seoladh é le beannacht an oileáin.
Under the 2024 Gaelic Futurism island residency, AAG artists were encouraged to take inspiration from the proponents of Afro-Futurism and to draw both on their ideas and the culture of the island in imagining new Gaelic futures in a queer context. The stellar performer SexyTadhg was one of the 10 artists chosen to work with the Cléire community and to make new art in Irish as part of the scheme. They have just released their new album SLUTTRAD, one of the tracks on which came into being during the residency. They have since spoken very warmly about the people on the island and the welcome they received.
Just a few months later, our most rewarding collaborative project to date roared into life, with AAG arriving back on the island to collaborate with Ruairí, NJ Ní Mhéalóid, and the local community in running the firstever Gaeltacht summer camp for LGBTQ+ adults.
The goal was to create the space and conditions for LGBTQ+ people to learn Irish in a positive and immersive way, paying particular attention to those who had felt, as queer teenagers, that a Gaeltacht summer course was not for them. We did this by having our teachers, Darragh Ó Caoimh and myself, tailor classes specifically to queer life; holding set-dancing classes with gender-neutral language (go raibh maith agat, a Patricia!); running workshops drawing inspiration from queer artists; and putting on a production of the Irish play Grindr, Saghdar agus Cher about a night out in a queer bar.
Tháinig daoine aiteacha go Cléire ó áiteanna ar fud na hÉireann, ó Bhostún agus ón Iodáil an chéad bhliain sin agus ní raibh aon cheist ina dhiaidh ach go reachtálfaí arís an dara huair é i 2025.
Gach bliain ag an gcampa, síneann na rannpháirtithe a gcoirp sna seisiúin ióga gach maidin, doimhníonn siad a dtuiscint ar an nGaeilge agus ar a cultúr sna ceardlanna teangan, forbraíonn siad a gcuid scileanna ealaíne sna ceardlanna cruthaitheacha, agus tagann siad le chéile ag caint, ag damhsa, ag canadh agus ag gáire ag na himeachtaí sóisialta. Is deacair buaicphointe a roghnú idir an damhsa seit, an oíche airneáin agus an tine chnámh cois farraige ach is é an turas iontach báid sméar mhullaigh an champa le haghaidh go leor de na rannpháirtithe, agus gach duine ag damhsa le ceol ón DJ agus ag ól Cape Clear Distillery G&Ts lena linn.
Many of the first summer camp participants in Cléire have since become an integral part of the activities of AAG, and they have formed strong bonds with one another as a result of the week on the island together. One of the couples even met two friends during the camp whom they would later ask to witness their marriage!
The marriage of AAG and Meitheal Chléire has also been a happy one. Our twin goals in AAG are to increase the representation of LGBTQ+ culture in Irish-language arts and to strengthen the network of queer artists working through Irish. The activities on Cléire during the week of the camp give our artists a platform and a way to encourage further LGBTQ+ people to become involved in the Irish-language arts. The goal of Meitheal Chléire is to support the island community and strengthen the use of Irish in the life and work of the island. By connecting with us, Ruairí has contributed to those goals too, increasing the use of Irish in the area, demonstrating the value of Irish as a way to attract visitors and new residents, bringing in a new stream of income for the local community and leaving visitors and islanders with warm feelings towards each other. Ag an gcampa i 2026, cuirfidh muid béim níos mó ná riamh ar an gceangal idir muintir an oileáin agus na rannpháirtithe.
The success of AAG since its inception in 2020 stems mainly from its ability to bring people together face-to-face for the exchange of creative ideas and culture. Our playwrights have co-written plays, our musicians have played for our dancers, our visual artists have illustrated our poets’ zines, our singers have taught songs to the public, and our drag queens have hosted some fantastic drag and comedy events (the most recent being Cluiche Snatch 2026 at the Five Lamps Arts Festival). Placing artists together in a physical space never fails to produce interesting results.
Is breá linn Cléire dá bharr sin. Is í draíocht an champa ná go mbíonn seacht lá iomlána againn de theagmháil ann idir ár gcuid ealaíontóirí, na hoileánaigh agus na rannpháirtithe. Maireann siad le chéile ar an oileán, oibríonn siad le chéile sna ceardlanna, caitheann siad béilte agus deochanna le chéile agus léimeann siad isteach sa bhfarraige le chéile.
New projects are discussed on the island, ideas for events are floated, and creative relationships take root. Many of our ideas for the year ahead spring from the conversations on Cléire. When our LGBTQ+ learners and facilitators meet both the straight and LGBTQ+ people of the island and engage with them in conversation, sharing their stories and learning from each other, ideas of ‘us’ and ‘them’ start to dissolve, and people see each other as people.
We have all noticed the changes in the conversations around queer life and culture in the last number of years. It is important that we do not allow these changes to pull our attention. We must, of course, keep one eye on the changing discourse around us, but our focus must remain on positive and proactive actions, like this summer camp, to build, protect, connect and draw the best from our community. Because our community is fun and it is strong, and we can all find strength in it.
Tagaimis le chéile mar sin agus tugaimis an samhradh linn.
Beidh campa tumoideachais LADTAIÉ+ Chléire ar siúl an Iúil 19-26, 2026.
This article is part of GCN’s new Amach le Bród (Out with Pride) series, to combat anti-LGBTQ+ misinformation and platform underrepresented voices. The project was funded by the Coimisiún na Meán News Reporting Scheme.