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Welcome, dear reader, to the June 2026 issue of GCN. This bumper edition comes alongside the start of Pride month, with much to be celebrated and much still to fight for.
Our wonderful cover was photographed by the ever-talented Hazel Coonagh. Instantly recognisable, it features some of the drag artists and DJs at the heart of The George, which marks its milestone 40th birthday this year. In the accompanying feature, we reflect on its time at the forefront of Ireland’s LGBTQ+ nightlife, with the help of the people who know it best.
The importance of physical queer spaces is a recurring theme throughout this issue. From Belong To’s youth services to the BI-Monthly social group, from parties for queer people of colour to a Gaeltacht for LGBTQ+ adults, the benefits of building in-person communities permeate these pages. On the flipside, there is also an article that specifically emphasises the dangers of online spaces, particularly regarding AI chatbots.
The George’s is not the only birthday to celebrate this year. The original San Francisco chapter of Dykes on Bikes marks its 50th anniversary, and Irish feminist and LGBTQ+ activist Ailbhe Smyth turns 80. We look at the resounding impact both have had in two fascinating features.
Considering the time of the year, there is, of course, a healthy dose of Pride-related content. There are events taking place all over the island from May to September; get planning with our comprehensive calendar. For those celebrating in the capital, the team at Dublin Pride is on hand to share insights into this year’s festival. One of the highlights of the week will be the Mother Pride Block Party – a two-day affair – with several DJs, including the iconic Peaches, interviewed by our writers. These conversations pair nicely with a separate article on the queer history of electronic music.
Other notable events taking place in the city over this period are Trans & Intersex Pride, the Dublin Dyke March and Queer Spectrum Film Festival. Organisers from each pen powerful pieces about their respective movements.
Outside of Dublin, down south, we hear from the team behind Cork Community Pride, a new volunteer-led venture filling the gap left by the previous festival, which went into liquidation last year. Up north, a Derry-based creative outlines the difficulties of being a queer artist in an underresourced city. We also go further afield to the Norwegian archipelago of Svalbard, to discover what the world’s most northerly Pride is like in the small Arctic town of Longyearbyen.
The Pride content doesn’t end there, as we also talk about the importance of looking after your sexual health at this time of year. Additional aspects of healthcare are discussed in the magazine, including one person’s experience of recovering from an eating disorder, another’s experience with XXY, and the opening of a firstof-its-kind trans healthcare clinic in Ireland.
Elsewhere, new reforms to the international protection processes are dissected, we take a closer look at ShoutOut’s NeuroQueer resource, and Mammies for Trans Rights speak about their activism. There is also a wide range of artists featured, including filmmaker and actor Jack Haven, multidisciplinary artist Richard Malone and makeup artist James Mac. The creators of SMUT Press are additionally on hand to discuss their newest publication, and there is a wonderful photospread from Keelin O’Shea, who documents queer community and nightlife in the Irish capital. And it is not just current culture-makers who appear, as we look to the past to examine the life of Irish poet and suffragist Eva Gore-Booth and the revolutionary Urania journal.
To close the magazine, there is an impactful piece on the need for Ireland to maintain its military neutrality and protect the Triple Lock, before Equality for Children’s CEO explains how same-sex families are still not equal.
This is just a snapshot of the fantastic array of content in this magazine; you’ll have to dive in to find out more!
This Pride, as celebrations ring out across the country, it is important to take a moment to be grateful for our physical spaces and in-person communities. Before there was social media and dating apps, and even before same-sex activity was legalised in Ireland, there was The George, and other venues like it, where LGBTQ+ people could go to release their inhibitions and live as their authentic selves, even for just a few hours. These spaces have allowed queer folk of all generations to find community, connection and love, the impact of which has been a catalyst for the fight for our rights, and while inequality and oppression still exist, that fight must continue. While trans, non-binary and intersex people still lack bodily autonomy, while innocent lives are taken by military violence in warzones and occupied territories, while migrants are forced to flee their homes due to fears of anti-LGBTQ+ persecution, we must continue to advocate for a better world for all.
So please, this Pride season, get out and march, protest, dance, kiss, or even just have a cup of tea with a friend. Fuel yourself with all the reasons why it’s so important to hold strong and keep fighting. The beauty of this time of year is that it shows us how special life can be when you refuse to give up.
With that, dear reader, we hope you enjoy this jam-packed edition of GCN. Happy Pride!