LIVING WITH PURPOSE

A passionate advocate and community leader, Kate Moynihan has played a pivotal role in creating safe lesbian spaces in Cork and beyond. With integrity and an exceptional ability to build bridges between different groups and people, she has left a lasting impact on Ireland’s LGBTQ+ community.

Her activism started years back, when she was the young daughter of a family that was very interested in politics and social issues. The first community event she was involved in organising was the Cork Women’s Fun Weekend. “That was the first real activism, and it’s where I have seen the importance of social events for people, and the building of community. And community is still key to me,” Kate said.

The lesson never left Kate, defining her brand of activism in years to come. “Lots of people say, ‘Oh, it’s only a part of my life.’ Whereas I think for me, it has been the main part of my life. It’s my identity. It’s the community I relate to,” she shared.

“It’s funny, I was talking to somebody recently and they were saying, ‘I need to find more queer friends.’ And I was going, ‘Well, I probably need to find more straight friends’, you know?” Kate joked. “So yeah, it’s a huge part of my life.” Kate’s life took a turn when she started to get involved with LINQ Ireland (formerly LINC), the Cork-based national organisation advocating for lesbian, bisexual and queer women (trans and non-binary inclusive). “It changed my whole life basically, working with LINQ,” she shared.

“LINQ was set up in 1999; it’s been running for nearly 30 years,” Kate said. “My first involvement with LINQ was as a volunteer. There was always a Thursday night drop-in, so I was a volunteer at that.

“As part of the work that LINQ did, they ran a queer studies course. It was an outreach programme from WERRC, which stands for the Women’s Education, Research and Resource Centre, which is based in UCD,” she continued. “It was all really educational, really did a lot on history, and a lot on queer studies and activism. I did that course and loved it.

“It also gave me the confidence to go to UCC to do a degree. I’d never been to university, and it gave me that confidence to go as a mature student, and I did a degree in social work.”

Her long history with LINQ continued when she became a board member and later, when the opportunity to work as CEO presented itself. “The job came up in LINQ then, so the first thing I did was resign from the board, and then I applied,” Kate recounted. “I knew how much LINQ had given me and I wanted to continue that on and give people the best opportunity they possibly could have.”

Thanks to her vision and leadership, LINQ strengthened its role as a powerful platform for connection, visibility, and advocacy, both in Cork and at the national level. The organisation works on informing social policies, as well as providing peer support services to all in the LGBTQ+ community.

“For me, the most important thing has always been the person who knocked on the door of the building and came in,” Kate said. “They may never have come out to someone, and this might be their first time doing that.”

Kate recalled countless times when she saw someone walking up and down the street in front of LINQ’s doors, before finally resolving to take that last step and ring the doorbell to come into the building. “That person’s always been the most important,” Kate said. “To meet them for a chat, a cup of tea, sit down, welcome them” was the most crucial aspect of her work. For her, it has been the honour of a lifetime to watch these people come in and find “a place where they can be themselves”.

“Anybody who rings LINQ is met with that friendliness and warmth,” she assured.

Throughout the years, LINQ grew and changed, becoming a powerhouse in the Irish LGBTQ+ sector. With a mission to build an Ireland where LBQ women (trans and non-binary inclusive) are celebrated and diversity is championed, the organisation delivers workshops, training, support groups and a national conference on queer women’s sexual health.

After tirelessly working for years with LINQ, Kate hopes for a future when inclusion and acceptance are built into the fabric of Irish society. “Over the last two days, I was driving into town, and there were two guys holding hands. I was on the bus yesterday coming home, and there were two women holding hands. I just want that built in. I just want people to feel safe, [to know] that they can do that,” she said.

Kate recalled a time when people were emigrating from Ireland to find a better life abroad. “Now people come to Ireland. And I want us to be that safe place and that place that is like a beacon to everybody else, to other LGBTQ+ people,” she said.

On being nominated as Person of the Year at The GALAS, she said: “Honest to God, that people took the time to nominate me first and then to have been shortlisted is just an incredible honour. And to be shortlisted with such a group of people. It just shows what’s going on in the country with activists and what’s going on in the background that often we don’t see. It’s a real sense of warmth.”

Taking to the stage at The GALAS to accept the award, Kate highlighted some key issues faced by marginalised communities across the world today: “ I’m repeating some of the things that have been said already tonight, but I still think they’re really important. Because sometimes we get complacent, and I would really like us to keep in mind those in other countries who do not have the opportunity of awards such as these,” she said.

Mentioning the genocide against the Palestinian people in Gaza, anti-trans rhetoric, and the challenges faced by LGBTQ+ asylum seekers in Ireland and beyond, she added, “I think in particular of the queer community in Turkey. The harassment they’re going through is horrendous and needs to be condemned by everybody.”

She then thanked all the people who supported her throughout her journey as an activist. “ I would like to thank the women at the end there… for your support and friendship, and being with me tonight to support me,” she said, mentioning her wife Sonya and friends who accompanied her at the award ceremony.

“And there’s a gang down there from LINQ as well. And so to the women and people of LINQ Ireland, you will always be so close to my heart. Thank you all,” she said.

A new chapter is now opening in Kate’s life, and between friends, family and swimming lessons, she hopes to use the experience and knowledge gained so far to help other organisations. “One of the things that I’m looking at doing is bringing the experience that I’ve had in LINQ over the years… I want to use that experience in a different way. So I’m planning to move into consultancy, working with organisations around things like LGBTQ+ inclusion, community development, leadership, and advocacy.

“Because community is so important, and I want to find a different way to contribute.”