LGBT culture in Ireland


LGBT life on the island of Ireland is made up of persons who are lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, or otherwise.

Queer culture and history

Politics

There was all-party support in 2010 for the Civil Partnership Bill, introduced by the Fianna Fáil / Green government which provided for legal recognition for the relationships of same-sex couples.
As of August 2014, all parties in the Dáil supported same-sex marriage: the Labour Party, the Green Party, the Socialist Party, Sinn Féin, Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael.
Before the 2011 general election, the Labour Party manifesto included a commitment to a referendum to allow same-sex couples to marry. This was mentioned as an item for the Constitutional Convention in the Programme for Government between Labour and Fine Gael after the election.
In 2006, at the opening of the new headquarters of the gay rights organisation GLEN in Dublin, the then-Taoiseach Bertie Ahern said:
The only Irish political party that has officially come out in opposition to LGBT rights is the small Christian Solidarity Party, which has never been successful electorally, at either local or national level.
On 23 May 2015, Ireland became the first country to legalise same sex marriage through nationwide referendum in favour of allowing same sex couples to wed.

Openly gay Oireachtas members

Ireland's longest running LGBT publication is Gay Community News, which was first published in 1988 before homosexuality was legal in Ireland. In April 2013, EILE Magazine was launched, serving as a new platform for Ireland's LGBT community.
The national broadcaster RTÉ provides various LGBT related programming, such as the television documentary Growing Up Gay or the drama series Raw, which contained gay characters and gay-related storylines. The RTÉ programme Telly Bingo was presented from 2001–2004 by drag queen Shirley Temple Bar. The radio station RTÉ Pulse schedules Wednesday nights as Gay Wednesday where they broadcast programming related to the gay community. Drag queen Joanna Ryde is a presenter on regional youth station Beat 102 103.

Gay life in the country

Cities and towns

The gay scene in Ireland is quite developed. Irish society has become more open and tolerant as a result of increased levels of prosperity and rising liberal attitudes. Indeed, many foreigners comment that for such a small island nation of 6 million, there's so much going on, with vibrant gay scenes in all major Irish cities:
There are 8 gay & lesbian resource centres in Ireland - one each in Dublin, Belfast, Limerick, Derry, Waterford and Dundalk. Cork is home to two: one for gay men and one for lesbians.
There are also some gay communities in the smaller towns in Ireland. Strabane has a gay bar, and Castlebar, Dundalk, Drogheda, Ennis, Kilkenny Newry, Sligo and Tullamore all have occasional gay club nights.

Gay pride

All Irish cities and many smaller towns celebrate Gay Pride with parades and festivals.
The town of Sligo with less than 20,000 inhabitants has its own annual Gay Pride parade and festival and is warmly received and supported by the local population, something which is becoming increasingly common in rural Ireland.
The gay scene across the island of Ireland is brought together during the annual Alternative Miss Ireland drag contest, Ms Gay Ireland and Mr Gay Ireland events.

Bear Movement

As in many other countries around the world, the Bear Community has taken hold in Ireland and continues to grow. The bear movement considers itself a counter culture to the mainstream gay scene and works toward challenging the single archetype of the effeminate gay man. Most things traditionally considered masculine are celebrated within the Bear community, and Bears identify as a large subset of an already diverse demographic of gay men in Ireland. There are Bear events held monthly in Belfast and in Dublin. An all Ireland Bear Event called Béar Féile is first took place in 25–28 March 2010 and is now held annually every March. Béar Féile was the first event of its kind to take place in Ireland.

St. Patrick's day

is another occasion for gay people to celebrate, as all of Ireland's ethnically diverse population including the gay community take an active part in the St. Patrick's Day parades and celebrations across the island in cities such as Dublin, Belfast, Cork, Limerick, Derry, Galway and Waterford.

Annual events

There are a varied range of LGBT-themed events throughout the calendar year in the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland:
LGBT eventLocationNotesDate
Alternative Miss IrelandDublin/IrelandAll island contest; includes various regional heatsMarch
Mr Gay IrelandDublin/IrelandAll island contest; includes various regional heatsOctober
Ms Gay IrelandIrelandAll island contest; includes various regional heatsNovember
Saint Patrick's DayIrelandLGBT section of main parades17 March
World AIDS DayIrelandCharity event1 December
Dublin PrideDublinParade and 10-day festivalJune
GAZEDublinDublin International Lesbian and Gay Film Festivallate July–early August
Dublin Gay Theatre FestivalDublinPresentation of works by gay authors and performers or that contain LGBT themesearly May
Béar FéileDublinFestival celebrating the Bear communitylate March
aLAFDublinLesbian Arts FestivalSpring
Lesbian LivesDublinConference organised by the Women's Studies Centre at UCDFebruary
Belfast Pride FestivalBelfastParade and week-long festivalJuly/August
OutburstBelfastQueer Arts FestivalNovember
Cork Pride FestivalCorkParade and week-long festivalAugust
OutLookCorkCork Film Festival programme dedicated to LGBT films and shortsNovember
Lesbian Fantasy BallCork
Cork Women's Fun WeekendCork
Black Pride IrelandIreland
Limerick Pride FestivalLimerickParade and 8-day festivalSeptember
Foyle Pride FestivalDerryParade and 4-day festivalAugust
Pride in NewryNewryParade and 5-day festivalAugust
Galway Community PrideGalwayParade and 3-day festivalAugust
Waterford Pride Mardi GrasWaterfordParade and 7-day festivalMay/June
Sligo Pride FestivalSligoParade and 7-day festival for Sligo and the North-West of IrelandAugust