Pride crossing repainting debate rages on in Wicklow as district liaises on alternatives

Irish Independent

4 days ago

At their May meeting, local councillors were informed by district staff that the Main Street crossing would not be refreshed after they received a correspondence wherein the position of Wicklow County Council was made clear, in that crossings would not be maintained because they 'do not comply with guidelines that he department has issued to us around crossings'.
In response, local filmmaker and Wicklow Pride co-founder Dave Thomas, whose campaigning created the crossing in 2021, held a protest rally at the Arklow Bandstand, which was attended by nine people (including Wicklow-Wexford TD Malcolm Byrne) and aimed to highlight 'the lies behind Wicklow County Council and Arklow Municipal District's decision to remove the rainbow crossing'.
Convening for their June meeting, Arklow councillors were informed by district administrator Alvina Brehony that they had received correspondence related to the Pride crossing demonstration, and explained that staff have discussed alternative ideas proposed by the Wicklow Pride committee.
'We have been liaising with the Wicklow Pride Committee with regards to other options, and they have come back to us with a couple of ideas, and we are exploring them,' Ms Brehony said.
'They met us last Thursday night, just so you know where we are at with this. Hopefully, the ideas they came back with will be acceptable to the members going forward.'
Commenting on the correspondence, Cllr Leonard said that she wasn't at the rally, but had explained to Mr Thomas that it was due to a scheduling conflict, before stating her desire to see the reinstatement of Arklow's Pride crossing, which was the first permanent crossing of its kind in the Republic of Ireland.
'I think, if it hadn't been put it at all, it would be a different ballgame altogether, but we did put it in, and the message it sent has really affected a lot of people, not just the person that wrote that letter – it has impacted that community right across the board,' Leonard said.
'I think it's insensitive and verging on cruel to reverse something that a lot of thought and effort went into installing in the first place.
'I'm 100pc supportive of Dave, and I would like to see it repainted. I think it's important because there are people in the LGBTQIA+ community who have lived their whole lives, I have friends who have lived their whole lives, hiding in the shadows and not being able to tell their own family members because they were embarrassed or ashamed or felt it wasn't acceptable in society.
'I thought we had really turned the corner, and for a bit of paint on a road that means so much to people, and not having to be afraid of being themselves and be accepted, and the community to be inclusive – I think this has turned into such a negative thing when it doesn't have to be.
'I don't know where it came from, or what committee this was discussed with, to decide not to replace it, whatever about them not going into the other MDs,' she added.
'I just like to know on what committee this decision emanated from?'
Bringing the discussion to a close, Ms Brehony said that Pride crossings had been discussed at a plenary meeting and the decision was 'not to do them going forward as they are not in keeping with legislation', adding that, on the back of that decision, 'we did reach out to Pride committee to give us some guidance on other ways that we could represent the LGBTQIA+ community'.