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Irish Times
6 days ago
- Entertainment
- Irish Times
Kevin Penrose: ‘You have guys playing Gaelic football who are too scared to come out. I want to give them courage'
I grew up in a place just outside Castlederg, Tyrone , called Aghyaran. I come from a family of four boys. We were, and are still, a very Gaelic football household. My father played and coached teams. My older brothers played county. The GAA has a lot of history. There are very traditional values. Growing up, you're just there to play football. People don't really talk about their problems. Going into my teenage years, you had toxic masculinity in the changing rooms. You're trying to find out who you are, and you're going up through these teams, and there's a sense that to stand out and be seen as one of the best footballers, you need to act a certain way around others. There was the impression that if I didn't take part in, for example, the 'gay' word being thrown around the changing room, I would be seen as weak. I didn't know I was gay until around 18 or 19. I started having an inkling around 16, 17, but I didn't really know. After my school years I went over to Liverpool for university, thinking that's my chance now to explore my sexuality. It was figured out away from Ireland. Kevin Penrose on an adventure I spent a lot of summers in the US, working at summer camps. Looking back, it was a great experience, but it was my way of coping by getting away. Every time I came home, there would be questions about whether I was coming back to football, but I knew myself I wouldn't be able to. Even though I was a good footballer, I was hiding my true self. READ MORE My love of travel goes back to those times in the US. I took my GoPro around, just to document it for friends and family. I posted on Instagram and whatnot. I didn't really explore Ireland that much, but [later] I started to think Ireland actually has so much beauty in the mountains and beaches I've never seen before. The hobby of [documenting] continued into the next couple of years. During Covid came the start of TikTok . I thought: I have such a backlog of footage and content of Ireland at this stage, why not just post it? My page sort of blew up. I started growing an audience. [ Róis: 'Moving away from Ireland shook me. Going away is essential' Opens in new window ] After Covid, I did just under eight months in Asia. I still carried on posting travel content, but I got to the stage where I didn't even enjoy that. I remember I was in Phuket in Thailand for about a week and there were four of five days where I didn't leave the hotel room. It was just me, myself and my thoughts. That's when I decided to ring home and come out. Looking back now, I wish it was in person, but I think once you're in that head space, you just need to get it off your chest. I told the family and friends and everything was great. I had a big following, so I thought I'd post a video about it. That took off as well. I came back to Ireland that September. I went back to football the next season. The first session back, I was like: what way is it going to go? We've a panel of 45-50 lads. I'm friends with all of them but I wouldn't have in-depth conversations with a lot of them. But everything was so normal. It was like okay, I'm just here to play football. I'm not feeling paranoid about how I should talk, how I should act. I don't have to sit in a corner any more. I can stand up and be a vital part of this team. Because I was running away for so long, I associated Ireland with how I felt at that time: just sad and lonely and anxious. In the three years since I came back, I've never felt how I felt 10 years ago. From the moment I stepped back in Ireland, I've been on a high. With the travel bits as well, I can see the beauty of Ireland and what it has to offer; I can take the time to do hiking and sea swims and the small things in life. If you appreciate what you have here, you notice that you don't have to fly halfway across the world to see a beautiful sunset or mountain. The GAA, that environment, my football club, used to be the place I dreaded going. Now, I look at it as one of my safest places I post a lot more personal stuff now, which I think captivates a new audience. I want to be the role model that I didn't have growing up. We didn't know about any openly gay GAA players at the time. It wasn't in the public eye, which, I think, is one of the reasons why I felt I couldn't really take part [in football, for a time]. That's why I'm happy to talk about it now – you have guys who are still in rural communities playing football but they're too scared to come out. I'm hoping the content I post will resonate and give them courage. I've never gone back into that mindset of: Ireland isn't for me. It flipped on its head. The GAA, that environment, my football club, used to be the place I dreaded going. Now, I look at it as one of my safest places, where I can be myself. In conversation with Niamh Donnelly. This interview is part of a series about well-known people's lives and relationships with Ireland. Follow Kevin's journey on TikTok @kevin_penrose_
Yahoo
21-06-2025
- Climate
- Yahoo
Northern Ireland records first heatwave in two years
Northern Ireland has recorded its first heatwave in two years as temperatures rose above 25C on Saturday. The Met Office weather station at Castlederg in County Tyrone saw the thermometer reach 25.3C. The same site recorded heat of 29.5C on Friday and 25.7C on Thursday, meaning a heatwave threshold of three consecutive days of temperatures of 25C or above has been met. The highest temperatures on record for Northern Ireland in June is 30.8C recorded at Knockarevan in County Fermanagh in June 1976. High temperatures on Friday were followed by the warmest June night on record with temperatures falling no lower than 18.2C at Aldergrove in County Antrim. It's been a muggy start to the weekendParticularly so across Northern Ireland, which has provisionally recorded its warmest June night on record 🌡️The temperature at Aldergrove didn't drop below 18.2°C over the 24 hours from Friday morning to Saturday morning — Met Office (@metoffice) June 21, 2025 The last time a heatwave was recorded in Northern Ireland was early in September 2023, when a new monthly record of 28C was set at Castlederg in County Tyrone. The short three-day heatwave will come to an end quickly on Sunday with temperatures expected to reach between 15-17C, more than 10 degrees lower than Friday. The cooler conditions will also come with a breakdown in weather with fresh westerly winds bringing a scattering of showers, which could be heavy and thundery.
BBC News
21-06-2025
- Climate
- BBC News
Weather: Northern Ireland records first heatwave in two years
Northern Ireland has recorded its first heatwave in two years as temperatures rose above 25C on Met Office weather station at Castlederg in County Tyrone saw the thermometer reach same site recorded heat of 29.5C on Friday and 25.7C on Thursday, meaning a heatwave threshold of three consecutive days of temperatures of 25C or above has been highest temperatures on record for Northern Ireland in June is 30.8C recorded at Knockarevan in County Fermanagh in June 1976. High temperatures on Friday were followed by the warmest June night on record with temperatures falling no lower than 18.2C at Aldergrove in County Antrim. The last time a heatwave was recorded in Northern Ireland was early in September 2023, when a new monthly record of 28C was set at Castlederg in County Tyrone. Cooling down from Sunday The short three-day heatwave will come to an end quickly on Sunday with temperatures expected to reach between 15-17C, more than 10 degrees lower than cooler conditions will also come with a breakdown in weather with fresh westerly winds bringing a scattering of showers, which could be heavy and thundery.
BBC News
19-06-2025
- Climate
- BBC News
Northern Ireland weather: Temperatures to rise but is it a heatwave?
Parts of Northern Ireland are set to record temperatures in the mid-20s over the next few days but it is not yet clear if it will be declared a is because temperatures must reach 25C or above for three consecutive days for that to happen, according to the Met threshold could be met, especially in western counties with about 25C expected on Thursday and possibly up to 28C on temperatures look set to dip on Saturday with an expected temperature of about 23C. One or two spots could still reach 25C on Saturday but that will not likely be confirmed until later in the average maximum temperature during the day at this time of year is 17.8C in Northern Ireland. Other parts of the UK have different temperature thresholds to reach in the same amount of time, while in the Republic of Ireland a temperature of 25C must be recorded for at least five consecutive days, according to the Irish Meteorological Service, Met É in parts of Great Britain, particularly southeast England, are expected to reach 30C or higher in the coming days with a heatwave likely to be declared at the last time a heatwave was recorded in Northern Ireland was early in September 2023 when a new monthly record of 28C was set at Castlederg in County surpassed a previous record of 27.6C which had stood in Armagh since 1906.
Belfast Telegraph
25-05-2025
- Sport
- Belfast Telegraph
Reds fans hail NI hero Bradley as Liverpool lift Premier League trophy
Liverpool sealed their 20th English league title almost a month ago with a 5-1 win over Tottenham Hotspur. Since then fans have been counting down the days to the trophy presentation at Anfield. On Sunday 21-year-old Castlederg man Bradley raised the trophy, bringing the season to a successful finish. Many Liverpool fans travelled across the Irish Sea to the city at the weekend to celebrate their team's success. Back in Belfast, others gathered at the Botanic Inn on the Malone Road for a sold-out 'winners party' to watch the trophy lift. Superfan Aoife Lennon from Lisburn celebrated by popping open a couple of bottles of bubbly as the final whistle sounded. Her dad Kevin, a season ticket holder and lifelong fan of the Reds, was at Anfield. 'I celebrated with my mum and our family friends at home by opening two bottles of Champagne as the final whistle blew and we have been singing songs all day,' she said. 'My dad's at the match. Unfortunately, I won't be at the trophy parade on Monday, but my dad will. 'The celebrations will continue when he is back home. ' Aoife travelled last month to watch the game that secured the title — an 'unforgettable experience'. 'The feeling is indescribable — to be at the match where we became champions. To now watch them lift the trophy is just unbelievable. 'I love being a Red and I am so thankful to my dad for more or less forcing me to be one. Emotions are high, it's not often there are days like this. 'There will definitely be a few sore heads in the morning.' Northern Ireland legend Steven Davis hails Liverpool ace Conor Bradley Aoife said the win was made even sweeter by watching Bradley lift the cup. 'It's a privilege to watch a local lad fulfil his dream, it is just unbelievable. He's a great ambassador for Northern Ireland,' she said. Hundreds also boarded the Stena Line ferry from Belfast on Saturday ahead of Monday's title parade. Some had tickets for Sunday's final game against Crystal Palace, while others made the trip just to be part of the celebrations. In an interview published by the club yesterday, Bradley said lifting the Premier League trophy 'is very special' and thanked his family for their support growing up in rural north Tyrone. 'As some people back home might know, I lived in the middle of nowhere, so getting to places like Belfast is not close,' he said. 'My mum and dad would've had to drive an hour-and-a-half to take me to places. I owe a lot to them for where I am now. 'People like my sister as well had to give up a lot because my mum and dad were always away with me, taking me to football, and probably she didn't get as much care as what I did.' The footballer added: 'And then obviously my girlfriend has always been there for me and helped me in whatever I need. 'When I get back from a game if we lost or I didn't play well, I'm probably grumpy and she probably hates me for a bit. Obviously, the good times as well if I played well, she's just always there for me. 'It's been a long journey and I'm just really happy we've got to this point.'
