Latest news with #DublinPride
The Journal
2 hours ago
- The Journal
Man arrested after Ballymena 'spread with slurry overnight' ahead of town's first Pride parade
LAST UPDATE | 34 mins ago A MAN HAS BEEN arrested after slurry was spread on streets in Ballymena and shopfronts have allegedly been vandalised with spray paint ahead of a Pride parade that is due to take place in the Co Antrim town this afternoon. Business owners this morning opened their shutters on Ballymoney Street and Greenvale Street, close to the Town Centre shopping centre, to find that slurry had been spread up and down the roads overnight. Family-owned businesses and their staff are currently cleaning up the mess ahead of the town's first ever Pride parade this afternoon , which was due to finish up on Greenvale Street. The Police Service of Northern Ireland (PSNI) have said that one man, aged 19, was arrested this morning in connection with their investigation. Police said that the incident, which happened just before 3am this morning, is being treated as a hate crime. The 19-year-old was arrested after being accused of criminal damage and possession of a blade, the PSNI said. Local SDLP councillor Denise Johnston wrote on X: 'I am hearing that the town centre in Ballymena has been spread with slurry overnight ahead of the town's first Pride rally. The local businesses are currently cleaning it up.' Advertisement 'I am disgusted by those bigots who would commit such an act and hope they will have been caught on CCTV,' she added. Tánaiste Simon Harris has described the incident as a 'vile act'. 'Love is love,' he wrote in a post to social media. 'It's awful,' one Greenvale shop owner told The Journal . 'It's all up the lampposts as well.' Alliance leader Naomi Long posted to X this morning: 'I despair the mentality of those who spread slurry on the streets of their town motivated by hate and bigotry. Disgusting in every sense of the word.' Shop owners reported the incident to the police, it is understood. Poster for the first Pride Parade in Ballymena, which will take place this afternoon. Mid & East Antrim Pride Mid & East Antrim Pride Nicole, a manager of the K&G McAtamney Butchery & Deli on Ballymoney Street, said that when workers arrived at the car park this morning there was slurry the whole way from there to the butchers. 'It's all around the town from Ballymoney street to here, and it's particularly bad on Greenvale Street,' she said. 'The vendors here have been out all morning getting involved in cleaning it, including our workers.' Related Reads From less than a dozen marchers to tens of thousands: A history of Dublin Pride Nicole told The Journal : 'We don't understand what would compel somebody to do this and for it to coincide with our first pride event, which is a positive thing bringing people into the town, is just vile.' 'We're halfway up the street cleaning it now, and it's been all hands on deck, but it's been deeply unpleasant for our staff, and of course our customers.' Ballymena made headlines around the world after three nights of rioting earlier this month in which over 40 PSNI officers were injured. PSNI said the rioting erupted after a vigil to protest the alleged sexual assault in the town was 'hijacked' by 'racist thuggery'. Curtis Lee, the organiser of the Pride parade in Ballymena which will take place this afternoon, told The Journal: 'The committee's opinion was that, no matter what, we're going ahead with this because to cancel would be to give into fear.' There will be protests today from four evangelical Christian groups. One of the four groups protesting is United Christian Witness, and the other three are local church groups. With reporting by Eimer McAuley & Diarmuid Pepper Readers like you are keeping these stories free for everyone... A mix of advertising and supporting contributions helps keep paywalls away from valuable information like this article. Over 5,000 readers like you have already stepped up and support us with a monthly payment or a once-off donation. Learn More Support The Journal
Irish Examiner
2 days ago
- Politics
- Irish Examiner
Mammies For Trans Rights are marching to turn fear into joy
Today, across the globe, we see not only trans kids being attacked, but the entire LGBT+ community under attack. History shows us that when the rights of one vulnerable group are undermined, everyone's rights are vulnerable. We remember the Ireland of the 1970s, '80s, and '90s and the homophobia that was directed at gay men and lesbian women. We remember the insidious shaming and punishing of women and anyone who didn't conform to the rigidly-imposed rules. As President Michael D Higgins said last week: 'We will not go back!' Fear is being weaponised Whether your child is trans or not, it is frightening to be a parent right now, in a time of enormous uncertainty, with the fear of minorities being weaponised to distract from the huge issues we face — housing, health, cost of living, climate, genocide, and war. To kick off Dublin Pride week, we teamed up with TENI and TransParenCI for a story sharing event last night - is there anything more powerful than a room full of Mammies ? Love always wins 🏳️⚧️❤️🏳️🌈@DublinPride #translivesmatter #Pride2025 #Pride #Dublin — Mammies for Trans Rights (@Mams4Trans) June 24, 2025 There are powerful forces attempting to drive a culturally conservative regression internationally, and this is a worrying time. We're told that people from different places, people with different accents or skin colours, people different gender identities or sexual expressions, shouldn't be in our countries, our communities, our sports teams, our schools, our bathrooms. We are encouraged to scan the people around us for differences we should find threatening. For your child to be demonised in the media can feel suffocating and utterly removed from the real experience of family life, which is filled with the same parenting dilemmas everyone faces — how to make them eat more vegetables, spend less time on screens, and wear jackets on cold days — but also the unbridled pleasure of watching children blossom into their beautiful, authentic selves. A parent's role We are the adults in charge of today's world, so it's our responsibility to try to shape the conversations that are happening around us — nationally, in our communities, and in our families. Let's talk about how our role as parents is simply to create a safe and supportive space for our kids when they close the door behind them. We know that if they feel loved and secure now, they'll figure out much of what their future looks like for themselves — and we will share the rare privilege of being part of the glorious unfolding adventure of that young person's life. Isn't that what every loving parent wants? What if we say no the fearmongering? What if we decide to love people as they are? What if we refuse to be afraid of each other? What if we share a cup of tea and a slice of cake and have a chat, as mammies do? When the mammies march, it's a call to all the people who don't want to be afraid any more. You don't have to be a trans mammy, a mammy at all, or even have the capacity to give birth to join us. Ours is a call to care, to love. Caring for all young people We are starting conversations about how we can care for all the young people in our communities, and about how all of us are responsible for looking out for young trans, intersex, non-binary, and queer kids. Everyone has the right to bodily autonomy, to make their own medical decisions in private with their doctor, and to access the lifesaving, person-centred medical care they need, in their community. It takes a village to raise a child, but our villages can seem more fragmented now and many of us feel isolated, frightened, and alone. It's not too late though. We can rebuild those communities and invite everyone to join in. A global village built on love is not a 1960s hippy pipedream. It is a vital, joyous aspiration we all need. Trans joy is the simple human joy of being seen, loved, and valued as your true self and that is something every one of us yearns for and every one of us can experience in the village we can build together. This world can be a scary place, but it's far less overwhelming when you have good people by your side to share the journey. What started out as two Limerick mams wanting to support their own kids has become Mammies for Trans Rights, a group of hundreds of allies across the island of Ireland and further afield in Scotland, England, France, Canada, and Australia. Every year we have teams of mammies marching in Pride parades and, last week, the Mammies were invited to Áras an Uachtaráin by President Higgins for a garden party to celebrate activism across the community. There is enormous power in community. Let's do this. Let's share the love. March, write letters, organise in your community, or simply give us a big cheer when you see us passing at Pride — we are all together in this. Karen Sugrue and Bernie Linnane are members of Mammies for Trans Rights, @mams4trans Dublin Pride parade begins at 12.30pm on Saturday on O'Connell St
Irish Independent
4 days ago
- Entertainment
- Irish Independent
Everything you need to know ahead of Dublin Pride 2025
With the theme 'Taking Liberties', this year's festival invites everyone to reflect on progress, celebrate diversity, and continue the push for equality. Here's your essential guide to the parade, parties, and how to get involved. When is Dublin Pride 2025? Pride Month runs throughout June, but Saturday, June 28, 2025 is the big day in Dublin, with the Pride Parade kicking off at 12.30pm on O'Connell Street and making its way to Merrion Square. Dublin's Pride Festival itself spans from 20–28 June, with events citywide leading up to the parade. When is the Dublin Pride Parade? How do I get involved? The parade is free and open to all — no need to register if you're marching as an individual or with friends. Just find a good spot along the route, cheer on the floats, or join the march once groups have moved onto the quays. Assembly times (if you're marching with a group): - Pink section (Parade lead & accessibility support) – Assemble by 12.00pm - Red section (Support & advocacy groups) – Assemble by 12.10pm - Orange section (Sports & social groups) – Assemble by 12.20pm - Yellow section (Public service groups) – Assemble by 12.30pm -Green, Blue & Purple sections (Pride partners & ally groups) – From 12.40pm onwards See the full map and assembly info at Will the parade be accessible to all? Dublin Pride is committed to being as inclusive and accessible as possible. Supports include: - Accessible viewing areas on O'Connell Street - A quiet zone at Custom House - Accessible buses and a dedicated support team If you have specific accessibility requirements, contact community@ ahead of the event. This year, Aspire Ireland is creating a supportive space in the Red Section for autistic, neurodivergent, disabled, and other individuals who might need extra support. What official events and parties are taking place for Pride? Mother Pride Block Party at Collins Barracks featuring The Blessed Madonna, Trixie Mattel and Samantha Mumba Official Pride After Party taking place on Lost Lane and The Button Factory (DJs including Rocky T. Delgado, DJ Glamo, Claire Beck) Babylon at The Grand Social A queer club night with an all-FLINTA (female, lesbian, intersex, non-binary, trans, agender) DJ line-up What is the theme this year? Dublin's 2025 theme is 'Taking Liberties', celebrating 10 years of marriage equality and gender recognition, while highlighting the ongoing work for full equality.
Irish Independent
7 days ago
- Business
- Irish Independent
Naoise Dolan: I'm not sad about big firms quitting Pride — they weren't allies anyway
US companies are pulling out amid fears of Trumpian sanctions, but was there ever anything queer about Mastercard? Today at 21:30 Pride is a celebration of values that should be universally considered the bare minimum. It should be uncontroversial to let queer people live our best lives without fear — but, as a number of US companies have now confirmed, it's not. Twelve of the 42 US firms that previously sponsored Dublin Pride have withdrawn this year. Ten of them cited the Trump administration's threat to sanction firms for upholding diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) policies.
Irish Times
19-06-2025
- Entertainment
- Irish Times
Glasnevin Cemetery's Queer History Tour: ‘If you're here for the drama, you'll get it'
At the back of Glasnevin Cemetery , an unmarked grave hosts the remains of Jack Saul, the earliest-born person on the cemetery's new Queer History Tour and the character whose story the tour's guide, Anna Collins, most enjoys telling. 'He lived this crazy, scandalous, almost unimaginable life,' Collins says of Saul, the veteran of two 19th-century scandals. This weekend, Collins will be giving the tour for the first time to coincide with Dublin Pride , and the expectation is that ticket buyers will be as chatty and curious as ever. 'I think if you're interested and passionate, people get swept up in it,' Collins tells me from the boardroom of the cemetery's museum building, which overlooks a vast sweep of headstones and monuments to Dublin's dead. READ MORE Saul was born in 1857, while the most recent death featured on the tour occurred in 1995, and for Collins this breadth of time was part of the appeal of putting together the tour. 'A lot of the time queer history starts around the 1970s, because that's when the liberation movement kicked off properly. It's harder to do, but it was really nice to go back further and capture a sense of what it was like before there was this open civil rights movement.' When so much of the research is recent, it can give 'the impression that this is all new'. When I meet Collins – who uses they/them pronouns – on a rainy day in late May, they still have a few run-throughs to do, but their plan is to start the tour – which will last 90 minutes to two hours – with the story of Thom McGinty, aka the Diceman . The Scottish-born actor and street artist – who acquired his nickname from a games shop, one of many he was hired to promote – became a well-known Dublin figure and part of the fabric of Grafton Street before he died of complications from Aids in 1995. 'He wasn't buried here, but he was cremated here, and then his ashes were scattered where he believed he was conceived in Co Wicklow, which I think gives you a sense of his personality.' Anna Collins will be giving the Queer History Tour for the first time to coincide with Dublin Pride. Photograph: Dara Mac Dónaill Collins (27) is too young to remember the Diceman, but he is one of the Dublin characters who attracts warm and fond reminiscences from visitors, they say. 'He's in people's living memory and it's nice to be able to carry that on.' The tour then moves on to Davy Byrne (1860-1938), who opened his eponymous pub in 1889. Referenced in James Joyce's Ulysses, the pub is thought to have become something of a haven for gay men. 'I'm not going to say he was gay,' says Collins of Byrne, 'even though he's buried with his friend Thomas.' During the walk, Collins also talks about what's not on the tour. 'I want to go into a few reasons why there are fewer contemporary lesbians on the tour and why there are no modern-day explicitly trans people on the tour, and then we're going to take a long walk over into the past,' they say. These were idealistic people. They wanted a country that was founded on equality of sex and equality across class, and I think a lot of the time that gets forgotten — Anna Collins 'My hope is that when we're on that walk, people will look at the headstones and see that the cemetery is huge. I hope they see the vastness of it and it will kind of hit them just how many stories there are, and how what we're getting is just a hint of what existed.' The 'long walk over into the past' is to reach the place where their tour favourite, Saul, aka Dublin Jack, is buried. [ Irish revolutionary Madeleine ffrench-Mullen to be honoured with plaque at childhood home Opens in new window ] Born into a working-class family in the Liberties, Saul 'spent a lot of time hanging around the Monto', Dublin's red-light district, before his own sex work saw him catapulted into upper-class circles in first Dublin and later London. A life of high-end parties, erotic literature and notoriety followed, with Saul linked to scandals in both cities. At the end of an extraordinary life interacting with establishment figures and brothel-frequenting aristocrats, he died in Dublin in 1904 of tuberculosis, 'a really common illness at the time'. The tragedy of the earlier stories, such as Saul's, is that we typically only know about them from reports of legal cases and commotions. 'It's kind of heartbreaking that this is how a lot of queer research happens – that it comes through scandal, through court cases, through really low moments in people's lives,' Collins says. 'A lot of the time, especially if you're more working class, you're not keeping diaries, you're not writing this down. And if you are, those diaries are probably getting lost – or as happens in some cases later on, the descendants burn any evidence. Even in more recent times, if you're talking about the Aids crisis, people's partners were prevented from coming to their funerals, and there was a lot of cover-up, a lot of tragedy.' Still, even if it means looking 'between the lines', they try to find joy and moments of levity in the lives of the people who feature on the tour. Collins, who is from Leitrim and first started working as a tour guide in Berlin, identifies as queer and likes the way this word 'acknowledges a nuance and a fluidity that exists within these things'. They have been working as a tour guide at Dublin Cemeteries Trust since January 2024 and also give Glasnevin's Irish History Tour and Women in History Tour. The Queer History Tour was an initiative they were keen to pursue, with the existence of a similar tour at Kilmainham Gaol – which is sold out this Saturday – one of the catalysts for its introduction. 'We were kind of like, if Kilmainham is doing it, then surely we can do it.' Tour-guiding can make a difference, Collins believes. 'I think people's minds are changed and their worldviews are shaped when they engage with history.' Still, they are conscious of the potential backlash from people 'who think that queerness is new' or who might be resistant to the idea of Irish republican figures being gay. Anna Collins, tour guide at Dublin Cemeteries Trust, stands in Glasnevin Cemetery's republican plot beside the grave of Elizabeth O'Farrell and Julia Grenan, who feature in the Queer History Tour. Photograph: Dara Mac Dónaill The tour wends its way over to the republican plot, where Collins poses for photographs beside the grave of Elizabeth O'Farrell , the nurse and Cumann na mBan member who delivered news of the republicans' surrender in the 1916 Rising. She is interred alongside her 'lifelong friend' Julia Grenan , also known as Sheila. The pair are now understood to have been a lesbian couple, as were fellow revolutionaries Kathleen Lynn and Madeleine ffrench-Mullen , and Margaret Skinnider and Nora O'Keeffe, with Collins citing the influential research of historian Mary McAuliffe . Both ffrench-Mullen and Skinnider – the only female combatant wounded in 1916 – feature on the Glasnevin tour. Collins notes that the latter died in 1971, just two years before the Sexual Liberation Movement was founded at Trinity College Dublin. 'These were idealistic people. They wanted a country that was founded on equality of sex and equality across class, and I think a lot of the time that gets forgotten,' they say. [ Remembering The Diceman: gay icon, national treasure and obstacle on the way to work Opens in new window ] 'What I particularly enjoy about the republican plot is that you get to talk about the women as they lived, which was together. The nature of the cemetery is that you often talk about people as if they just existed as individuals, but when you're in the republican plot, you get to talk about how they met and the ideas they shared, and you really get a picture of them as this network of friends.' As we discuss how these women led radical lives in dark, constrictive times, the sun shines through the drizzle and the view – stretching over to the National Botanic Gardens and the dome of Corpus Christi church in Drumcondra – is suddenly more verdant than grey. 'I love the cemetery in the rain, personally,' says Collins. 'Like if you're here for the drama, you'll get it.' Tickets to Glasnevin Cemetery's Queer History Tour, which runs from June 20th to 22nd, can be purchased from the Dublin Cemeteries Trust website .
