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Irish Examiner
27-07-2025
- Health
- Irish Examiner
'It was a very frightening time': Cork gay activist on Aids and preparing for Pride
Arthur Leahy will never forget the 'balloon-like' figure standing in the hospital doorway as he held the hand of a man dying from Aids. The junior doctor buried beneath multiple layers of protective clothing was clearly terrified but it offered Arthur a moment of light relief during what was a very dark time for Ireland's gay community. 'He had so much protective gear on that he looked like a giant balloon,' Arthur said. 'People were so frightened they would catch the disease.' Trailblazer Arthur had founded the inclusive space in Cork City known as the Quay Co-op back in 1982. The business continues to operate to this day as a vegetarian restaurant and health food store. It opened three years after the activist made television history with an RTÉ interview as Cork's first openly gay man. He, along with his Australian partner at the time, Laurie, provided an insight into life at the time for a gay couple. At the time, the country was pockmarked by homophobia, shockingly highlighted by the death of Declan Flynn who was beaten to death by a gang of teenagers in 1982. Arthur Leahy says the onset of the Aids epidemic 'was a torturous situation for families.' Picture: Jim Coughlan News of his perpetrators walking free from court with suspended sentences rocked the country. One of the attackers was just 14 at the time and could not to be named for legal reasons. The miscarriage of justice sparked a protest 11 days later that inspired the first Dublin Pride parade that June. Nonetheless, gay people remained extremely vulnerable, with homosexuality in Ireland not decriminalised until 1993. However, the threat of homophobic abuse wasn't enough to keep Arthur from the grim task of helping Aids victims to die with dignity. He was a founding member of Gay Health Action and Cairde which were established respectively to address HIV and Aids and provide hands-on support to patients. 'During that time it took over our lives.' The six houses in Cork Arthur co-founded to support those impacted by the Aids epidemic is among his proudest achievements. Years on, as we approach Cork Pride 2025 - which takes place from July 26 to August 3 - Arthur is pleading with people not to forget what people went through. Colour and celebration at last year's Cork Pride. 'If you're part of the gay community now, you get the sense that it never happened,' said Arthur, who turns 80 in November. 'There is a kind of denial there and not a lot of awareness and recognition around what people went through. People can take a drug for it now so there is no big drama about it. However, during the time we are talking about it was terminal.' Arthur recalls supporting Aids patients in hospitals. 'I remember being in the hospital with one person who was actually dying at the time. I was sitting by his bed and holding his hand. The junior doctor came in but we couldn't see him. His clothes looked like they had been blown up like a balloon because he had so many protective coverings on. "That was just the way it was. It was a very frightening time for people. It took me by surprise how I dealt with it, because I was able to transcend the horrors of it all. I dealt with it in such way that I didn't have to live with the trauma.' Mr Leahy recalled why some members of the gay community had little faith in medical professionals. 'In those days, on the medical front at least, it was the predominant view that gay people were mentally ill. It was something you just kind of accepted at the time. "There was one man named Jack Coughlan who dealt with venereal diseases in Cork and he was very progressive but a lot of others were very repressive and conservative.' He said that families were often in denial about the cause of a loved one's death. 'It was a torturous situation for families. In the beginning they didn't want to know but love usually took over towards the end. Sometimes, the control of families was very negative. It was at that point that we were pushed out of the situation. "They wanted to deal with it in a conventional way. That's where you're kind of pushed out of this situation. The Irish solution was denial at all costs.' He recalls how a number of Irish people impacted by Aids had returned from the UK to die. 'The great majority of Irish people with Aids were in London. If you looked in any hospital about half of the people there with Aids were Irish. "The houses we had in Cork were paid for by the Health Board. They helped with funding but the situation wasn't acknowledged. There were some people from the Health Board who were outstanding but they weren't supported by the establishment.' The same, Arthur recalled, could be said for the Church. There were individuals within the Catholic community who were enormously supportive and very courageous but the establishment of the Church was very negative. It was, and still is, to a great extent, in terms of all these issues. The trailblazer said he has lived a very privileged life in comparison to many others. 'I've been very lucky in life. My life is very privileged. I don't feel like I've suffered or done anything particularly brave. I think about the challenges that people are facing around the world right now. They are really enormous. "We all know what is happening. I've spent a lot of time in Gaza and in the Middle East in the last number of years so I think about their struggles all the time.' (Left to right) Cork Drag Queens Liam Bee and Lucina Schynning at Cork Pride 2024. Arthur said that while Ireland has progressed beyond recognition, other parts of the world remain in a time warp. 'The change in Ireland is remarkable. It's hard to believe the extent of the change that has taken place. However, if you look around the world there is very little change. On the contrary, we are seeing things go backwards. "We tend not to recognise in a sense how lucky we are. So many changes have taken place, not just with the gay issue but with regard to other issues too.'
Dublin Live
30-06-2025
- Entertainment
- Dublin Live
Dublin Pride LIVE updates as over 100,000 expected to attend parade
Over 100,000 people are expected to attend today's Dublin Pride parade. This year's grand marshall will be ShoutOut's executive director Ruadhan O'Criordain while the Pride village main stage will be hosted by Phil T Gorgeous and Paul Ryder. The parade begins at 12:30pm and will last about two hours. It will begin at O'Connell Street, continue to Eden Quay, Custom House Quay, Talbot Memorial Bridge, City Quay, Lombard Street, Westland Row, and finish up at the pride festival at Merrion Street Lower. We'll bring you live updates from Dublin Pride today through our live blog below. Join our Dublin Live breaking news service on WhatsApp. Click this link to receive your daily dose of Dublin Live content. We also treat our community members to special offers, promotions, and adverts from us and our partners. If you don't like our community, you can check out any time you like. If you're curious, you can read our Privacy Notice . For all the latest news from Dublin and surrounding areas visit our homepage.
Irish Examiner
29-06-2025
- Politics
- Irish Examiner
'Extraordinary to bear witness': Irish politicians reflect on Budapest Pride
Banning Pride marches in Hungary "badly backfired" on Viktor Orbán, Green Party leader Roderic O'Gorman said, after he joined over 100,000 people for Budapest Pride. A record number of people, from Hungary and across Europe, took to the streets for the country's main Pride march on Saturday despite the threat of legal consequences and fears around counter-protests. The protest passed off without any major incident and there were no reports of assault emerging from the march while small groups of counter-protestors made little impact. Green Party leader Roderic O'Gorman at Budapest Pride on Saturday. He said Hungarian prime minister Viktor Orbán's attempt to ban Pride had backfired badly with attendance at the parade rising from 35,000 last year to 100.000 this year. Picture: Roderic O'Gorman Mr O'Gorman was among the Irish politicians who travelled to Budapest this weekend to show their support for the LGBT+ community in Hungary and to protest against Mr Orbán's sustained attack on their rights. Mr O'Gorman said the overwhelming display of support in Budapest showed that banning Pride badly backfired on Mr Orbán, noting that last year's event had a turnout of approximately 35,000. "It is not just the LGBT+ community marching," Mr O'Gorman said, as footage showed the streets thronged with people of all generations, families, and international supporters. Pride was led by Mayor of Budapest, Gergely Karácsony, who told the crowd: "We don't exactly look as though we were banned." Contrast with Dublin Pride Irish MEP Maria Walsh, who also attended the march, hailed the exceptional bravery of Mr Karácsony and the organisers who have been front and centre, especially in the media, despite the potential consequences from the Government. Ms Walsh said it was "extraordinary to bear witness" to the hundreds of thousands who came together as both members and allies of the LGBT+ community. It was hard not to notice the differences between the march in Budapest and Dublin Pride, which was taking place at the same time, Ms Walsh said. Political parties and organisers in Dublin would not have had to attend a number of security briefings ahead of their participation in the capital's Pride events. Security concerns before and after In the briefings, Ms Walsh said they were warned there could be sound bombs, projectiles thrown at them, and were advised to take off earrings or any other loose items. Drag artists, floats, and even music, were largely lacking at the march in Hungary, she explained, and there was not the same level of Pride flags and bunting in windows around the city as you would see in Dublin throughout Pride month. She said: It was really back to the traditional protests for Pride where people just gathered together and started walking. Ms Walsh said that while the march itself appears to have proceeded without incident, people will be watching what happens over the coming days. The Hungarian government said it would use facial recognition software to identify people attending any banned events, potentially fining them up to €500. "Many of us fly out this evening back to the European Parliament and other member states, and I hope we don't see arrests of the likes of the mayor of Budapest and you don't see arrests of those that organised or were very visible over Pride," Ms Walsh said.
Irish Independent
29-06-2025
- Politics
- Irish Independent
The Sunday Independent's View: Ireland can take Pride in progress on gay rights
The idea that the international community is waiting on the lead of a small island in the north Atlantic is easy to mock. Ireland was certainly unable to find many allies when leaders met in Brussels last Thursday to discuss the fate of EU-Israel economic ties in light of the Gaza war. The watered-down statement that eventually emerged deplored the 'catastrophic humanitarian situation' and called again for a ceasefire. But with hundreds of Palestinians now being killed as they seek aid, Taoiseach Micheál Martin lamented that more was not being done to put pressure on Benjamin Netanyahu's government. There is, however, one issue on which Ireland has undoubtedly led the way. When he took his place on O'Connell Street at the head of yesterday's Dublin Pride march, Micheál Martin did so as the leader of the first country in the world to legalise same-sex marriage by popular vote. The 2015 referendum was carried by 62pc of voters. Ten years on, the likelihood is that the Yes vote would be even more emphatic. Ireland is a far more progressive place to live than it has ever been Irish society in past decades was always more complex and diverse than the caricature of an oppressed Catholic theocracy that persists in popular myth. What is beyond question is that the country today, while by no means perfect, is a far more open and progressive place in which to live than it has ever been. Dublin's first Pride march in 1983 took place when homosexuality was still illegal. The numbers taking part could be counted in the dozens. Yesterday saw more than 12,000 participants and up to 100,000 people line the streets to show support. Other events were held around the country, including for the first time in Kilkenny, the last county to join the party. There is no downside to these changes. Whatever else is wrong with Ireland in 2025, a tolerance of who others chose to love is not one of them. ADVERTISEMENT These advances must not be taken for granted. In his message to Dublin Pride, President Michael D Higgins paid tribute to all who 'paved the way for progress when marching was not safe, who gave voice to truths that were long silenced and who set the foundations for the inclusive Ireland that we continue to strive towards today'. He urged parade-goers to remember them 'with gratitude'. There was a grim reminder this year that many countries have still not won such freedoms. The right-wing populist government led by Viktor Orban in Hungary, a fellow member of the European Union for more than two decades, passed legislation this year banning yesterday's Budapest Pride march and has even threatened to jail organisers and use facial recognition software to identify and fine marchers. That the right to peaceful assembly is under threat again in the heart of the EU is profoundly shocking. Pride marches are a threat to no one. Irish politicians can take justifiable pride, pun intended, in the part they played in moving this country beyond such ugly battles. If only they could put the same collective energy into solving more intractable challenges to inequality — such as housing, our crumbling infrastructure and health — there would be even more to celebrate.
Irish Daily Mirror
28-06-2025
- Entertainment
- Irish Daily Mirror
Dublin Pride in pictures as tens of thousands attend parade
Over 100,000 attended Saturday's Dublin Pride parade along the streets of the capital. This year's grand marshall was ShoutOut's executive director Ruadhan O'Criordain while the Pride village main stage was hosted by Phil T Gorgeous and Paul Ryder. RTÉ reports organisers saying 12,500 people marched in the annual parade, while Dublin City Council said around 100,000 people were set to attend. The parade began at 12:30pm and lasted about two hours. Beginning at O'Connell Street, the rows of LGBTQ+ supporters marched to Eden Quay, Custom House Quay, Talbot Memorial Bridge, City Quay, Lombard Street, Westland Row, and finished up at the pride festival at Merrion Street Lower. Check out our photo story from the parade below. People take part in the Dublin Pride parade through the city centre (Image: Damien Eagers/PA Wire) 1 of 12 Chloe Daly, 9 and Adeline Boles, 10 on the Irish Red Cross train which was taking part in this year's Dublin Pride March (Image: Tony Gavin) 2 of 12 Arthur Gourounlian takes part in the Dublin Pride parade through the city centre (Image: Damien Eagers/PA Wire) 3 of 12
