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Contents:

• OLR GAY MEN CORK ARE OPTIMISTIC ABOUT AGEG
• GAY LIFE MORN IRELAND--CORK CY
• THE DEVELOPMENT OF CORK GAY COLLECTIVE
• IRELAND'S OLST GAY BAR LOAFERS SET TO GO UNR THE HAMMER
• CORK ART PROJECT CELEBRAT THE LIV OF OLR GAY MEN
• LGBTQ+ AFFIRMG COUNSELLORS CORK, CK
• GAY IRELAND
• CORK GAY BARS
• WHAT I LEARNED GROWG UP AS A GAY JEHOVAH’S WNS NORTH CORK

OLR GAY MEN CORK ARE OPTIMISTIC ABOUT AGEG

Now I am really exced to move to a more acceptg untry but all my iends cludg a iend livg Dubl are tellg me "are you crazy, there is not gonna be any signifint gay populatn a cy so small, you're gonna be all alone, you know how we like to party there's not gonna be any of that there and sce the cy is not that ternatnal people will always treat you differently pecially when they hear you are om Eastern Europe'.

A recent Universy College Cork study highlighted that olr gay men.

GAY LIFE MORN IRELAND--CORK CY

“While we know om other rearch that olr gay men experience creased levels of lonels and isolatn pared to their straight unterparts; the fdgs om this rearch are posive as they suggt that those men who have accs to dited LGBT+ muny servic like the Gay Project experience much lower levels of lonels and isolatn, ” says Michael O Donnell.

The rearch was rried out by UCC Occupatnal therapy fourth-year stunt Joy Kelleher and supervised by Profsor Jeanne Jackson, as part of a Communy Amic Rearch Lks (UCC) partnership wh The Gay Project – an anisatn that works wh Gay, Bi+, Trans and Queer Men Cork.

THE DEVELOPMENT OF CORK GAY COLLECTIVE

“The sample size was small and highlights the need for larger-sle rearch related areas but we are very gratified to fd that for our muny members, engagg wh The Gay Project is clearly havg a posive oute, ” says Michael.

On foot of the study The Gay Project is iatg two new projects; a seri of workshops for gay men explorg ‘life story’ as a helpful tool for growth, and then flowg om this, a new workshop /trag module for service provirs and stunts on the importance of bgraphy and safe space liverg re to LGBTQI+ people. Gay Project Edutn Officer, Ra Wild, said: “The study highlights how important an unrstandg of both bgraphy and safe space is for liverg high-qualy servic to olr gay men. Many of the ‘firsts’ of Irish LGBT activism happened Cork – the first Natnal Gay Conference was held Cork 1981, the first Irish AIDS leaflet was produced Cork 1985, UCC (Universy College Cork) was the first NUI (Natnal Universy of Ireland) llege to regnise a LGBT stunt society 1989, the first Irish Lbian and Gay film ftival was anised Cork 1991 and the first Irish LGBT float a Patrick’s Day Para took place Cork 1992 (wng a prize for the bt new entry that year!

IRELAND'S OLST GAY BAR LOAFERS SET TO GO UNR THE HAMMER

The first Irish Natnal Gay Conference was held Cork om 15-17 May 1981.

It brought together lbian and gay activists om across Ireland, as well as a number of other Brish and Amerin activists.

CORK ART PROJECT CELEBRAT THE LIV OF OLR GAY MEN

The basic aim of the nference was “to fulfill an accepted need for a general asssment of the progrs of the gay movement Ireland to date and to nsir h iativ for the future. It is important to note that the 1980s this muny intified self primarily as lbian and gay.

While bisexual and transgenr people often engaged wh, and socialised wh, the lbian and gay muni, their inti were often not explicly acknowledged or rpected. Over 200 people attend the 1981 Natnal Gay Conference Cork and workshops were held on a wi range of topics, givg a sense of the credible range of terts associated wh gay and lbian activism Ireland at the time:. For example motn (f) om the Gays and the Law Workshop mand “That the law be changed to regnise gay relatnships.

While Irish LGBT activists kept up to date wh velopments gay rights movements ternatnally, was important to velop an digeno Irish queer polics and to formulate polici and prri that f the specificy of the legal, social, enomic and polil suatn Ireland. Kieran Rose ments that the motns passed at the Cork nference “set the agenda for the lbian and gay movement for more than a …The nference ma a signifint ntributn to the velopment of an digeno theory and practice of lbian and gay polics Ireland.

LGBTQ+ AFFIRMG COUNSELLORS CORK, CK

McC mented that “The Cork Conference will, I feel, bee to the gay rights movement Ireland what Stonewall is to the gay liberatn movement worldwi. Further rmatn about the Cork LGBT muny and s history n be found the book Queer Republic of Cork: Cork’s Lbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgenr Communi, 1970s-1990s (published December 2016 wh fundg om the Cork Cy Council).

Cork's Lbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgenr Communi 1970s-1990s. Book tracg the history of the velopment of Cork's Lbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgenr Communi om 1970s to 1990s. Cork Gay Collective (CGC) was set up Cork 1980 to mpaign for Gay rights.

The first ever Irish Natnal Gay Conference was held Cork on 15-17 May 1981. We arrived Gay Ireland via Cork on a late afternoon enterg the cy along the Lee River led wh wareho, dockyards, and a power plant that give way to an olr cy downtown wh s morn opera hoe, Victorian office buildgs and untls zy pubs.

GAY IRELAND

Arrivg at Roman Hoe B&B there was ltle qutn that we were a gay B&B; wh red plaid rpetg and a hall poster of Joan Crawford, Roman Hoe B&B is a playful mix of ksch and fort. After a chat wh Richard about plac to eat we strolled along trendy Pl Street wh s hearty rtrants and f (as well as an Inter shop) and ma our way to the gay Taboo bar for a drk and a chat. He easily slipped to nversatn and seemed eager to expla the easy life that lbigays have Cork.

Also, Cork is mostly a workg class cy wh few pretensns and seemgly void of the “body fascism and fashn fascism” found among the gay urban trendy crowds of Dubl (somewhat) or London (fely). He said he never had any doubts or fears of police or homophobic bulli.

“Colm seemed satisfied wh his prent circumstanc as a profsnal and as a gay man. Not surprisgly, sce the were not ‘cy guys’, the talk was void of gay referenc at first. Hantly but neverthels cur, I asked about livg as gay people a ral environment.

CORK GAY BARS

But bee Ireland is such a small untry, is mon for ral gays to drive for a uple of hours and be a cy where there are iends, clubs, bars, diss or snas for lettg down their guard for a day or hancy sharg the few bs of Irish queer farm life discled me om further pursu.

WHAT I LEARNED GROWG UP AS A GAY JEHOVAH’S WNS NORTH CORK

Later, after Tom and Mark had fished breakfast and left, our host Richard mented that even unr the ver of a ‘big’ cy like Cork was unlikely that the ral guys ‘dulge’ the gay scene other than ge spectators havg a few beers and enjoyg the mic. Cork is big enough to support a reasonable number of gay venu, anizatns and many circl of iends. In addn to gay events, the cy hosts events such as the annual jazz ftival, which brgs a lot of visors to Cork cludg many gay folks.

Acrdg to him, the recent Day of Diversy (which ved the gay and lbian muny) was mostly aimed at racial mori pecially blacks who have arrived large numbers Ireland the past five years.

Richard is one of eight children, two of whom are gay: his brother Steve is gay and liv Dubl. Richard offered that some mothers secretly like havg gay sons bee such offsprg often ntue to pay attentn to their mothers when straight siblgs are off and gone to attend to their wiv and children. Raised a Catholic fay he, like many other gay and lbian people, has pretty much dropped the church out of his life.