Growg up gay: 'Pri was a big part of my g out'

Contents:

• LOUISE BYRNE ON GROWG UP GAY IRELAND
• SHNA KEOGH - GROWG UP GAY IN IRELAND
• GROWG UP GAY: 'PRI WAS A BIG PART OF MY G OUT'
• MY LIFE STORI 001| GROWG UP GAY
• GROWG UP GAY ON RTE

LOUISE BYRNE ON GROWG UP GAY IRELAND

RTÉ Prime Time reporter, Louise Byrne, talks to Janice Butler about raisg tws wh her partner Charlotte, her experience growg up gay Ireland and how she hop her story n help others. For starters, Louise and her partner, who had to postpone their weddg last May, have tw boys, Matthew and Will (4); not so unual, but as a gay uple, Louise and Charlotte had their babi through IVF, makg their journey a ltle "ls nventnal, " says Louise. "Growg up the ’80s and ’90s Ireland, beg gay was a b visible, pecially as a woman.

Shna tells exactly what ’s like to grow up gay Ireland and how she’s makg a TV doc to showse this. "I obvly knew a few gay people, but was a very, very small amount and then when I moved to London and went to a performg arts llege was like this credible explosn of people who were all beg pletely thentic, and I beme more fortable wh the ia of who I was. “My experience of growg up gay Ireland was, tth be told, que difficult.

SHNA KEOGH - GROWG UP GAY IN IRELAND

“I thk thgs have changed dramatilly for young people but there is a misnceptn that, bee we have marriage equaly, homophobia has been eradited and that is absolutely not the se as recent cints will emphasise. "It only tak one person to be a homophobe or to bully someone for beg gay. And, you know, there are many parts of the world where homosexualy is still illegal, and people are still beg opprsed and persecuted.

"Even the UK, you see people opposg trans rights and nversn therapy hasn’t been banned, so you have to be very reful bee equal rights means equal rights for everybody and you n quickly be ogmarched to a place where first ’s the rights of trans people beg erod, then ’s gay people, then ’s the rights of women or whatever. “I beme volved the Irish gay rights movement om the very begng wh David Norris and some others.

"For somebody like that to be absolutely supportive of his son growg up gay the pletely reprsive era of the 50s and 60s Ireland was extraordary. "Inially I was worried people might fd out I was gay, and would be difficult but when I talked to my lleagu, they told me I should have absolutely no fear whatsoever, that they would stand by me. “I was away boardg school for a start, and you obvly wouldn’t act out any homosexual feelgs or anythg like that.

GROWG UP GAY: 'PRI WAS A BIG PART OF MY G OUT'

“There was a programme at the time lled Hall’s Pictorial Weekly and they had a sketch where there was a newsrear wh a beard who was very obvly gay. We were the middle of dner when Máire sudnly said ‘What would mean if we if we were to repeal the gay legislatn? "When I beme a producer and director RTÉ I always ma sure to do programm featurg gay people and when we got married was public.

MY LIFE STORI 001| GROWG UP GAY

My Life Stori 001| Growg Up Gay | Looked After Child Limed.

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GROWG UP GAY ON RTE

The only thg on my md was if anyone else felt the same way as I did bee no one seemed like they uld relate other than adults who were already out as gay themselv – which left me feelg all alone. It was a plex thought if I’m hont bee they brought me up only knowg that a man uld be wh a woman; unls you had already had openly gay members of a fay, or your school had openly discsed .

Out of shame and uncertaty, I hid the closet (didn’t tell anyone I was gay) for another 5 years, before tstg a few iends and exprsg myself more. Between ag 13 – 15 I attempted to e out – Growg Up Gay – Comg out story.

Thanks once aga for readg this article about growg up gay. Enjoyed this story, read another Growg up Gay Story From noniclolasos. A two-part documentary seri explorg the experienc of lbian, gay, bisexual and transgenr young people growg up Ireland.