What 's like to grow up gay Northern Ireland

It’s hard to expla what ’s like growg up gay Northern Ireland, to someone who never has, scrib Damian Kerl. * growing up gay in ireland *

Damian Kerl opens up about his experience of growg up as a gay man Northern Ireland. It’s hard to expla what ’s like growg up gay Northern Ireland to someone who never has, scrib Damian Kerl.

Much of Northern Ireland is standard ral, workg class muni this way, but for me – and I image many others – your experience of livg this type of muny is twisted unexpected ways when you grow up as gay. I always knew that I was gay. Ultimately, growg up gay a ral and relig area like Northern Ireland n feel suffotg once you’ve accepted yourself.

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

* growing up gay in ireland *

"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.

“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.

YOUNG MAN SPEAKS ABOUT THE LONELS OF GROWG UP GAY RAL IRELAND

A young man scrib the difficulti he faced growg up gay ral Ireland and how he stggled to fd his way and fd unrstandg. * growing up gay in ireland *

"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. “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?

LOUISE BYRNE ON GROWG UP GAY IRELAND

"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.

'GROWG UP GAY IRELAND WAS NOT AN EASY JOURNEY'

Joseph Burke speaks about growg up gay ral Ireland and tryg to fd your tribe. It n be lonely, beg gay ral Ireland. When I was still primary school before I knew I was gay, I had to put up wh homophobic bullyg.

In my life, I had a fay member who fluenced me by embracg himself and g out as gay. My experienc happened ci like Galway, Dubl and at llege where I attend Pri march, LGBTQ+ support groups, drag shows, gay bars etc. There seems to be a culture of hook-ups the gay muny which would work for some people, however don’t for me.

Louise Byrne on growg up gay Ireland

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