Declan Flynn: Murred gay man galvanised Ireland's Pri movement

Contents:

• FORTY YEARS AGO GARDAí INTERVIEWED HUNDREDS OF GAY MEN WHILE SEARCHG FOR A KILLER – AND THEY STILL HAVE ALL THE FIL
• IRELAND REELS AS SPECTED ANTI-GAY KILLER IS ARRTED SLAYGS
• REMEMBERG DECLAN FLYNN, THE GAY MAN WHOSE BTAL MURR KICKSTARTED IRELAND’S PRI MOVEMENT
• MURR OF DUBL GAY MAN CHARL SELF VTIGATED NEW PODST
• REMEMBERG DECLAN FLYNN, THE GAY MAN WHOSE BTAL KILLG AT THE HANDS OF TEENAGE HOMOPHOB KICKSTARTED THE IRISH PRI MOVEMENT
• GAY MAN VICTIM OF HORRIFIC HOMOPHOBIC ATTACK DUBL
• MURRS OF TWO GAY MEN IRELAND SERVE AS BTAL REMR THAT LGBT+ PEOPLE STILL AREN’T SAFE

FORTY YEARS AGO GARDAí INTERVIEWED HUNDREDS OF GAY MEN WHILE SEARCHG FOR A KILLER – AND THEY STILL HAVE ALL THE FIL

Evan Somers, who was jured a spected homophobic attack near Dame Street Dubl cy centre over the weekend, has spoken publicly of his oral. Speakg to RTÉ's Livele om his bed St Jam's Hospal, Mr Somers said that his male attacker tnted him wh homophobic slurs before he received severe juri to his face and body.

He scribed himself as a "clearly gay" man who is out and proud, but said what happened felt to him like an "outer-body experience", as was all a b of a blur to a pot where he felt like what was happeng was not happeng to him. He said the attack had showed him that spe advanc gay rights Ireland and the rult of the 2015 referendum on same-sex marriage, more had to be done to tackle hate-related vlence towards the LGBT muny. “The Liv of Irish Lbians & Gay Men”, says the subtle on the bottom book, datg om 1986, was wrten and eded by a group of activists at Dubl Lbian and Gay Men’s Collective, cludg chapter is on the murr of Charl Self on 20 January, a gay set signer, worked for RTÉ.

IRELAND REELS AS SPECTED ANTI-GAY KILLER IS ARRTED SLAYGS

But the short chapter is maly about An Garda Síochána’s vtigatn to his killg and how turned to a mpaign of harassg gay men. But they terviewed many gay men as part of the article om 18 Augt 1982 the Irish Prs newspaper had reported a senr Garda officer as havg said that “thoands of people were qutned about the murr of Mr.

REMEMBERG DECLAN FLYNN, THE GAY MAN WHOSE BTAL MURR KICKSTARTED IRELAND’S PRI MOVEMENT

Self” activists now and at the time said the Gardaí terviewed, photographed and fgerprted 1, 500 gay men, while the guards say the se volved “over 1, 500 jobs” which clud terviews too. “As this is an ongog active Crimal Invtigatn all material llected is retaed pendg any possible crimal prosecutn, ” a spokperson that they know Gardaí still has the fil of all those old terviews, olr gay activists who remember the aftermath of Self’s murr are batg what should happen to those Aftermath“It beme clear that the vtigatn was more ncerned wh pilg a file on gay men than was wh solvg the murr, ” says the chapter on Charl Self Out For ’s a photo of a picket outsi Pearse Street Garda Statn on 13 March 1982.

MURR OF DUBL GAY MAN CHARL SELF VTIGATED NEW PODST

”At the time of Self’s murr, Cathal Kerrigan was livg and his then-partner Máirtín Mac an Ghoill were stnch polil activists volved a group lled Gays Agast H-Block/Armagh, which was active between 1979 to 1982 to support hunger strik of mat at H-Block prison Northern Ireland, cludg Bobby activism was ntent enough to pture the guards’ attentn often, said Kerrigan recently, stg outsi Love Supreme fé Stoneybatter, eatg a sandwich. “Máirtín was already known to the police bee he was a much eper activist than I was, ” says Self’s murr, once they realised that the guards were terviewg and fgerprtg gay men drov, Kerrigan and fellow activists got anised anddistributed a leaflet.

“Sce the murr of Charl Self at the very least 500 gay people have been qutned by the Gardaí and the Special Branch.

“They were claimg that there was an event that happened that was crimal to do wh terrorism, and they wanted to know if I was volved, ” he he always wonred about the timg of all and how cid wh vtigatn en masse of gay men over Self’s murr, and his activism and anisg work agast that, says wonred if the guards wanted to timidate people to might dismiss that as grandse or paranoia, he says, sg.

REMEMBERG DECLAN FLYNN, THE GAY MAN WHOSE BTAL KILLG AT THE HANDS OF TEENAGE HOMOPHOB KICKSTARTED THE IRISH PRI MOVEMENT

“Some of Mr Self’s associat were members of the homosexual muny”, said an article the Irish Inpennt, attributg the rmatn to Detective Supertennt Michael Gardaí “had vised a number of gay clubs Dubl to rry out quiri”, the 25 January 1982 article Supt. Sullivan had nied a claim by David Norris that Gardaí had asked the Natnal Gay Feratn to hand over s membership list, article om 25 March 1982 the Irish Prs nveyed gay activists’ ncerns about the guards’ handlg of the vtigatn, and how had turned to an opportuny to build dossiers on gay reports on a public meetg held Dubl the prev night, “lled to discs the alleged harassment of gay people by gardaí durg the vtigatn”, the meetg, Eamon Somers, then print of the Natnal Gay Feratn, is reported to have said that “people are beg prsurised specifilly bee they are gay, and asked qutns that are not relevant to the crime” an article om 23 March 1982 the Irish Prs, the guards ny the accatns. There was no pulsn on anyone to make a statement and there was no timidatn ed on anyone as far as I know, ” reports Supertennt Hubert Reynolds as havg, the man Ranelagh, says he remembers readg the papers that the guards said after the prott outsi Pearse Street Garda statn on 13 March 1982 that they’d get rid of the personal rmatn they had gathered on gay men as part of the murr probe.

“We mt look for guarante om the gardaí, om the Mister for Jtice, and if necsary om the Taoiseach himself to ensure that all irrelevant evince will be stroyed, ” the article quot Kelly as, 40 years on, Gardaí is apparently still holdg onto the gathered through those 1, 500 or so terviews wh gay men that they did the urse of their vtigatn to the still-unsolved murr of Charl vasive nature of the qutns Gardaí asked people back then mak the data all the more personal, Foley talked about the timidatn durg qutng, he says. ”Foley pots to a recently proposed scheme by the Mister for Jtice, Fe Gael’s Helen McEntee TD, which is aimed at wipg the crimal nvictns of gay and bisexual men prosecuted for havg nsensual ’s an opportuny, Foley says, for the Department of Jtice to see that the Gardaí dispose of people’s data gathered as part of the vtigatn to Self’s murr. The workg group tablished by McEntee to exame the proposal around wipg nvictns has recently published a progrs report, they Rose, a gay activist and a member of that workg group, says the scheme is about givg gay men who were spied on and arrted by the Gardaí while havg sex, sometim the privacy of their own hom, a chance to erase that as a crimal background.

GAY MAN VICTIM OF HORRIFIC HOMOPHOBIC ATTACK DUBL

Interview transcriptns and gay men’s rerds piled after Self’s murr document state opprsn of queer people and shouldn’t be stroyed, says says he has a history background. ”But the right to accs personal rerds unr the law is limed some s, they said, like when data handover might unrme or prejudice a crimal vtigatn or didn’t say if this appli to personal rerds of gay men terviewed as part of Self’s murr vtigatn.

Edutn Imag/Universal Imag Group via Getty ImagDUBLIN—A small Irish town has been left reelg after two spected anti-gay killgs were disvered the space of jt over 24 hours.

A further attack on a third gay man left the victim wh severe eye police, known as gardai, said Wednday that a man his early twenti is now ctody, spected of killg polil and peace activist Aidan Mofft, 41, whose body was disvered Monday eveng, and a send man, Michael Snee, 58, whose body was found Tuday men were found at their rpective hom the astal town of Sligo, which has a populatn of 20, bodi were mutilated, wh “siar” wounds flicted on the two men, the Irish Tim paper’s rpected crime rrponnt said each man had met their attacker on gay datg apps, and suggted that the spected killer, who was arrted at 1:45 a. Wednday morng after armed police flood the town, may have been rponsible for the attack on the man wh eye now believe both men met their killer on gay datg apps and are also lookg at a further ser attack on a gay man Sligo last week. They said they were also vtigatg whether the men had met their attackers onle, and issued urgent safety guil to people g datg gay muny Ireland was quick to react to news of the shockg murrs—led by Ireland’s former premier, Leo Varadkar, who is due to rume the role later this year.

MURRS OF TWO GAY MEN IRELAND SERVE AS BTAL REMR THAT LGBT+ PEOPLE STILL AREN’T SAFE

He publicly stated he was gay 2015, ahead of a referendum on gay marriage that the “y” si won by an overwhelmg troubled to read about the two spected murrs Sligo cludg that of @FeGael activist Aidan Mofft.

He enjoyed piics wh his large fay is how Flynn's fay like to remember their late 31-year-old brother and uncle, not as someone who was kicked and beaten to ath wh sticks Fairview Park Dubl the past week, the send elst of ne children born to Christopher and May Flynn, raised on the Swords Road Whehall, was remembered by relativ as a kd, gentle man who loved his fay and who "me to his own at Christmas, ratg the fay home om top to toe and givg everybody gifts" memory was also relled formally by Taoiseach Leo Varadkar an addrs to the Dáil when he spoke recently about the historil jtic suffered by Flynn and other gay men. Varadkar apologised on the 25th anniversary of the crimalisatn of homosexualy to gay men who were prosecuted unr the State's former was killed the early hours of September 10th, 1982, murred by a gang of five so-lled “queer-bashg” teenagers that clud a 14-year-old boy. “While I mt monstrate the abhorrence of the muny by imposg sentenc, I don’t thk necsary to be served immediately by tentn, ” said Gannon, who died lg ed public outrage and led to one of the earlit and largt monstratns support of gay rights on the streets of Dubl.

This was Declan gog out wh his iends one night and not g back, ” he rights mpaigner David Norris, who would go on to bee an Inpennt Senator, said at the time that the sentenc uld be "terpreted as a licence to kill" knew Flynn personally and recently relled that his fear of beg seen by work lleagu led him to avoid tablished gay venu favour of meetg spots that were potentially targeted nature of the attack ma the crime all the more horrific, and the lenient sentenc all the more shockg.