Ireland - GlobalGayz

Intro: Ireland is a visual treat wh ancient stone walls, historic ci, lorful villag, sprawlg green pastur, great ocean cliffs and warm hospaly. A three week drive around the entire periphery of the island revealed famo s such as Dubl’s Books of Kells, Blarney’s Castle, the Giant’s Cseway, Waterford’s crystal factory and the grim war wall-murals of Derry and Belfast. Thread throughout all the famo venu is a thrivg and stgglg gay and lbian life force that was given legal birth the early 1990’s when homosexualy was crimalized. Sce then, many anizatns, dividuals and activists have phed for an equal share of morn Ireland’s social and enomic prospery. Gay marriage has been legal sce November 2015. Also See: Gay Ireland News & Reports 2000 to prent Gay Ireland Photo Galleri by Richard Ammon Updated July 2017 (1) Dubl’s Liberal Downtown Dubl ronat wh imag and sounds both ancient and morn. As I walked to a gay/mixed fé/bar lled The Front Lounge, loted only steps away om Dubl Castle, I uld hear Christ Church Cathedral’s 18th century ep bell tollg six blocks away. Sudnly slicg through the sonoro chime like a jack hammer was the ramrod roar of a Kawasaki motorcycle chargg past and round the rner of O’Neill’s Victorian pub wh s staed-glass wdows. Insi the Front Lounge an assortment of patrons huddled over their Guns, Cok or Bejolais chattg wh iends as they gtured wh cigaretted hands punctuatg their talk. The Front Lounge is a gay/mixed place wh high ceilgs, lots of floor space, fortable sofas and a lunchtime food bar. Along the walls are patgs and sculptur bathed unr display lightg. I listened for a while as four men their twenti and thirti bantered and asserted their momentary thoughts about iendship, job secury, a new outf, changg flats, and gossip om a recent party. Each one of them had a cell phone that seemed to chirp every twelve mut. From their accents was obv they were not all Irish. As turned out no one this ltle clutch was. One handsome dark man spoke Spanish. When I asked him om where he replied,”om Columbia—but my father is Irish”. Another member of their circle was om Brazil, a third om Paris and the other om Italy. Morn Dubl is by, gay and very ternatnal. The pal is a remarkably fortable metropolis which to be a gay or lbian nizen. In no small part is this due to the teemed former Print Mary Robson (former UN high missner for Human Rights) who as a young solicor took her own ernment to the European Court of Human Rights bee of s anti-gay statut still lgerg on the books om an obsolete moral era. She and -unsel David Norris won their se and the Irish parliament was left stgglg to mornize their legal thkg about homosexualy or face censure om the European Unn, somethg Ireland uld ill afford. In the ten years sce that landmark actn, Ireland has ma up for lost time wh some of the most pro-gay protectns and equaly laws the European Unn. Lerary Dubl Dubl is also unique the promence and visibily giv to s lerary figur—gay or straight. Jam Joyce’s visage has at least two statu around town (photo right). In Merrn Park, gay in Osr Wil (once imprisoned for lovg another man) has a dramatic—if not a quietly flamboyant–prence lored marble. His unual reclg statue (photo below Merrn Square) is loted across the street om his childhood home, now a mm owned by the Amerin College Dubl. A nearby bookstore sells postrds wh the fac of Irish wrers: addn to the two well-knows wh statu, there are , Jonathan Swift, Sean O’Casey, Brendan Behan, W.B. Yeats, Samuel Beckett, Bram Stoker, and G.Bernard Shaw. And this lerary tradn is not jt an historic artifact. In the October ’02 issue of Gi magaze (Gay Ireland) four of Ireland’s most rpected livg wrers are profiled—all happen to be gay: Jamie O’Neill (thor of ‘At Swim, Two Boys’, recently ma to a mastream film), Colm Toib (nomated for the Booker Prize 1999 for ‘The Blackwater Lightship’), Frank Ronan (award a top Irish prize for his 1989 ‘The Men Who Loved Evelyn Cotton’) and Keh Ridgway (buted 1989 wh the tense ‘The Long Fallg’). So should not be surprisg that such a lerate town would be found a gay bar lled The Wig & Pen, a “straight iendly” pub where wrers brg their works--progrs to read or listen to other buddg lerati. Perhaps not as poetic or amic, ‘Gi’ magaze is a trendy glossy monthly wh slick ternatnal fashn pics, gossip and imag of celebri as well as thoughtful terviews. There are ser featur about datg, gay fai, polics, gay immigrants as well as adverts for more mastream ems as rs, liquor and watch. There are no sex ads the back. For those, one has to read GCN (Gay Communy News), the monthly newspaper which has here-and-now entertament, news and events. The third gay rag is Free! which are strictly gay-scene happengs at the var clubs, bars along wh party gossip. Gay Dubl at Night As well as beg a vibrant lorful mm wh traffic ursg among s antique Geian (18c) archecture, Dubl buzz wh untls f and pubs, some wh dntg nam like ‘The Bleedg Horse’. Foced (but not limed to) a sectn of the old downtown lled Temple Bar is Dubl’s most but val gay night life. Half a dozen bars/pubs, two, B&B’s, a uple of snas, four or five dis clubs and dozens of anizatns abi quietly among the trendy non-gay f, partment stor, crystal shops, the ubiquo Spar nvenience stor, souvenir stalls—and hundreds of straight pubs populated wh ser Irish drkers (beer/lager is dnk here pt-sized glass). The bt-known gay bar is The Gee. It’s not unlike other waterg hol s sual ambience, somewhat cliquish attu and pricey drks. Actually there are two Ge, one next to the other. The larger one has a late-night DJ spng out dis tun for the younger set as they shimmy on the dance floor. Some nights are film night and patrons watch flicks wh gay them: ‘Boys Don’t Cry’ was on when we stopped . The other Gee one is half as big and serv up drks to patrons twice the age whout the dance. Jt across the river on one of the ma streets is Gubu, a spac popular bar on two floors. More than a gay brew hoe this venue also offers live programs such as dance performanc and stand-up edy night. (Gubu closed 2009) What mak the waterg hol and dance halls addnally appealg is they are not exiled to seamier edg of town among wareho or n-down apartment blocks. Rather, they are close next to chic rtrants, fashn boutiqu and untls non-gay pubs. But neher are there rabow flags to signal their prence eher. Except for the handsomer-than-ual bouncer at the entry to Gee there are no distguishg markgs to set off. It’s an appropriate cisn, much like siar cisns other European ci where homosexualy—spe s legaly—is still a volatile and ambivalent stimul to roughneck hets who love their beer more than queers. Gay bashg is rare but neher is absent om the street scene, pecially after midnight and a few pts of brew. A few blocks away— oppose directns—are the two openly gay B&B’s. Inn on the Liffey looks out onto the Liffey River, the center of the old town. We stayed at Frankie’s Guthoe which has been offerg s hospaly for nearly fifteen years. Tucked away on ty Camn Place, appears om the street as a lorful row hoe wh lavenr pat and hangg flowerpots. It offers 14 rooms to visors some wh and some whout bath. TJ Cunngham (Joe) and his partner Frankie om Malaysia own the rince. For the lerate-md, is only a uple of blocks om the birthplace of Gee Bernard Shaw. Add to the venu the hip-hop light and sound that emanat om the numero clubs (on different nights) such as Club Soho which has theme nights such as Candy, Camp (stunts) and Atomic (80’s night). On Sunday nights a “homosociale merry-go-round” happens at the Spy Club. Then there is another nightclub lled Delic at the Viva wh s Red Room (“chill to mellow mic”) and Blue Room (“mp classics and cktails”). At the Temple Bar Mic Center there is the monthly Club Tease wh on-stage visuals (girth to drag), dance floor and two bars. Oil Can Harry’s pub and rtrant has food, live mic and karaoke. There are currently two snas for men Dubl, the most popular one beg aptly lled the Boilerhoe. And certaly not to be overlooked is the Alternative Miss Ireland pageant where, as I was told, “anythg go” om outrageo drag entri to ifed poodl. Billg self as “the years most post-culturally-kky event”, nttant vie outlandish attire for the top prize. Check out their web se: ( review). Heart of the Scene The noisy and sexy gay scene may be found the var bars and clubs, but the heart of the gay pulse Dubl is found the many quiet anizatns that have formed over the past . All of the listgs are found ‘Free!’ and ‘GCN’, both published Dubl. On the last page of GCN, I unted nearly 75 lbigay listgs of anizatns and servic offered Dubl alone. This is clearly not a provcial cy. The range of special tert groups Dubl is typil of a large urban gay muny: sports, revery, Amnty Internatnal, bisexuals, naturists, leather, spirual, parents, books/lerary. Some of my favor as I read the listgs were Swimm’ Wimm and one lled Cloratae Sexuali (“sex, sire, genr, workshops, multimedia dance clubs, queer artists”—for women obvly). Dubl’s most outstandg anizatn is easily the LGBT center lled OUThoe whose admistrator, Jim Lowther, told me there are approximately 18 groups that utilize the three stori of their recently purchased buildg on Capel Street the downtown area. Their web se () lists servic and happengs that range om a drop- fé, a library--progrs, unselg, telephone hotle, youth groups, a transsexual-support group as well as LGBT tn outreach to the public. Hoed one of the OUThoe offic is the highly valued Gay Men’s Health Project/Gay Health Network offerg a variety of servic and referrals for all health matters for the LGBT muny. They also offer clil servic for STDs and HIV patients associatn wh Baggot Hospal. Jim was pecially proud that OUThoe is the only major LGBT center that actually owns their buildg, thanks part to private donatns and fundg om the cy of Dubl.. To p this happy purchase, the Print of Ireland, May McAlysse, attend the grand openg of the new quarters 2002. Lowther observed that much of the succs of the center was due to a nsc effort to clu lbians and gay men equally ernance and offered servic. “Exclnary anizatns, for men or women, often break down after an ial perd of fiant excement. So om the start we were sure to be clive our efforts and has worked very well here.” As well, OUThoe mak every effort to work closely wh other LGBT anizatns around the untry cludg The Other Place Cork cy, Red Ribbon Health Project Limerick, Foyle Friend Derry (Northern Ireland) and the Rabow Project Derry and Belfast. I asked Jim about gay activism Ireland and how well was anized. “Homosexualy has only been crimalized sce 1993. Before that time there was nsirable activy to change the laws; there was a big and nstant ph agast that opprsn. But once the law was changed there was a signifint drop activy. Many people thought that was all we need, but tth that’s jt the begng. Small town Irish thkg has not yet been liberated to the pot where sexual varietn is ’s why most gay people move to Dubl, to get away om small towns—and small thkg. “It’s slowly changg as people are exposed more wh TV and films and more verage the media. You fd some anizatns other ci like Cork, Limerick, Galway, Waterford and even ls some other towns like Kerry or Sligo. But there isn’t nearly the force or prence here of fund natnal anizatns like Stonewall England or the Human Rights Campaign USA. Ireland is still a nservative untry. There is still a lot of personal fear g out and riskg rejectn om your fay or the muny you live .” Is there any good news any of this, I asked? “At the lol level, there are a lot of anizatns to be praised, nsirg we’ve had ls than ten years of legimate life. Surprisgly, the bt news om the feral ernment and not jt om the chang legislatn. There is an Equaly Authory () which jt this year issued a signifint report on the stat and ndn of gays and lbians and transsexuals Ireland. It’s an extensive analysis based on nsultatns wh many groups regardg important aspects of life and how they affect gays. It mak posive remendatns about marriage, adoptn, arts support, discrimatn, health, fance and tn as they relate to the LGBT muny. It’s very well done.” However, Lowther ntued, the challenge is to dissemate and activate this valuable rmatn at the grass roots level. “It’s great to have this report but now the challenge is to rm ral gay people about their rights and to te straight people about the unfair treatment of gays. It’s an effort we’re workg on, however slowly.” One small step, he noted, was at a recent choral ncert given by the police where they ved a gay choral group to sg wh them. This is a small but big step. It me about bee of an open md police missner followg a gay bashg and the rultg mand for remedial actn. Lowther also noted that right-wg fundamentalism Ireland is rare and is nfed to ge groups for the most part. Physil vlence agast gays is rare. This ment reassured me a b pecially; earlier the day as I was checkg e-mail a Dubl Inter fé I overheard some obvly non-gay surfers, four guys their young twenti, react wh “that’s sick” when they me across a se about ex-ex gays. Irish prejudice is ever prent even ‘liberated’ Dubl. 2009 Update This update om Passport magaze: Perhaps the most surprisg change the EU-era Dubl is the exuberance of the gay and lbian muny. Jt a ago, the nservative Catholic church still held sway; now, non-discrimatn laws are on the books and their spir is embraced by a young, liberal populatn. Bertie Ahern, the popular Taoiseach or Prime Mister of Ireland, recently re-opened The Outhoe (105 Capel Street), the LGBT muny center Dubl, and took the opportuny to forcefully promise civil partnership stat for gay and lbian upl. While boastg nowhere near the volume of venu mecs like New York or London, Dubl’s gay nightlife has diversified wh this new openns. The appealg Front Lounge wh s ceptively large floor and clutter-ee dér, (33-34 Parliament Street) nsistently attracts a sophistited after-work crowd, then packs even more hip young men and women for s Tuday night karaoke party. Across the River Liffey, Dubl diva Miss Panti pris over the newt entry to the gay scene, Pantibar (7-8 Capel Street). Although one might expect a mpy ftival om a drag queen, Pantibar provis a mascule, rner-pub vibe and the mature, sexy guys lg up for their pts live up to the prs. The clear wner for weekly events is the ultra-trendy Spice that tak place Saturday nights at Spy Bar (59 South William Street). In rince at the imprsive Geian Powersurt Townhoe Centre (also well worth a stop for a shoppg excursn durg the daylight hours), Spice v revelers to take a turn through var stg rooms and multiple DJ-driven styl. The biggt news on the scene, however, has to be the exceptnal new pann club to The Gee, cheekily named The Dragon Bar (64-65 South Great Ge Street). Red-eyed gargoyl peer down om vlted, blue-light-flood ceilgs while a very attractive mixed crowd loung velvet warrens and along multi-leveled bars; ’s gay night at Dracula’s Castle. Although the dér uld easily slip over the edge to theme park, the Dragon stays clear of the precipice and serv up a relaxed, morn atmosphere wh jt enough of a self-aware wk. For the latt events, cludg the popular but irregularly schled women’s night, Kiss, check out the bullet board at the Outhoe or the prehensive listgs GCN magaze. Gog out don’t have to mean jt htg the bars, though; there are plenty of cultural optns this cy that has always been known for s creativy. To sample the full range of Dubl’s ntemporary arts scene, check out the Project Arts Centre (39 East Essex Street). Dance, theatre, visual art, and mic jostle for attentn multiple galleri and performance spac, all unr one roof. Jt around the rner, the Irish Film Instute (6 Etace Street) is dited to prervg the bt of Ireland’s imprsive filmmakg herage and to promotg up-and-g celluloid talents. Monthly screengs, one-of-a-kd discsns, and special events open up their fascatg archiv to visors. If art hoe cema feels a b highbrow, jt step outsi to the public spac of Temple Bar and experience Ireland’s longt and largt ftival of ee outdoor events, Diversns Ftival 2008 (rmatn available at the Temple Bar Cultural Centre, 12 East Essex Street). Durg the ftival’s n om June to Augt, markets, mic, and movi spill to the streets throughout the heart of Dubl. To get up-to-the-mute listgs of even more galleri, mms, and events, click over to Dubl Tourism’s tailed webse. For all the talk of a new, worldly Ireland, is worth rememberg that Dubl has been the center of fashn before; the sights of the late eighteenth-century cy n pete wh even the most stylish of current trends. Imposg mms and stately Geian hom, cludg the fascatg Number Twenty Ne (29 Fzwilliam Street Lower), le the streets around Merrn Square. A stroll through the park, wh s evotive llectn of gas lamps and twistg, tree-shad paths, is the perfect romantic pe, culmatg a vis to a statue of Dubl’s own Osr Wil. Colorful and sarstic, fashnable and gay, he seems to be lookg out at the cy he left behd wh a sly gr, revelg the fact that Dubl has ught up to him at last. (2) Cork Cy We arrived 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. 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. Owned by Richard and Kev for six years the place danced wh lighthearted lors on the walls, the bed sheets and bedspreads. The furnure was sual and a rigr relief of a Romanque male nu hung on the wall of our room. Loted jt a block om the river our rabow room was also furnished wh that universal ‘stmentali sexualis’—a ndom wh lubrint and a brochure about safe sex. 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. It’s loted on a narrow lane off the ma Patrick Street. Insi is an easy ambience, not ‘rated’ but not dark and broodg; sual, cheerfully l, wh a bullet board full of photos of lol iends om the Pri event Augt. (The next bash was an End-of-Summer stume party a week later.) Taboo also offers karaoke every Wednday night. Stg around ltle bar tabl were iends pairs and small groups gossipg, lghg or ponrg ser issu wh furrowed brows. I stck up a nversatn wh one patron, a hotel manager named Colm who was origally om Kilkenny. He easily slipped to nversatn and seemed eager to expla the easy life that lbigays have Cork. Colm thought that Cork was easy gog and more acceptg than Dubl perhaps bee has only half the populatn (about 400.000) and gay people tend to know each other more. 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). His accuracy may be batable, but Colm was more assured when I asked him about the prent fluence of the Catholic Church. For years, I had believed the cliché that Ireland was a sexually uptight untry livg tightly wh the puran grip of relig Roman dogma. Colm, however, scribed how the Church has squanred s once powerful fluence pecially the past twenty years. “Before any of the prent sndal about abive prits and children there was a major sndal which a Catholic bishop had affair wh a woman which rulted a child. Although the affair lasted only a week, years afterward, havg moved to Canada, she wrote a book about the liaison dangerx partly out of anger. Her son had sought renciliatn wh his father but was stead shunned by him.” The book had a vastatg effect, which of urse she tend. In today’s secular world the Church, at bt, is scribed as havg only a most fluence on the culture. Cocintally, a week after our talk the rults of a natnal poll on Catholic church attendance was published on the ont page of the Irish Tim: fewer than 45% of Catholics attend servic regularly on any given Sunday. There was no mentn of how many Prottants attend Church of Ireland servic regularly. Colm has lived and worked Cork for three years. He said he never had any doubts or fears of police or homophobic bulli. “People are very tolerant here; a strong attu of live and let live. “Colm seemed satisfied wh his prent circumstanc as a profsnal and as a gay man. Not currently wh a partner, he is more terted havg good iends and a secure job than havg a mate, although he is not turng a bld eye to a handsome whe knight who might e ridg through. Cork is Ireland’s send largt cy. (Belfast is bigger than Cork but is Brish ntrolled Northern Ireland.) It has a powerful history of pennt thkg and willful thkers. Michael Colls, the first ‘chief’ of the new Irish Free State is a big hero for many here. Unfortunately (pendg on whom you ask) jt after he signed the historic Easter Sunday agreement to partn Ireland 1922 he was gunned down as he toured this area. Many lol Black and Tan party roughnecks were vehemently opposed to pennce, sistg that all of Ireland be ee of Brish ntrol. Rural Gay Farmers Over breakfast at Roman Hoe B&B the next morng we chatted wh another male uple—Tom and Mark– who lived near Limerick (about 50 away) and were Cork for a few days holiday. Not surprisgly, sce the were not ‘cy guys’, the talk was void of gay referenc at first. They were farmers wh about a hundred acr and fifty beef ttle out the green ral flatlands of the unty. We talked about the skyrocketg real tate pric Ireland and about fai who purchased property wh lifetime mortgag of several hundred thoand Euros. (1 Euro = 1 US$) The buyers don’t expect to pay off the loan their lifetim; the plan is to have their children rry the mortgage and hopefully pay off. Even ral farmland, Tom said, was gog for about a pricey thoand Euros an acre. Tom said Ireland’s enomy was very keyed to the USA enomy pecially regardg the three C’s: Co-Cola, puters and chemils. Ireland offers foreign pani a signifintly lower rate of tax so many USA pani take advantage of this—cludg Pfizer who manufactur most of s Viagra here. Hantly but neverthels cur, I asked about livg as gay people a ral environment. It was obv om the drop sual chatts that they were not at ease on this subject. Mark pecially was reticent and offered ltle ment about their private or social life. Tom was a ltle more forthg wh some tails. They had been together for three years. Gay ‘life’ is non-existent such Irish hamlets as theirs. A few sttered iends on ocsn make for socializg. 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 clubs, bars, diss or snas for lettg down their guard for a day or two. Their hancy sharg the few bs of Irish queer farm life discled me om further pursu. 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. “It’s very different ‘out there’. You jt don’t want the neighbors to know. And a lot of the guys have never been to the scene so they are not really fortable when they do e here. But they like to go. It’s like a show for them. Tony and Mike have been here several tim this year.” Richard ntued, “clubs and pubs Cork have theme nights like ‘fetish’ night or stume night or karaoke night. But the untry guys are unlikely to participate; would be too wild for them. They’d feel unfortable takg part but they like to watch and see the cy queers be a ltle crazy.” Gay Life Cork Richard and his 19-year partner Jam have operated Roman Hoe guthoe for six years. Before Cork, where they were raised, they lived Dubl for four years then Amsterdam for ten years so their view and experience stretch further than provcial Ireland. Havg sown a few wild oats the big ci, they felt was time to set a lmer pace and build a fancial base for their retirement. Both men are their forti. Havg ma Roman Hoe a viable bs, they plan to sell next year and move to Brighton, England where Richard will aga take up his bsh and pencils to ntue his artwork. He feels he is not livg at his bt potential yg breakfast ssage and flippg eggs. Lookg at his patgs hung around the dg room, I agreed. Their life here Cork has been fairly fortable and whout discrimatn. Cork is big enough to support a reasonable number of gay venu, anizatns and many circl of iends. This year, 2002, has seen the cy’s first Pri Ftival that lasted over a summer weekend and featured parti, shows and performanc—but no para. 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. Ireland has bee one of the most attractive statns for Ains and Romanian gypsi who are given food, shelter, some money and health re when they arrive as their immigrant stat examed (which n take a year). Many of them are havg babi and the newborns are given Irish cizenship th makg the cisn to repatriate the parents much more difficult. There has been a gree of rentment toward such polici and what appears to some as “unwarranted privileg”. The issue is obvly ntroversial and divisive among tradnalists who want to keep Ireland ‘green’ and progrsiv who see Ireland as a land of opportuny for all cludg immigrants who e to work–pecially the lower tier jobs that nouve-middle-class Irish no longer want to perform; ’s an issue now mon propsero wtern untri. 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. For native gay sons and lbian dghters, Irish life has been mostly ee of discrimatn, harassment and vlence recent years. Richard also thought that the enmy of the Catholic and Prottant church no longer have such a powerful stg. Homophobic vlence is rare. Spirual venom om the pulp is mimal sce feral legal protectns have been place for more than a . Relig hate speech is not legal the Emerald Isle. Richard’s asssment of the Dubl gay scene was that had been sced by the ‘pk Euro’ to beg too mercial and overpriced. He said the pric for drks tomatilly are bumped up after midnight the gay bars and pubs like Gee. In Cork, there is much more faiary among the LGBT muny. Lols maly support the gay venu so there is not this rip-off attu among the bar owners. When Richard did some renovatns on his B&B, he readily knew a gay rpenter, gay electrician and a gay kchen staller. So seems that gay life Cork is active but ntaed. As long as one don’t expect more visibily, more flamboyance, more public space, LGBT people n live well amid the by cy. What else n the muny want—marriage, adoptn? Given the progrs of change Ireland (and the EU), even they don’t seem farfetched now. Cork’s Lbians A visor to Cork soon fds out that one of the most succsful lbigay anizatns is Lc—Lbian Cork. It’s a muny rource center “primarily for women who intify as lbian, bisexual—this clus transgenr people or those transn–who intify as lbian or bisexual.” At s new offic downtown Cork, Lc offers a web se (). a drop--and-chat time several tim a week, a film club, a help phone le, numero activy groups such as a hikg (Bootwomen), an annual Irish Women’s Summer Camp, a Fantasy Ball, an upg Mural Project and a well-prented quarterly magaze ‘Lc’. There are also activist groups that do outreach tn and polil lobbyg. Lc also march the St. Patrick’s Day para. Supported maly by lol private ntributns Lc also receiv fundg om the feral ernment via the Health Board as well as the Department of Social, Communy and Fay Affairs. It has also received support form the Cork Cy Partnership to help tra phone le volunteers. The July ’02 issue of ‘Lc’ featured an sightful seri of ttimoni about Irish lbians who have moved to other untri or back to Ireland. One very tertg narrative pots out that, acrdg to one study on Irish gays and lbians 1995, almost 60% of rponnts had emigrated at some pot their liv and that sexual orientatn was a key factor their cisn. However, sce homosexualy was crimalized 1993 a dramatic shift has occurred. As Irish laws and attus have changed signifintly the ensug , many Irish émigrés who had moved abroad now fd, ironilly, that Ireland offers more liberal laws regardg homosexualy. Consequently there is evince that the migratn has now shifted back toward Ireland. The Other Place The other major Cork lbigay anizatn is The Other Place. Loted jt off the central North Ma Street, the Place is Cork’s LGBT muny center offerg diverse servic and events for the entire muny. It has a fé, bar, a bookshop, social meetgs as well as the cy’s office of the natnal Gay Men’s Health Project, which offers advice and support for STDs and HIV. In addn to The Other Place, the directory of venu and servic listed GCN newspaper unr Cork offers more than twenty lotns and anizatns. (3) Limerick Acrdg to the gay Ireland web se and the opns of some people Cork—cludg the two gay farmers we met—there is supposedly no gay life this town. But a uple of qutns asked at an Inter fé were cheerfully rpond to by a pretty shorthaired blon attendant. “Oh y,” she said whout lay, “there is gay club lled Yum Yum jt two blocks down this street; and there’s a gay rtrant on the next turng right.” She was que sure of herself so I followed her directns and found myself two blocks later wh no visible pub and no discernable rtrant. The Whe Hoe ‘rtrant’ turned out to be a straight pub where I asked two women chattg up each other if they knew whether this pub was a mixed place. “I thk ed to be several years ago but not any more,” she offered wh a pleasant se. From the bar tenr I heard that the Yum Yum was a Friday-only club at the hotel around the rner. Sure enough, at the Glentworth Hotel om 11:30 PM till about two the morng every Friday night was lbigay night. The cheerful sk clerk also offered that another club occurs at a dis upstairs om the Savoy cema every Sunday late night. In addn to gettg oriented, I was imprsed by the sual and non-judgmental attus of the straight lols who appeared que iendly and willg to help me out–a far cry om the stereotype myth of sexually uptight Ireland. So there is some gay life Limerick—of urse. In a cy of 52,000 there are surely some pk folks around, but how many are brave or willg to show up public is another matter. Not surprisgly, the younger gen-x and gen-y guys and girls go for , for the mic, the beat and the raship. Before I left the non-gay Whe Hoe pub, the same pleasant straight woman told me my bt bet was to ll the Gay and Lbian Swchboard. So apparently that service is well know the cy, another good sign of a rabow pulse downtown Limerick. Checkg the directory GCN, I saw thirteen venu and servic for gay Limerick, cludg the Gay Swchboard Limerick and the Lbian Le Limerick. There are two gay universy groups. Other support groups are for transsexuals and for youth; another group is the fortnightly Dg Club. OutFun is a social gatherg for ‘alternativ to the scene’. Of importance are the Limerick AIDS Helple as well as the Red Ribbon Project. The choic for party/dis venu are limed (acrdg to GCN) to the monthly Glentworth party, the Savoy dis and a third bash lled Cosmo held at the Vtage Club. Ma Street, Limerick Along the ma drag of O’Connell Street after 7PM young people (straight? gay? -between?) start to va the fast food eateri, ice cream shops, and siwalks their sloppy outfs of baggy jeans, oversize sweatshirts wh wrkled T-shirts hangg out and wearg clunky black sho. It seemed their drs was anti-style. Many of them were loud and acted goofy. The boys sported the popular haircut that’s shaved around the edge wh a longer scer of hair on top. Some of them looked as if they had done at home a mirror and the rult was ls than flatterg. Across the ma street om the Kg Gee Hotel dis was St Augte’s RC church. It was September 11, 2002, which ocsned a memorative service. Insi the place was packed. A large hand-sewn Amerin flag hung on one wall behd a tall woon cross-hung wh a whe drape. Below the cross there were hundreds of smaller Styrofoam cross pegged to an earthen mound. High on another wall was a large whe cloth dove silhouetted agast a blood red background. On the other si of the ma aisle, hundreds of votive ndl flickered red whe and blue glass. An adjacent TV monor displayed a sli show wh hundreds of fac (Irish or Irish scent?) of people killed the terrorist attack. The ngregatn sang hymns like Amazg Grace; hoi were toned askg to relieve humany of s prejudic. More prayers were offered to the tst of Mary or J. In ont on the altar were clergy, police and firemen their uniforms facg the ngregatn. It was a touchg and unexpected ceremony. I had fotten how strongly the Irish felt toward the USA. Consirg how many lns of fai had immigrated to Ameri over the past hundred and seventy years—cludg the anctors of three US Prints–I should not have been surprised. (4) Galway It didn’t take long to fd signs of gay life Galway. I stopped to buy a py of the Irish Tim at a downtown news stand and close by were recent issu of Attu magaze and Gay Tim (both om London), Out (om USA) as well as Gay Ireland magaze (Gi). Checkg the listgs GCN newspaper, there were sixteen gay and lbian venu, groups and servic town, two bars, three f, help phone l, support groups and HIV re groups. A popular after hours club was lled Bubblelove. As we disvered over the next uple of days, eight of the venu were lbian foced or lbian owned. One eveng we stopped by one of the lbian-owned bar for men, Zulu, and talked wh one of the bartenrs named John. It turned out that, whout knowg he worked at Zulu, I had lled him earlier the day requtg a room. As we spoke at Zulu he said he had been the manager of the Rabow GutHoe which had closed recently bee he lost the lease. He said he tend to reopen aga somewhere else after he returned om a vatn the Canary Islands. Zulu bar is smallish place wh zy but unimagative terr; lored lights on ceilg, seatg for a dozen; the atmosphere is sual, quiet, iendly and fely lol. Meetg people was easy—you jt start talkg and they cheerfully talk back, pecially when they hear a foreign accent. I chatted wh a man named Phil about this year’s Gay Pri weekend Galway. It was a small para, some parti, flags and lots of drkg of urse. It me through town to the neighborhood near the queer bars Zulu and Strano a uple of blocks away (both are owned by lbians). He thought Galway was iendlier than Cork and much iendlier than Dubl, although he had met his boyiend at Taboo Cork. Walkg om Zulu to Strano we stopped at the non-gay Monroe’s historic pub. The sound of mic and the smell of pizza g om the kchen attracted . The place was packed wh men and women, some children—and lots of beer flowg. The mic was provid by a quartet of red-cheeked middle-aged men wh guars, banjos, a flute, tamboure, hand dm and four hearty Irish tenor voic. The sound of Irish folk mic is irristibly engagg and we were happily ptured for an hour. We also chatted wh a handsome Japane stunt who was Galway for three months learng English. The crowd was very cheerful–lghg, talkg and drkg. But the only dancg happened wh two women who uld not rist the engagg rhythms. Strano was much quieter. It’s Galway’s most popular lbian bar, a homey waterg hole for the lols. From the outsi, appears that style is not important here but muny is, as nearly everyone si was huddled groups wh iends bily chatterg away. As the only men the place for a while, we felt weled by some s but we left shortly afterwards. Galway Women The highlight of our vis to Galway was a vis wh the two women who own and operate the Si by Si B&B, a women-only place Rahoon district of Galway.Loted along a tidy street of ho wh hedg, flower beds and manicured lawns Si by Si is a two story whe hoe wh six gut bedrooms. We met wh the owners Berni and Sally. Both were cheerful, energetic and welg to as we ‘vad’ their feme terrory. Over tea and cmpets I queried them about their liv Galway. RAA: I am told that lbians are the major gay bs entreprenrs Galway. This is the oppose of most ci. Why is this so Galway? Berni & Sally: For several reasons: (1) lbians saw early on (ten or more years ago) the value of the pk pound and moved to palize on a way the men did not; they jt did not seem visibly motivated toward bs enterprise. There were no plac for women to gather whereas the men had, then, a bar and they had the cisg grounds by the sea. So we had to start our own. (2) Women were scerely moved by rg for their sisters to take the risk to create new venu and turn, now, n the two lbigay bars Zulu and Strano, as well as Bubblelove Club. Also, I thk the women were not as avaric that they did not envisn makg a large prof as they supported a women’s bs venue; men seem to be more prof–md, more mercially fed and women not as much. (3) Historilly lbian women have earned ls money and tend to go lol for their holidays whereas gay guys were better paid and uld afford to go off to Dubl or London. So Galway has both of Ireland’s women-only B&B’s, Malaya and Si by Si. People e here bee ’s a betiful area wh the Wt Coast and Connemara wilrns. RAA: So Galway’s gay history go back que a few years? B&S: Oh, y. There have been known gays Galway for generatns— all of Ireland for all of history I suppose. But the major break me the early 90’s when homosex was crimalized and protective laws were enacted. Sce then there has been a nstant flow of energy the form or anizatns, clubs, early pubs such as Neachta. It’s the olst gay (male) place (about 20 years) which is still extant; ’s patronized by the olr crowd. And we’ve had a Gay Pri ftival for about 10 years which go right through the center of the bit pestrian street and ont of all the mastream shops wh all the mummi and kids shoppg. New venu and events keep appearg such as Club Outrageo which happens once a month and is very popular wh young people, gay and straight bee is an ‘alternative’ happeng wh an ‘anythg go’ attu; There are lots of bizarre stum at the events. Bubblelove is new. So now people feel they don’t feel they have to go out of town to have fun. RAA: What’s like to e out as a lbian morn Ireland? Berni: It’s very different now sce I me out about eight years ago. I was my late twenti and was hant— was not the easit thg for me to do then. Now I see girls e out younger, pecially the ci. I thk s still te that women the ral wt tend to e out later than the ci. RAA: Why is g out easier now? Sally: For one, the church has lost s power over virtue. There is so much more support now as well as more publicy about homosexualy. Women are more empowered partly bee they earn more money now, and the younger on are more urageo and darg and fiant of tradn than I was. Ireland ed to be so Catholic and superficially virtuo and now ’s more secular wh much fewer pretensns. Galway is not much for attu and posg—if you are gay, well that’s the way is and so get on wh . It don’t have to be loud or polil. RAA: I unrstand you are married and you are gog to a lbian weddg this week. Berni: Y, we had a ceremony of mment three years ago wh all our iends. Sally drsed up a tux and I wore a whe formal drs. We were the first lbian uple to get married Galway. RAA: Do the guys have such weddgs? Sally: This g October there will be the first gay men’s weddg–and I n tell you they are really fsg over their outfs to make the ocsn perfect. We’re pecially happy to see this bee there’s an imprsn that gay Irish upl don’t last very long. Perhaps bee so many visible gay guys are young and are jt gettg around, or perhaps they are stunts and not to settlg down. Homophobia was strong the past and olr guys didn’t’ even thk about marriage or ceremoni. Our chat end jt as the heatg oil tck arrived and sally went out to talk wh the driver, a burly guy, about furnace thgs and fuel pric. Wh hugs and s om the girls we parted om the fort and fortg atmosphere of their by B&B home. A note about Irish B&Bs As we drove around the untry stayg at non-gay B&Bs our hosts were very amible and acmodatg to as a male uple. At none of the hom—some ntled ltle villag wh red, green, yellow, orange or blue storeonts; others stg elegantly on a hill overlookg an ancient abbey or a sweepg vista of the ocean–at none of the plac did the hosts show the slightt hatn of our sharg a double bed. Several hosts actually asked if we preferred a tw or double-bedd room. Eher they were obliv or have seen so many tourists on their doorsteps that such arrangements are mon and hardly worth the wonr. I’d like to thk was, arguably, social progrs. Each night was followed the morng by a gut-packg Irish breakfast: juice, 2 ban strips, 2 ssag, eggs, grilled tomato, black puddg, toast, cereal, ffee or tea and u. When you’re fished wh that you need a good slog on the bogs! Some of the home-stays and small hotels are loted historil plac . One lm moonl night we nted the Beach Hotel at Mullaghmore harbor on the ast wt of Galway. In ont of the hotel was the picturque mara where years ago Lord Louis Montbatten, the last Viceroy of India, berthed his motor boat. He was uncle to the current Prce Phillip and great uncle to Prce Charl. Montbatten had survived many ary mpaigns and oversaw the upheavals of India’s pennce 1948 and the terrible relig civil war that followed. In 1974, Montbatten was out on a peaceful fishg expedn wh his crew and iends when an IRA bomb explod aboard and killed nearly everyone. They were only a short distance om the harbor and rcue boats shed out om here but to ltle avail. Nearby to our hotel n be seen Lord Louis’ stle Cassieford, which me to his fay through his wife Edwa. The tall stone edifice n still be seen easily om a distance like a Disney fairy tale mirage on the nearby hill. A bsman now privately owns . On the outskirts of the cy of Sligo there’s another fy B&B wh lored shutters not far om the grave of , the Nobel Prize Irish poet. The graveyard (left) surrounds the church Dmcliffe where Yeats’ grandfather was pastor. It ss a lovely grove of tall evergreen tre view of the loomg Ben Bulben Mounta where Yeats loved to wanr. (5) Derry, Northern Ireland: Two Young Men’s Journeys through War and Bigotry. Seam “At fourteen I was told by my (Catholic) school teacher that homosexualy was a satanic evil that dwells wh—but if such a person was not nscly aware of his ndn he was, stead, mentally ill.” This curse, Seam told me, hnted him for years as he squirmed to e out as a gay young man Derry, Northern Ireland. “I still feel angry that any young person should be damaged like that, but shows you how strong the relign was here and how cel was.” Seam, is a handsome man of 22 wh short dark hair, tense blue ey, a boyish round face and ‘daVci lips’. He speaks wh a subdued tensy about his young life that was battered not only by the shells of harsh relig dogma but by the live ammunn of warrg enemi as Irish Catholic ‘eedom’ fighters (wantg unn wh the Republic of Ireland) aimed bullets and bombs at Brish Prottant forc sistg that Northern Ireland rema a provce of the UK unr London’s le. “I thought this was how life was. I grew up wh and didn’t know anythg else.” Once, sperately seekg a safe healg place for his gay soul, he nfsed his anguish to a prit. The reply provid no relief: “We all have our cross to bear. Confsn will brg you fivens for your sexualy but if you ntue to be active you will live s.” Breakg a eply embedd belief, he no longer go to church as he has matured and seen the church’s hypocrisy fivg the sexual behavr of repentant prits while nmng gays and lbians. “The church is the most sexually nfed place I n image,” he now says wh a sardonic lgh. Seam and his partner Pl beme lovers Derry 2000. I met them when I arrived at Foyle Friend, the LGBT center Derry. Seam was 20 and Pl 23. The qualy of their eedom, pennce, legal stat and social acceptance which they feel each sunrise day appears unremarkable and differently sual. But fact their now peaceful and harmon life as a morn gay uple seems nothg short of a marvel as I listened to the difficult stggle each had endured to e to their prent togetherns. Seam grew up Derry (Londonrry), the very se of the 1974 Bloody Sunday massacre of 14 Catholic protters by Brish soldiers. His entire early life was punctuated by war. His father was rcerated for no particular reason and held whout trial by the Brish. He was tght to hate the Prottants (loyal to England) and his school was surround wh razor wire and wdow g. At fourteen he knew he was gay; at 17 he was experimentg wh the sry joy of gay sex. “But the last thg I uld thk about was g out. There was so much other trouble.” At 19 he was a stunt for a year Ameri and felt safe enough to e out to himself. His emotnal war wh himself me to an end about the same time as the polil war Northern Ireland subsid. (The shaky but tenable Good Friday agreement of 1998 is seen as the begng of the end of the ‘Troubl’) One eveng as I walked wh Seam and Pl on the old walls of Derry, Seam led to a pot that overlooked the ‘Founta’, a walled- district where cizens fiercely fend their loyalty to England. Over the soccer field the Brish Unn Jack fluttered the wd as some kids did a kick-about. “We shouldn’t stand here too long,” Seam warned, “if they see they will start yellg at and llg nam.” Then lookg another directn Seam poted out the Catholic IRA Sn Fe-ntrolled district where the Irish tri-lor fli. Some here also fly the Paltian flag as prott agast Bra’s occupatn of Northern Ireland. Not surprisgly, some rints of the Prottant Founta fly the flag of Israel. Like many survivors of war, he still feels a simmerg regret that “all the people,”—sweepg a hand toward the Founta—”are my fellow Irish. We share the same culture, language, herage—and we’ve been divid by hatred.” Today, Seam has for the most part been able to break ee of the ndned anger of his muny. This has e about, he claims, for three reasons. The first is beg able to see the prison that hatred creat the md. “If you n’t see beyond that, you are nmned, I thk. I always felt that our mon humany was somehow bigger than the Troubl.” Another peace-makg force his life has been his homosexualy. “The homosexual muny did not bee divid between Prottant and Catholic, loyalist or republin the way many others did. There was never any trouble our muny that way. We saw each other as a group outsi the nflict. We were not wele by eher si of the Troubl. It’s probably the only thg they uld agree on, but helped me to see how wrong both sis were.” A third assist has been the prence of Pl for almost two years. They walked to each other’s liv at a club one night. Inially both felt that tug of sexual appeal but quickly found a eper feelg. Seam sensed that Pl’s lm meanor had a soothg effect of him—not to mentn that at the time, Seam was unsettled wh no fixed addrs so he lerally me to Pl’s place wh suse hand. They’ve been together ever sce. ” Pl Ten years ago Pl lived a ral town of 1500 Galway County, Ireland swamped a nservative Catholic fay. He had sr of Catholic relativ for whom homosexualy was a distant s somewhere beyond the bogs the big ci. Isolated his emergg sexual imaggs, ightened by his own impuls to admire other boys and ptive to an opprsive mantel of relig moraly, his emotnal life was ght wh anxiety and nfn. “I felt void of an inty—not a ‘normal’ son (he has three brothers) who wonred about girls. I felt I was not a good Catholic who uld be cured of s by nfsn bee was not somethg I did but somethg I was. I was trapped and prsed. My most important feelgs had to be kept a secret om everyone, which separated me om everyone I loved. It was so nfg and paful.” Today his relatnship wh Seam is more than a love affair spiced wh sexual pleasure. For both of the young morn Irish Catholic men, fallg love has bee a slow healg procs om the ravag of war—ward and outward. Derry Wall Mural Depictg Raymond McCartney lear of the 1st H-block hunger strike–later released as part of the’Good Friday Agreement’. Their mutual prence help steel them agast the lgerg specter of sectarian hate, the sid fear of rejectn and the flow of venom om self-righteo pulps. For his part, Seam has helped Pl to velop a strong edge proclaimg his viable manhood—his gay manhood. His self-nfince reached a peak recently when he agreed to wre his g out story for the lol Derry newspaper, which he knew his fay and many relativ would see. In that article, he fiantly proclaimed, “One of the Church’s strong beliefs is that is OK to be homosexual bee that is the way God ma you but that you daren’t practice . That is a tt of your moral will. Well, ll me queer but even wrg the sheer hypocrisy sh through—not to mentn the whole moraly issue that everyone is born equal and ma the image and likens of God. People often qutn why homosexuals turn away om the Church but if you look closely at the teachgs you fd that is the Church who has turned her back on homosexuals.“ Pl’s strength is ntuoly tted by his father’s refal to Pl about anythg to do wh his homosexualy. (Seam’ mother went off to pray at the shre of Fatima Spa for his cure.) But the two men are mted to their ‘revery’ om the toxs of their past. They live together; they share each other’s eper thoughts and weave their feelgs together to an timate of secury a newly emergg ‘post-war’ cy (Derry) and state (Northern Ireland). Ulster has a tenuo peace now and the two men have found a secret garn that they hope n nurture them—as much as love n protect anyone om the harsh barbari of homophobia. Foyle Friend Currently Pl volunteers and Seam works at Foyle Friend where they enunter further support and iends. Foyle Friend (named after the River Foyle that flows through the cy) is Derry’s (if not Northern Ireland’s) premier lbigay muny center. The day I arrived the actn was btlg, varied and welg as Pl showed me around. It was found 1980 and is currently directed by Sean Morr who se the need to offer isolated and lonely gay youth an open arm. Today ’s a lively place wh a drop ffee hoe (youth, over 25’s and women each have separate tim), unselg servic, a web se (), hog project, phone help le, support groups of all kds cludg HIV, a library and ter accs. (Unfortunately, Foyle Friend closed 2003 for lack of fundg.) Derry Rabow Project After Pl showed me around Foyle Friend, he and Seam and Michael and I went out for lunch at a lol trendy fé for a lic nosh. They told me I mt vis Derry’s other major gay anizatn, the Derry Rabow Project whose offic were only a block away om Foyle Friend. I uld feel the energy of the Rabow Project even before I entered their offic. Plastered around the hall and doorway were photo displays of Rabow’s recent participatn this year’s Belfast’s Pri Para and ftival. Staff members and clients showed up lorful outfs and outrageo stum durg the daylong celebratn. They were fely there and queer. I was happily greeted by David McCartney, the Program Coordator for RP (center photo) who was only too pleased to give me the tails for each photo. As a polil statement, gay participants wore rabow lored sash stead of the ual orange on of the other marchers. The reactn? “A lot of people jt looked at —probably bee they didn’t get —and some people cheered for . There was not a sgle boo, which is progrs here.” The Rabow Project, wh offic Derry and Belfast, was started 1994 after the ath of activist Jim McShane whose iends saw the stark need for an AIDS anizatn. They got fundg om well tablished HIV groups UK such as the Terrence Higgs Tst to support, advise and make medil referrals for dividuals effected by STDs and HIV. Today the seload is about 30 clients ( Derry) wh AIDS and more wh HIV. David said there is only one reliable and knowledgeable doctor Derry whom the Project refers to ially. Further follow-up and treatment is referred to the Belfast Royal Victoria Hospal; they have an HIV un. But even there, he said, the servic n be slow; tak ten days to get the rults for an HIV tt. As we spoke, David l up a cigarette, which evoked a wry ment om me. He said there is a high percentage of HIV people who smoke, “The cheap cigarett Europe are more addictive than the on om the USA. They’re also cheaper so the rate of addictn is higher and stronger.” Rabow is kept by wh outreach servic to anizatns, pani, and universi who want rmed and up-to-date rmatn on HIV as well as preventn strategi. Last year Rabow distributed over 52,000 ndom packs, which also clu health tnal materials. The most excg news RP’s history was the recent grant of an enormo donatn of 300,00 UK pounds (about $450,000) om the Prcs Diana Foundatn for tn and health related support servic. David was very thrilled, as was the entire staff; is the largt award ever ma by the Foundatn to any group. RP tends to crease their staff and win their spe of servic throughout Northern Ireland. Wall Mural Depictg Tear Gas Attack After David and I had talked for a while, Dennis Cassidy-Martyn, (left photo above) a Church of Ireland mister, AIDS client and volunteer unselor dropped . Affable and warm, he sat down as I asked what effect the Troubl had on gay people Northern Ireland. Dennis said, “si the gay muny there was never any hostily. I know Catholic and Prottant upl. We mixed as if there were no fightg gog on. Of urse if you were gay you kept a secret, and if you were a Catholic datg a Prottant guy, well, that uld’ve been really dangero the wrong neighborhood. So you kept very quiet about that.” Add David (the addicted smoker), “I’d say there was an effect of the Troubl on our muny: dg abe. My experience wh others is that prcriptn dg e was much higher durg that time–dgs for anxiety and prsn. For those of who uld not afford to move away to the ral areas (where the hostily was much ls or absent), the anxiety and apprehensn were awful. People were killed at random whout any notice. The possibily of beg killed at any moment mak you very nervo; kept me on alert all the time. It mt be mentned that amid the bloody vlence perpetrated by both Brish and IRA forc the past, a most unexpected irony stands out: the polil learship of the IRA, the Sn Fe party head by Jerry Adams has always advoted gay rights, equaly and protectns. Dpe the media’s stigmatizg Sn Fe for s transigent and btal polici, this rebell party has been the most progrsive for gays of any party Northern Ireland for many years. (6) Belfast, Northern Ireland Our fal stop on our round-the-untry drive was Belfast, a huge workg class cy of half a ln souls wh about 70% Prottant and 30% Catholic. At one of the trendy cy center rtrants, hoed the old Whig Newspaper Buildg, we chatted wh David Speer, an out ernment social worker and his iends Steven and Darien and Ciara. Derated wh big munist statu om Poland, the warehoe-sized place buzzed wh early eveng weekend people out for food and drk. Amidst the d of voic, Stephen ma some salient pots about today’s Belfast scene: (1) he reaffirmed that the ‘notor’ Sn Fe polil arm of the IRA has the most progrsive polici toward LGBT; they’re socialist md and strong on human right-equaly for everyone—Catholics and Prottants, men and women, gay and straight. (2) the current sporadic vlence is not relig or polil but rather lol paraary gangs shootg each other for turf and ntrol of dg traffic. But still they do threaten to undo the peace acrd bee the Brish ernment mands they be disarmed. Defiantly they refe sayg is the Brish who mt disarm and leave Northern Ireland to ern self. (3) Belfast as a gay muny of strength, visibily, polil fluence is “10 years behd Dubl, 20 years behd London and light years om Wt Hollywood.” The generally nservative straight culture is quietly tolerant of gays but lacks unrstandg of homosexualy as a viable and natural way of life. There is still a lot of reluctance to rock the boat of those nservative polics and relig attus. (4) Northern Ireland’s culture is changg a lot now that peace has e. It is more lawful and gays are ls aaid to start showg up public. Surprisgly, Belfast has had 11 annual gay pri march although has mimal social or polil effect here; the ftival is very lolized and don’t mand nearly the fluence do London. (5) Some rare vlence happens agast gays; Augt 2002 a gay man was killed a dark cisg area on the outskirts of town by three guys, one of whom was only 14. A sad se of a horny queer the wrong place at the wrong time mixed wh low class, boozed-up hooligans. The police have apprehend the killers. (6) Most of the killg, om ’68-’98, were the neighborhood outskirts of wt Belfast where many lorful and dramatic wall murals and fiant billboards n be seen pictg one sect over the other—loyalist Prottants agast republin Catholics. In the cy center, however, was much lmer and the f, clubs and rtrants there was always a iendly mix of people –such as this eveng the Whig bar. Prottant or Catholic, unnist (pro UK) or republin (pro-Ireland) hardly mattered to younger ted middle class cizens downtown. Many ter-married and were not ncerned wh such “irrelevant” matters as remag loyal to UK or to Eire. Employment and happs were more important. Belfast Gay Plac A quick look GCN news reveals a list of only 15 LGBT venu and servic Belfast. For a cy of almost 300,000 is not a large offerg. There are only three for four gay bars/dis clubs: Kreml, Parliament, Ctom Hoe and gay iendly Whe’s Tavern. Another four listgs are for HIV and health assistance and support cludg Rabow Project and the AIDS phone Help Le () . The rt of the offergs are support groups and meetgs for lbians or TV/TS or Naturists. In the Cathedral Offic, directly across om St Anne’s Cathedral, are offic which hoe a sort of LGBT center lled Cara Friend. Here is home to a phone help le, a gay rights advocy group, and an LGBT support group lled Queerspace (). The Belfast Rabow Project () office is also downtown among the supermarkets, partment stor and siwalk f. It’s menu of AIDS/HIV servic are the same as Derry but wh a larger seload of urse. Unfortunately when I stopped by their offic they were closed to the public while the Rabow Board of Directors met to plan their enhanced future powerfully assisted by the large grant om the Prcs Diana Foundatn. Later I stopped by The Ctom Hoe pub. It tends to be straight until about 10 PM packed wh middle-aged matrons and mat sgg woefully off-tune along to karaoke mic while a few gays watch om the si tabl. It’s very different scene than Kreml. Here there is a lot of gray hair—until 10 when the folksy stuff giv way to a b more mp and the sounds bee dis as morphs to a queer bar. The energy picks up as iends pack for Guns, Bud and Heeken It’s a small place wh ltle room for movement except for the ty dance area. Of urse smoke fills the air, the heat ris–and ’s time for me to leave. Ctom Hoe is very much like other Belfast Saturday late night pubs for many who do a six-day work week. The Kreml ( ) The premier gay venue Belfast (ed, all of Ireland, I thk) is the Kreml bar/dis two blocks away om the magnificent St. Anne’s Prottant thedral downtown. The anthis between the two plac is obv the larger-than-life sized bronzed statue of Len, his famo right arm stretched out to the future of Soviet Rsia, which lords above the ont entry. The manager, Gav. showed me around and said Kreml opened 1999. The Rsian theme was chosen for no particular reason. The dynamic and vibrant terr is predomantly red—of urse. As the crowds pick up after 10:30 PM, the lored lights awaken as a smoke mache sends ‘fog’ to the ma bar area and to the big dance room lled Red Square. Backdrop to the Red Square stage is a large lor image of the real Kreml. Soviet style statu and bts overlook the dance floor actn. Every night a live DJ sps volnic sounds for the af-fyg youthful dancers wrhg to the beat until 3:30 AM on weekends. The place is jammed late at night startg about 11:30. There is a separate DJ the ont bar area where the lounge banquette seatg is red leatherette upholsterg wh red lights bathg the walls. Gav said there has never been a problem wh the police wh whom they have iendly relatns. Kreml staff check ID’s for over 18 and re is taken to keep the crowds at least 50% gay sce the place is now popular also wh straight kids who don’t re about sexual persuasns. (How do you tell the difference between gay and straight youth?) Kreml also has the first simultaneo unisex bathroom I’ve ever seen; perhaps wisely, ’s monored by staff to assure appropriate behavr—gay, bi or straight! Upstairs is a (sort of) quiet room wh seats arranged around a balny overlookg the entry. In the center is a big double brass chanlier. The place exus lively and morn energy—a posive place for young gays to e out and feel they don’t have to hi a dark or secretive place. It’s vibrant and upbeat wh an ambience unlike other more tradnal and quieter pub style bars such as the Ctom Hoe or Parliament bar. Belfast’s Feme Pulse As Dubl, some of the forc for advotg LGBT rights and digny are not very public and not prent the poprn night life. But sistent and thoughtful people are ed at work Belfast—owg, not surprisgly, large measure to the lbian muny. In March 2002, the Lbian Advocy Servic Iniative (LASI) (e-mail: ) published the rults of a landmark wi-rangg survey “on the needs of lbians and bisexual women Northern Ireland.” It was appropriately tled ‘A Mighty Silence’ and was fund by both lol and state agenci cludg the Northern Ireland First Mister’s office as well as the Equaly Commissn Northern Ireland. The forty page report f and clarifi how equaly, discrimatn and social excln effect the everyday liv of lbians and their fai. This not to suggt that gay men are ee of such abe, but is generally acknowledged that lbians are more vulnerable for several reasons cludg physil strength, weaker enomic power, the prence of an often hostile male spoe, havg children as well as beg victims to a diffe social ndng that mands women be submissive and tolerant of hardship. Based on more than 200 live terviews wh women, anizatns and some gay men, the LASI report lays bare the unsettlg realy that, spe legal chang sce 1993 regardg homosexualy, “the experience of work, leisure, fay and tn for many lbians is a story of vilifitn, isolatn, ostracism and abe.” Homophobia, short, is alive and well Northern Ireland (the report do not ver Ireland south.) The most relevant remendatn by LASI is a signifint crease oversight support servic, which turn n help te women to create lol agenci—lbian anizatns. Such groups serve to meet such personal needs as tsted sharg, nfince buildg, support g out as well as a need to feel protected by lol thori agast all forms of homophobia. Developg servic at all levels, om natnal to village would serve to crease cln and crease excln among disenanchised lbians–sgle, married or parentg. The study also analyzed var hibors to velopg such servic. The clu fear of vlence, homophobic discrimatn, low self-nfince, anguish g out, fear of ostracism at work, job loss and, very importantly, a strong dread of beg separated om their children. The imprsive and movg report is more tailed than this simple summary. In an e-mail om the dited ordator of the study, Marie Quiery, she stated: “Its major acplishment has been to provi a necsary and realistic tool for velopg street-wise goals and polici at the state level. Wh such an stment hand, the Belfast women’s muny is now lobbyg for specific chang social and legal programs and legislatn. We hope the future for lbian women here will now be more fed, more hopeful.” Concludg As wh any foreign place, the experience of beg Belfast–ed all of Ireland–was very different om the generalized and simplified image portrayed the media and prs. Belfast is worn but ’s not a bat zone. Walkg the streets of this rough and picturque cy, seeg the dockyards where the Tanic was built, passg eely through the once-closed steel gat between Prottant and Catholic neighborhoods, admirg the enormo and magnificent neo-classil cy hall, walkg around the mp of Victoria Universy, attendg the opera hoe, talkg wh gay and lbian Northerners enjoyg the current enomic prospery and peace—all the te-life sights and sounds are the real Belfast. It’s a phoenix cy, a vibrant place where LGBT people are growg strength and gag nfince to celebrate their Pri wh a Ftival, seasonal theme parti, warm iendships and a well-fund Rabow Project. This is morn Belfast the northern part of the Emerald Isle—a real jewel of a land.