Cavan gears up for its first Pride event

by Róisín McManus

"A show of strength, solidarity and love," that's how event organisers of the first Cavan pride describe the inaugural event, taking place in Cavan town at 1pm on Saturday, June 13.

Event organisers are hopeful that the Breffni county's first Pride will stand up to rising far-right movements and anti-LGBTQ rhetoric.

Speaking to the Celt, organisers Seán Walsh, who is originally from Dublin and now lives in Cavan Town, and Saoirse Ní Bhaoighealláin, from Ballyjamesduff, say that regional pride celebrations are “very important”, particularly in the current political climate.

“I think it’s very important for us on the left to come out and do these broad movements like Pride to continue the struggle for queer liberation, especially in a local sense,” says Seán.

“I think it’s crazy that it hasn’t happened before, to be honest,” he adds.

Similar events are planned for Castleblayney and Monaghan Town in July.

Seán and Saoirse first met at a protest for Palestine in Cavan Town around a year ago. Since then, they have been involved in various forms of activism together, and have worked together in housing union Community Action Tenants Union (CATU).

The pair have been organising Cavan Pride since February. They arranged an open meeting, put together a committee and started gathering volunteers and raising money.

For them, Pride isn’t just a celebration of the LGBTQ movement, it’s a protest that aligns with other marginalised sectors of society.

“Pride has always been about solidarity and intersectionality with other struggles,” Sean explains.

“It’s about community building, visibility and celebrating the struggles that we’ve won and continuing the struggles that we need to fight.”

Pointing to his own experience, Sean, who is bisexual and disabled, believes the two are “very connected”.

“I think the disabled experience and the queer experience are one in the same because we both face massive unemployment, and that’s very much by design,” he says.

Meanwhile, Saoirse, who came out as trans at 13 years old and has faced many difficulties since, was recently the victim of a “disgusting” transphobic attack that cemented the reality of Pride for her.

“I had someone scream transphobic abuse at me while I was waiting for my bus,” she recalls.

“He threatened to kill me, called me a freak.”

“Having something like that happen is a reminder that Pride is a protest,” she continues.

“It’s a protest to this day because we have issues like that of people who will scream horrific abuse at you.”

Growing up, Saoirse had to travel to the UK to access Hormone Replacement Therapy (HRT).

A form of gender-affirming healthcare, HRT is a treatment that balances and replaces hormones the body does not produce to align with a person’s gender identity.

To avoid lengthy public waitlists in Ireland, many trans people opt to go private or travel abroad to access HRT.

Saoirse’s journey was an expensive process that may not be accessible to a lot of people, notes Seán.

“That’s a very common story,” he remarks, adding that many trans people, like disabled people and members of the travelling community, can struggle to find employment.

A 2016 survey by the Think-tank for Action on Social Change found that 49% of trans people in Ireland are unemployed.

A 2023 survey by hiring platform Indeed found that 53% of Irish workers who identify as LGBTQIA+ feel discriminated against at work.

“I think transphobia is class war and we have to think about it along those lines,” says Seán.

Saoirse also knows trans people, kicked out by their families, who have been forced to resort to sex work.

“That puts you in a whole new set of struggles,” she explains.

“It’s very common within the trans community, unless you’re a more well-off trans person then discrimination is going to be even worse."

The experiences that Saoirse has gone through in life have fuelled her advocacy for other people, and she feels that the occasion of Cavan Pride is proof that she is making a difference in her home county.

“Cavan is different now,” she says.

“There’s a real evolution in Cavan where I don’t think we could have done this a few years back.”

She is hopeful that Cavan Pride will encourage a sense of community among queer people locally, particularly for those who once may have felt like they didn’t belong and moved away.

“This is an example of the fact that we are part of this community, we’re not going anywhere.

“It’s amazing that you can see this growth in somewhere you love, especially when it’s something you’ve wanted for so long.”

Having lived in Cavan for the past number of years, Seán also “really loves” it here and has made many friends locally.

He believes that Cavan Pride is an “important” way of building community and hopes that it will be a force against a “lurking” far-right presence.

“That’s how you fight fascism - through community,” he explains.

“That’s the way that politics changes.

“We think of politics as this linear, electoral thing but that’s getting less true and less relevant in the world today.”

With all eyes on June 13, interest and excitement is growing for Cavan’s first Pride.

“It’s been something that I’ve been trying to gauge the temperature on over the past few years,” Saoirse acknowledges.

“It’s been able to happen this year and we’re really glad.”

They’ve organised a “pretty simple” occasion, which they hope will lay the foundations for similar celebrations in future.

“We hope that in ten years, this will still be going on,” says Seán.

“Next year, it’s going to be even better,” Saoirse adds.

“Then, the next generation of queer people will be able to make it their own.”

They both advise anyone who may be hesitant to attend on the day that there is strength in numbers.

“There’s going to be a lot of us there,” says Seán.

“It can be a great and powerful experience,” he describes of Pride celebrations.

“Together we have a really beautiful strength and that’s really what we need to organise around.”

On the day, participants are asked to assemble at 12:30pm outside Cavan Courthouse for the march, which is taking place at 1pm and will last for around 40 minutes.

There will then be speeches from 1:45pm until 2:30pm at the Market Square followed by stalls and drinks in Blessings Bar.

At 9pm, there will be an after party with a drag show, including local performer ‘Tess Tickles’, in the Imperial Bar.

Fundraiser

A fundraiser will be held on Friday, May 22 at 9.30pm in the Imperial’s Metric Bar to raise money for the after party.

Organisers are hopeful that as many clubs and community groups will join them in celebrating Cavan’s first Pride.

Individuals may show up on the day to take part.