A proud moment for the county as Pride celebrated
- Róisín McManus -
Huge congratulations were extended to the organisers of Cavan's first Pride event from the full meeting of Cavan County Council on Monday.
The charge was lead by Cllr Stiofán Conaty, who moved a motion for the council to formally congratulate the organisers, and also asked for the new Cathaoirleach, Cllr Carmel Brady, to attend the march this weekend as the first citizen.
The march will take place this Saturday, June 13, followed by a number of other events and celebrations in the county town. Similar events are planned for Castleblayney and Monaghan Town in July.
Speaking in the council chamber on Monday, Cllr Conaty argued that Pride is now “more important than ever” in the face of reactionary forces in Ireland, “not confined” to the far-right.
“Intolerance is on the rise in Ireland,” the Sinn Féin councillor told the meeting.
Pride is a celebration of people coming together in love and friendship, to promote rights of the LGBTQ+ community.
“For years, I thought we had turned the corner and that we were never going back. But unfortunately, and this is based on personal testimony of many people in the LGBTQ+ community, we have gone backwards, and discrimination and hatred for gay people is rearing its ugly head once again.
“In many ways the far right are winning because their rotten politics has seeped into the mainstream, poisoning our public discourse and legitimising homophobia.”
Cllr Conaty said that online comments made following the announcement of Cavan Pride show that anti-gay sentiment has been “normalised” and described the “level of vitriol” in some circles surrounding the event as “disgusting”. He believes that a “simple gesture of support” from Cavan County Council could go a “long way” in counteracting this.
As the march is set to start outside Cavan Courthouse, Cllr Conaty said that it would be a “simple but powerful gesture” to fly the rainbow flag on the day.
He believes there is “great potential” to make this an annual local festival, and suggested working with the organisers for next year’s event.
The Ballyhaise man added that one of the organisers of Cavan Pride, who experienced a lot of bullying in school and felt alone as a result, and a close family member disclosed to him that Pride events have given them a sense of belonging and helped them feel welcome, free and safe.
“Pride tells the world that, in spite of hate and homophobia, gay people do not have to disappear or temper the expression of their own personalities,” he said.
Cllr Conaty said that Ireland has a “long way to go” to become “properly” safe and welcoming for LGBTQ+ people, and that Pride is not just a celebration, it’s a protest for equality and inclusion that deserves the support of the local authority.
The motion was supported by Fine Gael’s Trevor Smith, who said he was disappointed to hear there was a rise in abuse.
Fianna Fáil’s Patricia Walsh also supported the motion, and added that the council has previously raised the flag for Pride.
In support of the motion, Áine Smith said that there have been flag raising events for a few years. The secondary school teacher added that online commentary doesn’t always reflect reality, usually the “worst case scenario”, and that there are LGBTQ+ initiatives taking place in schools. Cllr Smith also felt that Cavan should be given credit for its efforts.
Having also previously attended flag raising events for Pride, Fine Gael’s Niamh Brady also supported the motion, as did Independent Ireland’s Shane P. O’Reilly.
Pride is typically celebrated around the world in the month of June, as that was the month when the Stonewall riots took place.
The Stonewall protests took place in 1969 in the US, and led to changes in gay rights in America and around the world.
*This article was funded with support from the Local Democracy Scheme
The Anglo-Celt recently caught up with the organisers of Cavan's first Pride.