The Department of Justice is also developing a general LGBTI+ strategy.ĭuring the week Taoiseach Leo Varadkar apologised to gay men who were criminalised in Ireland before the ban on men having sex with men was lifted in 1993. Next Friday the world’s first National LGBTI+ Youth Strategy – of which I served as independent chair – will launch. That night, around the corner in Olympia Theatre, Colin Murphy’s play, A Day In May, based on the book by Charlie Bird and directed by Gerry Stembridge, will premiere, based on the stories of LGBT people in the run-up to the 2015 marriage equality vote, and the referendum campaign itself. On Sunday the Taoiseach will host hundreds of members of the LGBT community at a reception in Dublin Castle to mark the 25th anniversary of the decriminalisation of homosexuality. This week Gay Community News launched an exhibition marking its 30th anniversary. Like many things in Ireland today, the landmark occasions are racking up.
Next Saturday tens of thousands of people will march through the capital in what is the biggest display of people on the streets outside of the St Patrick’s Day parade. Across Dublin, rainbow flags flutter from shops and bars marking the month of Pride.
