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Reeling in the Queers

Reeling in the Queers

Tales of Ireland’s LGBTQ Past

by Páraic Kerrigan

Imprint: New Island Books

Paperback
9781848409224
August 2024
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$18.99

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Praise

Celebrates 50 years of LGBTQ rights in Ireland with a collection of lesser-known stories of the movement's evolution through 14 pivotal moments.

Marking fifty years of the founding of an LGBTQ rights movement in Ireland, Reeling in the Queers explores the lesser-known stories of the fight for LGBTQ rights since 1974, beyond decriminalisation and Marriage Equality. From 1990s boy bands to the AIDS priest, Fr Bernárd Lynch, from the Belfast Lesbian Line to proud parenting, from the earliest Pride events to the last days of Alternative Miss Ireland, fourteen distinct moments map the changing social and cultural landscape of Ireland.

These stories, from across the island of Ireland – and further afield – celebrate a strong community and its allies, and speak across the generations. Together, they tell a new story of the gains, losses, devastation and community rising from the ashes of defeat. It is a hugely enjoyable and insightful read for both those who lived through this movement and for those who enjoy its benefits today.

Drawing from oral history as well as archives, Reeling in the Queers brings even more to life the great big queer tapestry in Ireland. Queer history in Ireland is Irish history and acknowledging and celebrating the light and the dark of it protects all of our futures as much as our pasts.

Contents

Introduction

Chapter 1: “The Two Mothers got Together and Sorted it Out”: Phil Moore, Parents Enquiry and Gay Law Reform

Chapter 2: Out of the Closet and into a Boyband: 4Guyz and the Pursuit of 1990s Popstardom

Chapter 3: “Bent Politicians”: Gay and Lesbian Candidates in 1980s Electoral Politics

Chapter 4: “The Dowager Queen of the Transvestites”: Judith Storm and Gender Diversity in Late Twentieth Century Ireland

Chapter 5: A Private Matter? Gay Soldiers in the Irish Army

Chapter 6: Pink Carnations and Pink Triangles: The Emergence of Pride in Ireland (1974-1982)

Chapter 7: The AIDS Priest and His Ministry: The Story of Fr. Bernárd Lynch

Chapter 8: Rock Hudson’s Irish Weekend and the Early Irish Gay Scene

Chapter 9: Defiance and Defence: The Gay Defence Committee, Police Harassment and the Murders of 1982

Chapter 10: ‘Am I Qualified Enough Lesbian?' The Belfast Lesbian Line and Cross-Border Lesbian Solidarity

Chapter 11: Pride in Parenting: Toni Burgess and the Story of Lesbian and Gay Parenting Rights

Chapter 12: Out at Work? Louise Hannon, Transgender Rights and Employment Equality

Chapter 13: Indecent and Most Obscene: Censorship and Suppression in Queer Irish Culture

Chapter 14: Beyond Convention: Alternative Miss Ireland's Trailblazing Odyssey (1987-2012)

PÁRAIC KERRIGAN is an author, researcher and Assistant Professor at University College Dublin, where he teaches on LGBTQ Irish culture. His first book, LGBTQ Visibility, Media and Sexuality in Ireland was published by Routledge in 2021 and explored media representations of Ireland’s LGBTQ community. He is currently leading a project called ‘Waking the Hirschfeld’, an oral history podcast about the LGBTQ community space, the Hirschfeld Centre, which operated out of Temple Bar from 1979-1987.

‘Kerrigan’s prose is a medium to share and promote these moving stories. It… functions efficiently to draw a tender portrait of the quiet heroes, and acts of everyday heroism, that served to advance the rights and dignity of queer Ireland.’ ~Brigid O'Dea, Irish Times

‘All of the fourteen chapters in the book tell a wonderful story of what can be achieved when we become agents of change, when we inspire and create a culture that embraces diversity and acceptance. This book is for us all.’ ~Bríd Conroy, Mayolive.ie

‘Ultimately, this book is a fascinating, heart-breaking, joyful celebration of Ireland's long and storied queer history.’ ~Sinann Fetherston, RTE.ie

Reeling in the Queers by Páraic Kerrigan is a timely take that will ensure many of the heroes in the long battle for rights do not fade into history. ~Tonie Walsh, Irish Independent