From being one of the last countries in Western Europe to decriminalise homosexuality in 1993, to becoming the first State in the world to legalise same-sex marraige through a public viote in 2015, the change in Ireland’s attitudes towards its LGBT+ citizens has been one of the most positive and rapid of recent social developments.
Following that groundbreaking referendum, transgender Irish people won the legal right to self-declare their gender for the purpose of updating passports, driving licences, obtaining new birth certificates, and getting married. In 2017, Ireland had its first gay Taoiseach in Fine Gael leader Leo Varadkar, while locally, Galway city in 2019 elected its first openly gay councillor in the Social Democrats’ Owen Hanley.
In a further positive development, late last year, Merlin College and Coláiste Bhaile Chláir became the first schools in Galway - and among the first in Ireland - to sign up to BeLonG To Youth Services' Safe & Supportive Schools Project, a new initiative aimed at creating a school environment fully inclusive of LGBT+ students.
.
“The longer we are from the referendum, the more we realise that who someone marries is a simple and private thing,” says Cllr Hanley. “Other countries have gone in the opposite direction, some have even reserved marriage equality. I'm glad Ireland continues to shine as the example of this issue.”
For Maeve Arnup, the LGBT+ and Youth Officer at NUI Galway’s Students Union, the Yes vote for marriage equality was life changing.
“When we did get a Yes vote, it changed my perspective on Ireland and made me reconsider my plans to emigrate,” they said. “So much has happened in the last six years and it has been amazing to see the progress, but I think there is a danger people will think everything was sorted for us with marriage equality. We still have a long way to go.”
‘Harmful attitudes persist’
.
While the progress of recent years is something Galway, and Ireland, can justifiably take pride in, and are milestone markers of how far our attitudes have come to LGBT+ people and their rights, it would be a mistake to think homophobia is defeated, that certain attitudes do not need to be challenged, or that there are no longer any LGBT+ rights to campaign for.
That push and pull between progress made and what still needs to be fought for - and in some cases, fought against - is very keenly felt by Maeve Arnup [pictured above].
'Last summer, I was in Eyre Square, and someone used the F slur at me'
“I know for myself, my life changed dramatically when I came to college,” they said. “I was out and finally found my people, and through that, I found myself. In contrast to how I felt in school, I’ve never been so happy or comfortable, but there is a risky assumption that being an LGBT+ kid at the moment is easy going.
“There are still very hateful people, there are still times I feel very unsafe. I’ve been very fortunate to not have been a victim of any physical harassment. More often, I experience verbal harassment, like being called slurs.”
.
Cllr Hanley [pictured above] is equally aware that under the surface, prejudice is still active. “Harmful attitudes persist,” he said, “and are particularly targeted against more vulnerable members of our community, be they young, transgender, or from a different national or ethnic background.
“What comes to recent memory is last summer. I was in Eyre Square and someone used the F slur at me. It didn't particularly bother me but I was with a young LGBT+ person and I was more so annoyed at the message it sent to him.”
Being LGBT+ in Galway
.
Galway has the longest running continual Pride event in Ireland. What began as a small parade of a few dedicated individuals in the early 1990s has now become a joyous festival for all the city, but it should not be forgotten that Pride is as much a political event and a protest, as it is a celebration.
Both Maeve and Cllr Hanley feel Galway is a very accepting city and one of the safer spaces for LGBT+ people to be, but neither feel completely safe, and know their sexuality can make them a target.
“I have had a fairly good experience in Galway,” says Maeve. “There are many accepting places to go. You get to know the pubs and cafés which are welcoming to LGBT+ people fairly soon. Unfortunately, last year we lost the only LGBT+ Resource Centre in the West of Ireland, Teach Solais. It was a life changing resource for so many of us. It was so important to have a free space for people to go, where you didn’t have to spend money to stay.
.
“However, I’m still always conscious when I am walking alone and I have to know where I can or can’t go when I’m out and about, especially at night. I like cycling because it feels like a safer way to get around the city. They can’t get me if I’m zooming past.”
Cllr Hanley noted that in Galway, “you're more likely to see openly LGBT+ couples” than in many other parts of the world. “I do count myself grateful,” he says, “but would I hold my boyfriend's hand at night? Probably not. And I have it easier than my transgender and non-binary friends, as well as women. There's a lot more we could be doing to make our city a safer place to be in.”
Being LGBT+ in school
.
Students and staff launching the LGBTI+ Safe & Supportive Schools Project at Coláiste Bhaile Chláir.
This reality of how prejudice and homophobia are still a virus in Irish society was brought home by BeLonG To Youth Services’ Schools Climate Survey 2019, which found 73 per cent of LGBTI+ students felt unsafe at school; 68 per cent of LGBT+ students reported hearing anti-LGBTI+ remarks from other students; 48 per cent reported hearing homophobic remarks; and 55 per cent reported hearing transphobic remarks from teachers and staff members.
'There are absolutely no downsides to making schools easier places for students to be themselves'
“It isn't not surprising to hear that LGBT+ youth continue to face harassment,” says Cllr Hanley. “It's important we don't just scoff this issue off as kids being kids. They learn it from somewhere.
“There is also an unavoidable fact that there are those out there who seek to change the identity of young LGBT+ people because it makes them uncomfortable. There are those out there, adults who probably consider themselves open and accepting, who believe LGBT+ young people require ‘correcting’ - a terrible, hurtful, attitude that only does harm.”
.
Students and staff at Merlin College at the launch of the school's participation in the new Safe & Supportive Schools Project.
Both Maeve and Cllr Hanley welcome, and are excited by, the LGBT+ safe spaces created in Merlin College and Coláiste Bhaile Chláir, which involve staff training and development; policy and planning; the curriculum; creation of a safe and supportive environment; community partnership; and direct support to young people.
“It’s absolutely amazing,” says Maeve. “I can’t even imagine how different my school experience would have been if it had a more friendly environment. It would have changed my life.”
“I never really considered coming out in school,” said Cllr Hanley. “It never seemed worth the hassle or the imagined grief. That is a part of the way bigotry works, so it’s heartwarming to see this. There are absolutely no downsides to making schools easier places for students to be themselves. I'm very proud to see two Galway schools leading the way on this. Schools should keep in mind that without proactive initiatives and policies the tone will be set by the loudest voices in the room.”
Making Galway safer
.
The verdict then is that Galway is a largely welcoming and tolerant city for LGBT+ people, but homophobia is experienced, and there is no room for complacency. Furthermore, the closure of the Teach Solais LGBT+ Resource Centre is a loss keenly felt by the community. In that light, what can bodies like the Galway City Council, and the wider civic society, do to make Galway a fully LGBT+ safe city?
'We need a place where anyone, be they a student or pensioner, can be accepted for who they are'
“Amach LGBT+, which manages the centre, has been able to move into the Westside Resource Centre to continue their support,” said Cllr Hanley, “but a dedicated space for the LGBT+ community is still needed and cannot be replaced.
.
“LGBT+ centres need dedicated, annual funding. Community organisations require consistent and reliable funding to plan around. We have seen what happens when Government takes a step back. We need a place where anyone, be they a student or pensioner, can come along and be accepted for who they are.”
Maeve Arnup agrees that funding is key. “It was disgraceful we were forced to close the only LGBT+ resource centre in the west of Ireland,” they said. “It was a central hub for us, a home for everyone in the community and was a huge loss. More LGBT+ awareness training needs to be given to services. Many LGBT+ people don’t feel comfortable calling services to get help. We fear we won’t be understood, respected, or treated equally.”
