Back in college, we had to study Waiting for Godot by Samuel Beckett. You’re probably familiar with the story – two men sit around, waiting for a third to appear. Their wait is indefinite and uncertain and the character is mysterious. This is what transitioning in Ireland is like, only imagine the third figure to […]

On Monday of last week, much to everyone’s dismay, the Bernard Shaw announced their imminent closure. The venue has long been a cornerstone of Dublin culture, an eclectic meeting place with a crowd as colourful and incongruous as the ever-changing street art that so identifiably defines it. The news came in the wake of a […]

The beginning of the school year is upon us and it can often be an exciting prospect for many parents, teachers, children and teenagers. It can also be an anxious time of year as the school year brings with it academic challenges and social pressures. Ireland may have become a drastically more accepting place for […]

It was very surreal watching the proceedings of Westminster on 9th July. I had been napping, and after I received a message from my friends to watch it, I saw the tail end of the vote, a bellowing voice proclaimed ‘the ayes to the right 383, the nos to the left 73, the ayes have […]

I failed the Leaving Cert. Truthfully, I am happy that I did because it taught me that if you fail, it’s not the end of the world. It’s not because I didn’t study constantly for hours each day, because I did. I just wasn’t the kind of person who could handle the Leaving Cert and […]

It was recently reported that the LGBT+ website Gay Star News is to close after eight years with the loss of jobs for its 20 staff. We in GCN are saddened by the news and know first hand the challenges facing LGBT+ media in the current climate, both financially and ideologically. In a letter to […]

Singer/songwriter Wallis Bird is an icon when it comes to Irish music. She has built a substantial discography that has always been integral in its honest storytelling. In her new album, she says she felt compelled to write about activism and politics and how she has reached a sweet spot age-wise where she feels self-assured […]

I never thought that I could put my experiences into a melody and have people latch onto it, or that they were something people would care about. It’s weird to write and sing about your own feelings and for someone to say they felt that way as well. I’ve always had this command of my […]

For the first time in history, a drag performer from Europe and a fully transitioned trans woman won one of the most prestigious pageants in the world, the Miss Continental, with legendary past titleholders such as Brooke Lynn Hytes and Naysha Lopez, the Belgian queen Vanessa Van Cartier made history in an emotional and iconic […]

Will Kennedy is a member of ACT UP Cork. As a person living with HIV, he talks about the continued existence of stigma in the gay community, sharing the U=U message and his efforts to create a peer mentoring support programme for others who have been recently diagnosed. On stigma I work with a support […]