Trans Pride Dublin 2019 saw a 100% increase in attendance compared to last year’s event.

Marchers held banners with slogans such as ‘TERF free zone”, “End the Gatekeeping, let us transition” and “Defend Trans Lives”.

The march took place on the anniversary of the death of Marsha P Johnson, a trans woman and LGBT+ rights activist who was famous for participating in the Stonewall rebellion and the crowd was asked to remember her as the fight for trans rights continues.

This year’s theme is Breaking The Binary, which aims to reflect the message that neither sex nor gender are binary, but exist on a spectrum.

Before and after the march, a number of activists spoke from groups such as This Is Me, Sex Workers Alliance Ireland, Unite Trade Union and TENI

Amongst the attendees was MASI Ireland and United Against Racism who were marching in solidarity with Trans Pride and sharing their message of ending Direct Provision.

Cassandra from United Against Racism spoke about Sylva Tukula:

“We must remember the tragic death of Sylva Takula, a trans woman who died in an all-male Great Western House Direct Provision centre in Galway and was buried by the Government in secret without notifying her friends and the Galway LGBT+ community of which she was a vibrant and cherished part.

“If we want LGBTQ+ people, we must fight for an end to Direct Provision because none of us is free until we all are free”.

Noah Halpin, of the ‘This Is Me’ campaign, called on the Government to do more.

He said: “I’m cautiously optimistic, there are little bits of change happening, but it’s very slow, which is why days like today are so important.

“This year we met Simon Harris (Health Minister) and told him that it wasn’t good enough that it was a three-year-long waiting list for hormone replacement therapy, that we have no surgery options in Ireland, and that mental health services for trans people are completely inadequate”.

During the march, which took the same route as Dublin Pride 2019, marchers chanted, “When trans rights are under attack, stand up, fight back”.

Speaking at Merrion Square, Sara R Philips, chair of TENI, spoke about the importance of guarding against a rise of transphobia as awareness increases.

“Now more than ever we need to be together, we need to stand together, believe in each other and have each other’s backs. Most of all, fight back.

“We cannot be complacent. Every day we are facing backlash. We need young trans people to know it is okay to be yourself.

“When trans siblings are being kept in disgraceful Direct Provision and TERFs deny our very existence. We must not let that narrative take hold in Ireland. We need our allies to stand up”.