Tributes have been pouring in for Séan Connolly, a human rights activist and one of the co-founders of the Irish Gay Rights Movement, after he passed away last week.

The activist, who had been sick with an illness, died in the Connolly Memorial Hospital in Blanchardstown on Thursday, January 29. His funeral took place yesterday in the Church of Christ of the Good Shepherd, Four-Roads in Co. Roscommon.

Connolly, alongside David Norris, Clem Clancy, Edmund Lynch, Kenneth Jackson and Martin Barnes, was a founding member of the IGRM, which was established in June 1974, nineteen years before the decriminalisation of same-sex activity in Ireland. The civil rights group had a number of key aims, including reforming legislation relating to homosexuality and removing social prejudice associated with the LGBTQ+ community.

As the Dublin branch gained traction, Connolly and fellow member Clem Clancy travelled to Cork and set up additional premises and Cork’s first LGBTQ+ disco.

In addition to pushing for rights for LGBTQ+ people, the group also played a key role in connecting the community with one another. After all, another one of the movement’s key aims was to provide counselling, befriending and social facilities for the community.

The group achieved the latter of these goals by hosting discos and coffee meetings in its premises, both in Dublin and Cork. The Cork branch also set up Tel-A-Friend, a phone service providing listening and support to the LGBTQ+ community.

In the ’70s, the group gained strength and, occasionally, mainstream visibility, with Connolly being featured in Last House, an RTÉ production, alongside Jimmy Malone and Phil Carson.

In condolences shared on RIP.ie, many people remember Séan Connolly as a kind, generous man and a hard-working and principled human rights advocate. He is predeceased by his parents Edward and Linda, and his brother Patrick, and is missed by his siblings Eamon, Bernadette and his wider family.