A queer Irish-language conference is coming to Dublin, bringing together researchers and artists to explore queer studies and LGBTQ+ art through Irish. The event is to be held on June 18 in the Trapdoor Theatre in the Newman Building of University College Dublin’s Belfield Campus.

The organising body of the event is the School of Irish, Celtic and Folklore UCD (SICFU). They will be working alongside the Irish LGBTQ+ art group, AerachAiteachGaelach, with the event also being supported by Oireachtas na Gaeilge.

AerachAiteachGaelach is a group established by queer artist Ciara Ní É, aiming to promote LGBTQ+ art forms and artists while simultaneously advocating for the Irish-speaking community.

The goal of the Irish-language conference, titled An Chomhdháil Aiteach (The Local Congress), is to “explore and present the queer experience in a way that encompasses both artistic expression and academic research.”

According to research conducted by the AerachAiteachGaelach, SICFU and other groups, there has been a noticeable increase in the number of queer people joining the Irish language community. Both groups now believe it is time to celebrate this increase, and to examine queerness as it exists today in Irish-language life.

The number of people who speak Irish in Ireland is staggeringly low for it being an essential subject in education, with only 1.5% speaking it daily. However, it appears to be on a sharp increase. From 2016 to 2022, the number of people able to speak Irish rose by 112,000, showing a possible revival for the language.

Groups like AerachAiteachGaelach have had and continue to have a huge impact on this resurgence. At An Chomhdháil Aiteach, they aim to further promote the language by showcasing a blend of academic research and artistic expression through a queer Irish language lens.

AerachAiteachGaelach and the SICFU aim to accomplish this by showcasing “topics such as queerness in the arts, LGBTQ+ linguistics and terminology, queer projects in the Irish-language community, queerness in storytelling and folklore, queer Irish-language literature, and much more.”

If you are interested in the event but are concerned about your ability to understand Irish, fear not, as they plan to host the conference in both Irish and English.

Some conference speakers include UCD President, Orla Feely, Lecturer in the School of Language, Doctor Jamie Murphy, and a panel of speakers including AerachAiteachGaelach founder Ciara Ní É.

Tickets, details and more information are available on their Eventbrite page.