After the Ballyfermot Assumption Parish Church faced online backlash for sharing images of the Pride flag outside the church on social media, locals wanted to show their support for the LGBTQ+ community.
Parish Priest, Father Adrian Egan, said the backlash he received was “aggressive and hostile and nasty,” with a small group of people claiming that the flag was ‘anti-Catholic.’ He was asked by the Dublin Catholic archdiocese to remove the Pride flag.
Local community groups held a solidarity vigil on the roundabout outside Our Lady of the Assumption Church on Friday evening to voice their support for the LGBTQ+ community in Ballyfermot, and the decision to fly the flag.
Local People Before Profit TD, Bríd Smith told NewsTalk that the Pride flag made everyone in the community feel included and welcome.
“All families have experience of the need to be liberating about your sexuality and your identity and that is what this is about – we are celebrating it tonight.”
Smith also said that the vigil was a thank you to Father Egan and the people of Ballyfermot for standing in support of the LGBTQ+ community. She went on to say that Fr Egan was showing that he “stands with people who have an identity that is different to others. They may be a minority but they are important to us and they are loved in our community.”
Also present at the vigil were two local People Before Profit Councillors: Hazel de Nortúin and Tina MacVeigh. They both tweeted about the event, showing fantastic images of locals coming together to support their LGBTQ+ community, with “no room for hate.”
Epic atmosphere here in Ballyfermot where there is no room for hate.#Ballyfermot #pride #Pride2021 @BallyfermotBARN pic.twitter.com/YHlrgDnWCs
— Tina MacVeigh ?? (@TinaMacVeigh) June 25, 2021
Earlier in the day Cllr. Hazel de Nortúin also tweeted photos of organisations around Ballyfermot who had come out in support of the LGBTQ+ community by displaying the Pride flag.
Photos of organisations that have come out to support #LGBTQ in #Ballyfermot
Great to see #pride pic.twitter.com/vlWkjP1s6J
— Cllr Hazel De Nortúin (@HazelPBP) June 25, 2021
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