20GayTeen gave us so much LGBT+ goodness in the form of movies, TV shows, podcasts, memes and more! Here are some of our favourites from a queer year!

Documentary: The 34th

The 34th, which tells the story of the driven and dedicated people who formed Marriage Equality in Ireland, was added to Netflix in late 2018 and had us feeling nostalgic about the fight for marriage equality in Ireland.

Through revealing interviews and archival material, the people at the centre of the fight outline the strategising, fierce battles, sheer hard graft and personal cost of running such an all-consuming campaign.

Theatre: I Am Tonie Walsh

I Am Tonie Walsh, staged at Project Arts Centre between Nov 27 and Dec 1, let us learn more about the gay icon that is Tonie Walsh. Thrower of the capital’s most seminal parties, he has fought endlessly for queer rights, becoming known as Ireland’s Godfather of Gay.

This theatrical gem saw Tonie tell the story of queer Ireland’s incredible social change from the fabulous point of view of someone who lived through it.

Music Video: Favourite by Pillow Queens

Although the Irish queer alt-rock group released a number of music videos this year, (including videos for Favourite and Puppet), the video for the catchy single Gay Girls definitely takes the title of our favourite!

Directed by Kate Dolan, the video sees a young girl about to make her Holy Communion, but she cycles away from her arguing parents and joins her other friends, all dolled up in their communion dresses to go on adventures.

Dolan said, “The song is such a belter, when the band came and asked me to do a video for it I was delighted. The girls had an idea about four girls running away on their communion day.

“I wanted to capture the pure joy of being a kid, and those days you remember as being totally perfect.”

Podcast: Petrified by Peter Dunne and Liam Geraghty

Coming to us in the winter months of 2018 from the gay writer and producer team of Peter Dunne and Liam Geraghty, Petrified, is a podcast for anyone who is a fan of the spooky and supernatural.

With the blurb: “A horror anthology podcast from a darker Ireland. These are the chilling tales of people who heard something. Something they really shouldn’t have heard. Listen at your own risk. You could be next.”

Hey, we all need a bit of horror in our lives, right?

Video Game: Assassin’s Creed: Odyssey

In queer 2018, gaymers discovered that their characters’ relationship options in Assassin’s Creed: Odyssey were not limited by gender.

Whether you play as a man or a woman in the game, all the dialogue is the same, and all of the potential character choices are the same, meaning that players can pick any of the romanceable characters in the game to pair up with, regardless of their gender.

Movie: Love, Simon

This touching movie, starring Nick Robinson, Katherine Langsford and Jennifer Garner brought several tears to our eyes in queer 2018.

Love, Simon, based on the Becky Albertalli best-selling novel Simon vs. The Homosapien Agenda, was the first ever major studio release to feature a central teen gay character. It follows Simon, a teenager who starts an email romance with another closeted classmate.

The movie gave us the wholesome queer romcom we didn’t know we needed.

Honourable Mention – Meme/Musical Performance: The Neck by Aoife McGregor

Honestly, it would be a crime to talk about our 2018 highlights without mentioning this iconic cultural moment.

Earlier this year, Aoife’s dog groomer decided she was done doing business with her, so Aoife sent her a voice message, and it was quite something.

Now, we’re not saying we love drama (just kidding we love T), but we are so glad we got to enjoy the meme that was “The NNNEEECCCKKK”.