We celebrate our Irish trans and non binary family every day through our website and magazine but today we have a particular focus as it is five years since the passing of the Gender Recognition Act. To mark the occasion, here are some of Ireland’s most notable trans and non binary individuals who have been trailblazers in our community.

Sara R Phillips

Sara R Phillips has been involved with the trans community for over 20 years and has been a member of TENI since its inception in 2006. Phillips appeared on the cover of GCN in 2015 to celebrate the passing of the Gender Recognition Act.

Sara is a role model for many in the LGBT+ community and was the recipient of the LGBT+ role model award at The Galas 2020.

Upon receiving her award, she explained the importance of her work, saying, “Everything I do is for our trans community, everything I do is for the people who have gone before me but also those who are coming after me, because currently life as a trans person in Ireland still is not good enough. [There] is still a lot more to do.”

Lydia Foy

Dr Lydia Foy is a pioneer for trans rights. In 1997, Foy began her legal fight for gender recognition, after the Registrar-General refused to issue her with a new birth certificate recognising her true gender in 1993. She fought for two decades, and ultimately, the case forced the Government to introduce gender recognition legislation. She has also won the prestigious Citizen’s Prize from the European Parliament in Brussels.

Noah Halpin

Founder of This Is Me – Transgender Healthcare Campaign, Noah Halpin has been at the forefront of the battle for trans healthcare rights in Ireland over the past few years. Following a sit-in at the Department of Health, Halpin was successful in getting a meeting with then Minister for Health Simon Harris.

Alexis Riva

Alexis Riva is a transgender woman who, through her YouTube videos, has been documenting her transition. She has spoken openly to her followers about each step of the process, sharing everything from the beginning of her HRT journey and monthly estrogen updates, to breast augmentation surgery and frank discussions of taboos within the community.

Riva was the recipient of the LGBT+ Digital Change-Maker Award at The GALAS 2020 where the reception from the crowd made clear that she has been a huge help to many young trans people and a constantly inspiring member of the community. Riva was also the presenter of The Road To Recognition, a celebration of the fifth anniversary of Gender Recognition.

Claire Farrell

Claire Farrell is a proud transgender woman and has been an activist for over 40 years. She co-founded Friends Of Eon – Ireland’s first official trans group and was an elected director of TENI until retiring from the board in 2018.

She appeared in GCN’s feature on our stylish LGBT+ older community where she said:

“Of course I think we can be stylish in older age. I like not feeling under pressure to be fashionable and at the same time like what I wear most days. Life is for living, enjoy!”

Aoife Martin

Aoife Martin is a trans woman and a passionate trans rights advocate. In January 2017, she became the first person to transition globally within her workplace. Since then, Aoife has given numerous talks and interviews about being transgender in Ireland today.

She is passionate about educating people on transgender issues and believes that by talking to people and putting her story out there that she can help make a difference and change how people perceive transgender people.

Louise Hannon

Louise Hannon was the first Irish trans woman to take her employer to court for gender discrimination.

For five years before her ultimate transition, Hannon had worked as a business development manager with a trucking transport company. Hannon had informed her company about her transition and that she was considering leaving as she didn’t believe they “would be comfortable with it”.

The company asked her to stay, but proved to be not quite as welcoming as Hannon initially believed. She was asked to work from home and take business calls in her “male identity”, she was also told she would have to revert to that identity while meeting clients, along with being informed she could not use the female toilets when she did visit work.

Sam Blanckensee

Sam is an activist and advocate for trans and non binary folk, amongst others. Sam is the National Membership and Campaigns Officer with the Irish Traveller Movement and previously held the position of National Development Officer and then Policy and Research Officer in TENI until 2018. While in TENI, Sam supported the establishment of Trans Kerry and the Gorey Trans Peer Support Group.

Jamie and Chloe Herlihy

Sisters Jamie and Chloe Herlihy appeared on the cover of GCN’s Youth issue in 2016 after they made worldwide headlines following an interview for Closer magazine about coming out as transgender at the same time.

They have since appeared in numerous documentaries and uploaded videos on YouTube where they shared their inspiring story.

Vanessa Lacey

Vanessa is TENI’s Health and Education Manager and has been part of the organisation since 2010. In her role, Vanessa designs and delivers awareness training and Gender Identity Skills Training (GIST) for healthcare professionals throughout Ireland. In 2011, she created the family support group, TransParenCI, which continues to support families around the country.

Vanessa has a BA in Psychology and was recently awarded her PhD which focused on grief and loss experienced by trans women and their families. She has made several media appearances in relation to her work and also contributes to academic papers.

Ollie Bell

Ollie Bell co-founded Trans & Intersex Pride Dublin in 2018. Ollie appeared in GCN’s Youth Issue in 2018 where they explained why they felt there was a need for Trans & Intersex Pride:

“We saw the opportunity for a Pride that would be a radical and grassroots event which would hopefully kickstart a wider movement for trans rights.”

Jack Murphy

Actor Jack Murphy – who played the character Ryan in Fair City – made Irish TV history as the first trans character on any Irish soap opera. In 2018, Murphy brought a huge amount of awareness to the barriers facing Ireland’s trans community in terms of accessing healthcare. In launching his own GoFundMe page to fund his top surgery, Murphy spoke candidly about his own experience stuck on a year and a half long waiting list, while drawing attention to the financial barriers that prevent many trans people from receiving the care they require.

In September 2019, Murphy joined Ellen Murray, Brendan Courtney and Maria Walsh in launching Call It Out, the award-winning campaign aimed at targeting hate crimes and homophobic language in Ireland.

Ellen Murray

A trans rights and disability rights advocate, Ellen is the founder of the trans youth service GenderJam in Northern Ireland and the Belfast Trans Resource Centre through SAIL NI. Having worked in the past with the European Commission, the European Union and the United Nations, Ellen also worked as Policy And Research Officer at TENI.

Philippa Ryder

Philippa Ryder is one of the early committee members of TENI. She married her wife, Helen in 1983, at a time when she was beginning to question her gender identity. Now with a grown-up daughter, the two are still happily married. They have shared their journey towards acceptance in GCN, on The Late Late Show and in the documentary Under The Clock.

You

Yes, you! To all of our amazing trans and non binary siblings: we see you, we have your back, we love you.