From August 17 to August 24, Cork City Council and various LGBTQ+ groups are organising a week of events to commemorate the visit of the San Fransico Delegation, who will be loaning the original rainbow flag created by Gilbert Baker in 1978. This coincides with the opening of the new Permanent LGBTQ+ Exhibition in the Cork Public Museum, which launched on Wednesday, August 19.
The flag will be displayed in the Cork Public Museum for four months, which represents a historic moment for the city as it is the first time the flag has ever been exhibited outside of America.
The Lord Mayor of Cork, Damien Boylan, is holding a reception to formally welcome the delegation and the loaning of the flag on August 20. He shares, “The Gilbert Baker Flag visit provides a unique opportunity to deepen relationships between Cork and San Francisco while showcasing Cork’s commitment to equality, inclusion and community engagement.”
The delegation will also be attending an international Bi+ and Pride photography exhibition by Rainbow Cities Network at Cork City Library. Additionally, there will be a public panel event on August 21 in Cork City Hall called ‘The Gilbert Baker Flag: Safety and the LGBTQ+ community’, which will feature local LGBTQ+ activists.
The Cork LGBTQ+ Interagency Group stated on social media: “Together, we’ll explore: What safety means for LGBTI+ people today; Progress made towards more inclusive communities; Challenges facing LGBTI+ people and families; How we can build a city where everyone can live openly, safely, and with dignity”. Award-winning Irish author and poet Rosamund Taylor will also be hosting an LGBTQ+ literary evening. These are just some of the activities in store for the week of the Delegation’s visit.
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The Gilbert Baker Rainbow Flag is an invaluable artefact of LGBTQ+ history, first displayed at the Unions Nation Plaza in San Francisco for Gay Freedom Day, 1978. Roberto Ordeñana, the Executive Director of the GLBT Historical Society, adds, “The Rainbow flag’s importance extends far beyond any one museum, city, or nation—our shared history belongs to all of us, regardless of borders.”
The loaning of the flag comes at a significant time for Cork, as the city’s first permanent LGBTQ+ exhibition has also just opened to the public. As reported by EchoLive, the founder of the Cork LGBT Archive, Orla Egan, states, “Too often the history of the LGBT community has been invisible, ignored or erased. Having Cork’s LGBTQ history on display in the Cork Public Museum will ensure that it is accessible and cannot be forgotten or ignored.”.
Both events represent major historical firsts for the county in terms of LGBTQ+ inclusion, showing how far Ireland has come since homosexuality was decriminalised in 1993.
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