LGBTQ+ charities can always use our support. Their services provide vital resources for queer youth, support mental health, and offer safe spaces for us to connect, support each other, and organise.
This is only a partial list of all of the incredible LGBTQ+ organisations in Ireland to keep in mind if you want to share some love this holiday season. A donation would make a perfect last-minute holiday gift!
If you feel like a group is missing from this list, be sure to get in touch.
ACT UP Dublin and Cork are diverse, non-partisan groups of individuals united in anger and committed to direct action to end the HIV crisis. The Ireland chapters were created in response to the growing HIV diagnoses in Ireland, and to combat the persistent silence and stigma that continues to surround HIV.
AMACH! LGBT Galway aims to reflect the diversity within the queer community by encouraging positive participation from LGBTQ+ Galwegians. They aim to provide awareness, educational and training events and workshops, and endeavour to support and promote a socially inclusive society. AMACH offers support groups, drop-ins and activities where you can meet new friends, get information and chill with like-minded people.
Belong To Youth Services is the national organisation supporting LGBTQ+ young people in Ireland. Since 2003, it has worked with queer youth between 14 and 23 years, to create a world where they are equal, safe, and valued in the diversity of their identities and experiences.
It also advocates and campaigns on behalf of young queer people, and offers a specialised LGBTQ+ youth service with a focus on mental and sexual health, alongside drug and alcohol support.
Bi+ Ireland aims to create a space where bi+ people can make friends, access peer support and reduce any isolation they may experience. It aims to increase the visibility and presence of bi+ people in Ireland and create diverse, vibrant and welcoming communities.
Dublin Lesbian Line (DLL) is a confidential support helpline, operated by a group of enthusiastic volunteers on Thursday nights from 6:30pm to 9pm. DLL is dedicated to providing excellent telephone and online support to the LGBTQ+ community. Don’t be fooled by the name, however, as they offer support to people of varying identities from all over Ireland with many problems, issues and concerns.
Drogheda LGBTQI Support Group provides a safe space for LGBTQ+ adults and youth in our community. They offer a soon to be three days a week drop-in service for Drogheda and surrounding areas.
Many children of LGBTQ+ parents in Ireland are denied the right to have a legally recognised relationship with both of their parents. Equality for Children was formed in October 2019 when a group of LGBTQ+ parents came together to fight for equality for their children. The organisation gives a voice to those children and families in their fight for equality by working with LGBT Ireland and other partners.
Gay Health Network (GHN) is a network of organisations and individuals in Ireland providing sexual health and wellbeing services to gay, bisexual and other men who have sex with men (gbMSM).
Founded in 1994, it’s the longest and only continuous group advocating for and providing HIV and sexual health promotion to the community.
The mission of the Gay Project as per the constitution is to ensure that gay, bisexual and other men who have sex with men (gbMSM) are enabled to participate fully in Ireland’s social, economic, cultural, political and artistic life. They support queer men, celebrate sexuality and gender diversity, and advocate for LGBTQ+ human rights and policy protections.
Gender Orientation Sexual Health HIV (GOSHH) is located in Limerick City. It is known as one of Ireland’s LGBTQ+ charities that provides a safe, confidential, welcoming environment for everyone it works with. It focuses on the promotion of equality and wellbeing for all with a positive and respectful approach to sexual orientation and gender diversity. It aims to create an environment where the mental, emotional, physical and social well-being of everyone is promoted and sexual rights are respected, protected and fulfilled.
HIV Ireland is a voluntary, non-profit organisation. It is one of the LGBTQ+ charities that directly contributes toward a significant reduction in the incidence and prevalence of HIV in Ireland and towards the realisation of an AIDS-free generation by advocating for HIV Positive people, preventing new HIV infections and combating HIV-related stigma and discrimination.
LGBT Ireland is a national organisation that provides the National LGBT Helpline, Transgender Family Line, Online Chat Service, Telefriending and Peer Support Groups. Together with its network members, it provides support, training, and advocacy that aims to improve the lives of LGBTQ+ people across Ireland.
LINC is one of the long-standing LGBTQ+ charities in Ireland, and it is the only community development organisation working exclusively with queer women and non-binary people in the Republic of Ireland. Through the LINC Resource Centre, it has completed a comprehensive outreach training and development programme.
It also actively engages with various representative groups in the community including the young women’s group, lesbian parents’ group and the older lesbian group.
Meath LGBTQ Support Group is an independent group that provides information and support for adults and youth in Meath and surrounding areas on a monthly basis.
The MPOWER Programme is a suite of peer-driven community-level interventions that aim to achieve a reduction in the acquisition of HIV and STIs and an overall improvement of sexual health and wellbeing among gbMSM.
It devises sex-positive, judgement-free and harm reduction-based resources, services and supports where the needs of gbMSM have or can be identified. The programme strives to be inclusive of the diverse identities within the community and to incorporate the experiences of both HIV Positive and HIV Negative men.
Established in 1979, the NXF is the oldest of the LGBTQ+ charities in Ireland. As an NGO, it publishes GCN and campaigns for the equal rights of, and to combat discrimination against, LGBTQ+ people in Ireland and internationally. A donation here is a donation to yours truly, and we really appreciate all of the support!
Outcomers is an independent support organisation providing confidential drop-in space, information, integration and advocacy for LGBTQ+ adults in the Drogheda area. It is run in partnership with Outcomers LGBT Support Service Dundalk.
Outhouse is a community and resource centre for LGBTQ+ people, their families, and friends. It provides a safe space that facilitates and encourages the growth of services, queer charities, and supports all members of the community. It offers a safe space for people to meet, organise, and make things happen.
OutWest is a voluntary social, support and advocacy group for LGBTQ+ people in the West of Ireland. It was originally founded in 1997 as Mayo Roscommon Outreach. It provides a focal point in the community where LGBTQ+ people can make contact with each other, and become involved in a range of joint activities including educational pursuits.
Pavee Point works to ensure Travellers and Roma are fully recognised and respected as minority ethnic groups who are proud and confident in their cultural identity and exercising their human rights. There is also a large focus on the LGBTQ+ members of the community.
Sporting Pride is a volunteer-run LGBTQ+ community organisation that focuses on developing inclusivity in sport, and sports clubs within the whole Irish community. The organisation is committed to making sport a more inclusive and diverse environment for members of the LGBTQ+ community and, in doing so, promoting the positive benefits of fitness and exercise to one’s physical and mental health and well-being.
ShoutOut runs educational workshops for secondary school students, teachers, parents and guardians, youth workers and social workers so everyone understands how to be allied to the LGBTQ+ people in their lives, be them a student, child, or colleague.
This year, the organisation celebrated its tenth birthday, and its newest report revealed why its services are still so vital today.
TENI is a non-profit organisation supporting the trans community in Ireland. TENI is dedicated to ending transphobia, including stigma, discrimination and inequality. Its vision is a world where all people, regardless of gender identity or expression, enjoy full acceptance, equality and human rights.
The Switchboard provides confidential and non-judgemental listening and support helplines seven days per week. Its phone lines are geared towards offering support and resources to different areas of the community on different days with trained volunteers able to provide more specialised help and support in those areas. It operates under an ethos of non-judgement, active listening and harm reduction and all calls are confidential.
We Are Church Ireland (WAC Ireland) is a group of concerned Irish Catholics committed to the renewal of the Roman Catholic Church on the basis of the Second Vatican Council (1962-1965) and the theological spirit developed from it. It believes a church filled with love has no room for exclusion.
Youth Work Ireland is a Federation of 20 Member Youth Services and a National Office that works together to support, empower, inspire and educate young people through the delivery of best-practice youth work services.
It provides direct youth work supports and services to LGBTQ+ young people, including those questioning their identities. Its clubs, projects and youth groups provide queer youth with a safe space where they can hang out with their peers and relax, talk, listen to music, and participate in games and organised social and educational activities, supported by trained and professional youth practitioners.
Each of these LGBTQ+ charities offers incredible services to our community, and we’re thankful for all of the work they continue to do!
© 2022 GCN (Gay Community News). All rights reserved.
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