The first-ever Kildare Pride will be kicking off this year on May 31 in Athy. After the town hosted a successful LGBT+ inclusive night, the Parade is a natural and exciting step forward to continue celebrating the diversity of rural Ireland. 

Bringing the LGBT+ community and allies together, Kildare Pride will be a day packed with family-friendly events. There will be a “fabulous colourful parade” heading towards Athy Town Park, where local musicians will be performing. The committee behind this wonderful event was formed in October.  

Chairperson of the Kildare Pride committee, Julie Buckley, spoke about how this all came together, “We believe Kildare needed a pride festival and Parade to show there is support for the community all across Kildare. We held a couple of meetings in Clancys of Athy and the ball rolled from there, our committee is people from all walks of life each bringing something completely different to the table.”

Speaking on the significance of the event, Buckley adds, “It means the world for me to have this in my home town and especially my county, to know there will be a day to celebrate the LGBTI community of Kildare and its allies.”

Rural Ireland has become awash in rainbows as LGBT+ communities bring Pride to their hometowns. Across the country, people have started to organise their own Parades to continue promoting a strong sense of inclusivity. 

In recent years, there has been an increase in new voices coming out to set up their own Pride events, highlighting the continuous push to celebrate diversity throughout Ireland. Buckley said, “We have had great help from our local community to set this up and it has been beautiful to see all the community coming together to set up this event. We can proudly say this day has been set up by people of all sexual orientations for the LGBTI community.”