Welcome, dear reader, to the October 2025 issue of GCN, ‘Leading the line’.

As you might have guessed from our dazzling cover of Person of the Year Paula Fagan, photographed by Babs Daly, this is a special GALAS edition of the magazine. Organised by the National LGBTQ+ Federation (NXF) and GCN, the 12th annual GALAS Awards took place on October 4, celebrating the community champions of Ireland and beyond.

Across 15 categories, the incredible work of individuals, organisations and businesses was recognised in areas like activism, arts, allyship, sports and journalism. Proceedings were led by PJ Kirby and Kevin Twomey, the hilarious duo behind the I’m Grand Mam podcast. The hosts were joined by some very special musical guests throughout the ceremony: Glória LGBT+ Choir, and Elaine Mai and MayKay, two of whom are also interviewed in these pages.

As well as coverage of The GALAS, there is plenty of other content to enjoy. As part of our ongoing collaboration with Belong To, a young LGBTQ+ person writes about their experience coming out in a small town. One of Belong To’s co-founders, Michael Barron, is also featured in an interview with Tonie Walsh about his new book, How Ireland’s LGBTQ+ Youth Movement was Built.

In another history-focused piece, we follow the journey that Dublin lesbians went on in the ‘70s and ‘80s to create spaces for women, and hear stories from the people who partied in JJ Smyths.

Finally, the magazine concludes with an article from the Ireland-Palestine Solidarity Campaign, marking two years of genocide in Gaza. While a ceasefire deal has been agreed at the time of writing, the fight is not over. As the organisation reiterates, “There must be accountability for Israel’s crimes against the Palestinian people, who must determine their own future. The day will come, Palestine will be free, and that will free us all.”