This Is Me campaign founder Noah Halpin will be hosting a special day-long GCN Instagram takeover to mark the fifth anniversary of Gender Recognition in Ireland. 

In commemoration of the historic moment when Ireland brought Gender Recognition legislation into effect, Halpin will be posting about trans history, movie and TV show recommendations, and welcoming various guest speakers over on GCN’s Instagram. On Thursday, 16 July, he is set to host riveting discussions around trans healthcare, Black trans lives, Direct Provision, allyship, and much more. 

Make sure you check out our Instagram account @GCNmag tomorrow as @Noah_Halpin from @ThisIsMeIreland will be taking over with a series of posts about Irish trans history, movie recommendations and a live show at 7pm with some very special guests. #GenderRec5YearsOn pic.twitter.com/GX0eDw5cot

— Gay Community News (@GCNmag) July 15, 2020

At 7pm on the day, there will be a live discussion on Instagram with amazing guest speakers sharing their stories. Afterwards, people are invited to take part in a Q&A portion. The takeover is set to be a fantastic commemoration for the passing of Gender Recognition as well as a powerful reminder of further action needed to ensure full inclusivity. 

So let’s meet everyone who will be taking part:

Noah Halpin (He/Him)

Noah Halpin is a 29 year-old transgender man from North County Dublin. Noah is the founder of This Is Me – Transgender Healthcare Campaign, advocating for accessible, best practice, person centred healthcare for all transgender and non-binary people in Ireland. In 2019, Noah was appointed by then Minister for Health Simon Harris as a patient advocate and the ministerial appointee to the National Transgender Healthcare Steering Committee.

Noah is also an active member of ACT UP Dublin and is passionate about the improvement of sexual health services nationwide as well as ending the HIV crisis in Ireland. Noah provides Trans healthcare and sexual health education talks and trainings to schools, colleges, universities, corporates, clinics and HSE hospitals nationwide.

Sara R Phillips (She/Her)

Sara R Phillips is a Trans & Intersex activist working in Ireland. Sara has been involved with trans activism for over 25 years. She is currently in her third three-year term as Chair of the board of directors of Transgender Equality Network Ireland (TENI). She is the founder, researcher and archivist of the Irish Trans Archive. 

Sara was one of the lead negotiators of the Gender Recognition Act 2015 and served on the Governmental review of the act in 2018. Sara was honoured as Dublin LGBTQ Pride Grand Marshall 2018. In January 2020, she joined the International Trans Fund as a steering committee member.

Holly Shortall (She/Her)

Holly Shortall is originally from Dublin and living in the UK where she is the Marketing Manager for LGBTQI+ Charity, Manchester Pride. Before she emigrated she was heavily involved with ACT UP Dublin and has been a long time trans ally. Holly also won Ally of the Year award at the GALAS 2020.

Delroy Mpofu (He/Him)

Delroy Mpofu is a 29 year-old transman from Zimbabwe, passionate about social justice, a board member of TENI, volunteer at Outcomers Drogheda and an active member of Is Rainbow Muid – an LGBT+ support group for people seeking international protection in Ireland and refugees in Ireland. Delroy also lives in Direct Provision and actively fights for the end to this barbaric system.

Cearbhail Turraoin (They/Them)

Cearbhall Turraoin is the Vice Chair of TENI, having served on the board of directors since 2016. They are also a founding member of the Irish Trans Support Alliance and have served on the board of the Sex Workers Alliance Ireland since 2016. They have campaigned for marriage equality, gender recognition, and the rights of non-binary people. Cearbhall is non-binary and uses they/them pronouns.

Before GCN’s Instagram takeover by Noah Halpin for the fifth anniversary of Gender Recognition, you can also check out The Road to Recognition live stream over on Facebook by following this link, where activists, artists and campaigners share their memories from this historic moment.