Next week will be our tenth-week programming In and Out festival and we’re delighted to present a Pride special edition of In and Out. Thanks so much to all of you for the support of this festival across the past three months. It’s been a pleasure to educate, entertain and inform our LGBT+ community at this challenging time.

We have four fantastic events programmed for you all week long addressing some of the most timely and vital issues facing the LGBT+ communing in Ireland.

Monday, 745pm, LGBT+ Parents in Conversation

Kicking off our special Pride week edition of In and Out festival four LGBT+ parents, volunteers with Equality for Children speak about their own experiences raising children and why they became involved with the EFC campaign. Despite the passing of much-anticipated legislation earlier this year, many children of LGBT+ families still have no way to gain a legal connection to both parents. Equality for Children is fighting to change this.

Tuesday, 7 pm, Histories of LGBT+ Activism in Northern Ireland

Continuing our series of conversations for GCN’s Pride week In and Out, our host Dr Mary McAuliffe is joined by scholar and activist, Dr Richard O’Leary. During the conversation, they will cover the history of lesbian and gay activism since the 1970s in Northern Ireland, in particular how the LGBT communities lived and campaigned for their rights in what was, and to an extent remains a divided society. Dr Richard O’Leary is the Co-ordinator of the NI LGBT Heritage Project based at HEReNI in Belfast.

Wednesday, 7 30pm, LGBT+ People and the Direct Provision System 

Join Evgeny Shtorn for an evening of discussion and exploration of the racist Direct Provision system in Ireland today, how LGBT+ people experience the system and how the wider LGBT+ community can help and get involved to support LGBT+ people in need of international protection, to end state-sponsored racism which is the system of direct provision and to achieve real equality?

Thursday, 8 pm, Standing Proud in Irish Sport: Life as and Elite LGBT+ Athlete

Last but by no means least for our special Pride In and Out festival offering is presented in association with Sporting Pride Ireland and Dublin LGBTQ Pride as part of Dublin Digital Pride.

This special online webinar will be hosted by Anna Nolan, an experienced broadcaster (who has played basketball at a national level) who’ll be talking to Donal Óg Cusack, three-time All Ireland Hurling winner and the first elite Irish sportsman to come out as gay and Nikki Symmons, former hockey and cricket international and Ireland’s most capped team player in history. 

Our Health, Fitness & Wellbeing strand of In and Out Festival for June is being proudly supported by Life Style Sports. 

As a registered charity with a not-for-profit business model, the coming months will challenging but with your help, we’ll get through this together. If you like what we do here at GCN, you can support us by texting GCN to 50300 to donate €4 or by visiting our support page here. Text costs €4. GCN will receive a minimum of €3.25 per text. Service Provider: LIKECHARITY. Helpline: 076 6805278.

If you are an LGBT+ creative or ally and would like to be part of our In And Out Digital Festival of LGBT+ Creativity get in touch at [email protected]. If you would like to support Ireland’s LGBT+ press by sponsoring one or some of the events email [email protected].

Stay safe xx