I’d like to extend to you all the warmest of invitations, says Cork Pride’s Chairperson, Clive Davis

I’d like to extend you all the warmest of invitations to party with us at this year’s Cork Pride Festival!

Cork Pride has a well-deserved reputation as Ireland’s friendliest Pride Festival, and it also has an important public relations role in promoting positive images of the LGBT community, which encourages integration, inclusion and acceptance, not only amongst the wider community, but also within our own community.

Ironically, there can sometimes be an element of homophobia within our own LGBT community, and peer pressure, or maybe more accurately ‘queer pressure’ to conform to a perceived acceptable stereotype or tribe.

The Original Rebels

Our theme this year is ‘The Original Rebels’ – which will mean different things to different people, and is intentionally ambiguous. For some it will conjure images of LGBT trailblazers such as Senator David Norris who took on the State, helping successfully overturn Ireland’s archaic law criminalising “homosexual acts”.

For others it could be a figure like Dr Lydia Foy who will be their rebel of choice after her 20-year battle against the State to have her true gender recognised. We are honoured to have Dr. Lydia Foy Grand Marshal the 2016 Cork Pride Parade, which takes place at 2pm on Sunday the 31st of July.

We are also honoured that so many local, regional, national and international companies have engaged with us and supported the Cork Pride Festival this year. Without their support, there simply would be no Cork Pride Festival.

Largest Festival To Date

I would like to thank the dynamic committee of this year’s Cork Pride Festival. Each and every person on the committee brings something unique to the table each year, and volunteers their time and skills selflessly for the greater good and development of the Festival, and the community.

This year, the dynamic Cork Pride committee has programmed our largest, most diverse, and most ambitious festival to date, not only to retain and satisfy our loyal existing audience, but to attract new revellers.

We hope that you will engage with and attend as many events as possible. Our success is dependent on your support – this is your festival, so take ownership of it! Wishing you all a hugely enjoyable 2016 Cork Pride Festival – let the party begin!

Cork Pride runs from Sunday 24 July – Sunday 31 July, with the Pride Parade taking place at 1:30pm on Sunday 31 July. For details of other events next week pick up a copy of GCN or read GCN online or on iOS here.