The Lock-In Episode 15: “Pride Isn’t Cancelled, We’re Just Bringing it Home”

Happy Pride! Episode 15 of The Lock-In Podcast welcomes Eddie McGuinness, head of events and funding at Dublin Pride. As Ireland continues to re-open, large gatherings of people are still prohibited. So Dublin Pride has planned instead for a virtual celebration of human rights.

Click on the player below to play the podcast audio (download: 18:20; 11MB; MP3), or scroll down to watch the video.

Pride is more than a parade or a festival, Eddie points out, with roots going back to the Stonewall Riots and the the 1960s. Indeed, it is not very long since homosexuality was illegal in Ireland and the killing of Declan Flynn in the 1980s was a pivotal event in the development of the gay rights movement in Ireland, in essence, the roots of today’s Pride.

Lockdown is challenging for everyone and the additional danger posed to victims of domestic abuse has been well noted. It also poses difficulties for people who may be at odds with family members over matters of sexual or gender identity. As Eddie explains, there is a high rate of suicide in the LGBT+ community and the current crisis is a call to all people to stand together in difficult times. 

“The journey of coming out is a hard journey. I am not afraid to say: I am a survivor of suicide, and I’ve always spoken loudly and proudly that I got through those times and I’m here to help others. Unfortunately there are lots around me; friends; instantly comes to mind a very good friend of mine, Sean, who was an amazing young transgender man, and he took his own life a couple of years ago, and that still haunts me. No matter who we are we still need to reach out to those around us; no matter if you are LGBT+ or not, you have to look after your mental health and, in this current crisis, this is what we have been trying to do”

To that end, he is proud that he and his neighbours in the Iveagh Trust flats have raised over €20,000 for suicide prevention and to provide PPE to Harold’s Cross Hospice in a series of Balcony Bingos (the next one is planned for August).

Dublin Pride 2020 will be a mainly virtual event, although the Mansion House and The George will host suitably socially distanced events, and a cast of stars are scheduled to appear from their own homes. A key event will be the Virtual Pride Parade and the public is invited to submit their own Pride parades for inclusion.

For further information, visit dublinpride.ie.

The Lock-In Podcast is published every Tuesday. Subscribe via GoLoud, Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Google Podcasts or RSS, or on video on YouTube.