From amending the Incitement to Hatred Act in 1989 to protect gays and lesbians, to just this past week fighting for full equality for children of same-sex female couples, Labour has always been the party to strengthen LGBTQI+ rights.

This year is particularly special for us, as not only has Labour LGBT since become Labour LGBTQ+, but it also marks the 20th anniversary of our section. Our name change is indeed a reflection of this. Our section has never excluded any member of our LGBTQ+ community, but as times change, language changes too. Our updated name represents the various queer identities which are now more confidently asserting their voices, and we stand in solidarity with our non-binary, intersex, and other siblings of our rainbow family.

As such, we have been making great efforts to visit many of the smaller, more rural Pride events happening across the island. Dublin Pride drew crowds of 60,000 this year, which is phenomenal, but it takes much greater bravery to stand and march when there is a group of 60. Especially over the past year, there have been concerted efforts from reactionary forces across the globe to fight back against the progress that we have made in recent years. For this reason, attending local Pride events is essential, both to offer solidarity, but also to ensure safety for these smaller communities. So we encourage all our representatives and local members to seek out and attend their local Pride events over the coming months. We will be there, so we hope you will be too. Happy Pride.

James Kearney