Gay in the 1980's

imme

I was watching a short movie, 10 minutes or so, on YouTube.

Gay In The 80's, is the title, it's a British film.

It was interesting to see.

The subject was talking about how Aids impacted on societies treatment of gay people.

I was too young to be overly aware of the situation in Ireland at the time.

Anyone got any Gay in the 80's in Ireland reflections.

lottpaul

It wasn't a great time to be gay in Ireland.
There was a small gay scene in Dublin and an even smaller one in Cork but you always felt under threat as you left a pub or disco and kept a wary eye out for anyone who might be waiting to bash a few people.
Cruising spots were seedy and dangerous but were often the only outlet some men felt they had to meet others. The murder of Declan Flynn terrified a lot of people and the subsequent investigation and trial was almost as bad. Gardai turned up at the homes and workplaces of some people as part of their enquiries and made it very clear why they were there etc. Happened to a friend of mine and he got so much verbal and physical aggression afterwards from some workmates that he left - went to England and never came back.
AIDS gave a licence to the right wing and bigots generally to turn on gay people - it was Gods punishment for sin etc. Meanwhile I watched one very good friend wither away and die in a matter of a few months. A "private" funeral was held by his family - they told people he had cancer - and it was made clear that his gay friends would not be welcome. It was truly horrible, too many stories of people being shunned and treated literally like lepers.
There was a lot of hatred around generally for anyone who did not conform to the norm that a certain segment of society deemed to be acceptable. Divorce had been voted down by a large margin and the pro life amendment accepted by a similar one.

But..... there were rays of light. Gay people began slowly to be more visible on mainstream media - tiny, baby steps but it was a start. I remember Channel 4 began to broadcast a gay magazine type programme once a week - it was ground breaking and another sign of potential change. People like David Norris and Mary Robinson to name just two were battling away in public for legal change. We owe them a debt.

Tig98

I wasnt even a twinkle in my father's eye then, but Im friendly with a lesbian in her late 40s through work. She said when she was in college the scene was absolutely thriving, there were lesbian bars in each major city and they would be swinging from the rafters full. One city would "host" each month and the others would have buses going down and it was always great craic and you'd meet great people. She said that decriminalisation was the end of all that, so was the phones/apps

igCorcaigh

Sorry for resurrecting a zombie, but...

Can anyone remember that Late Late episode back in the 80's, it was a soapbox type of debate, there was a gay rights guy, and the debate after.
I cannot find it on YouTube (searching Late Late and gay is obviously not helpful LOL!).

I have clear memories of it, and it had a big impact on me.

I'm sure it's in the archives somewhere, possibly not publicly available.

Ten of Swords

A quick google has thrown up a letter in the Irish Independent about an episode of the Late Late show in 1990 featuring Senator David Norris that appears to have caused huge controversy. This must have been during, or slightly after, his legal supreme court action to decriminalize homosexuality.

That it?

https://www.independent.ie/entertainment/television/tv-news/letters-to-the-gay-byrne-show-in-1990-reveal-a-country-opposed-to-discussion-of-homosexuality-never-mind-equality-31228650.html

garbeth

igCorcaigh wrote: »

Sorry for resurrecting a zombie, but...

Can anyone remember that Late Late episode back in the 80's, it was a soapbox type of debate, there was a gay rights guy, and the debate after.
I cannot find it on YouTube (searching Late Late and gay is obviously not helpful LOL!).

I have clear memories of it, and it had a big impact on me.

I'm sure it's in the archives somewhere, possibly not publicly available.

Hi igCorcaigh

The speech was on Dec 1st 1989 last quarter of the program

The man on the soapbox was called Don Donnelly who later went on to find GLEN Gay Lesbian Equality Network He spoke for 5 minutes on why the law should be changed and then the panel discussed. The panel had two against the reform and one for it. It’s where Gay answered a question from one of the anti reform people with “What about all the young men obsessed with woman’s front passages” when asked about that the law reform would lead to men being obsessed with other men’s back passages.

That speech now hangs in my bathroom and I married the man who made it

I’ll see if I can find it on YouTube and I’ll post a link

igCorcaigh

garbeth wrote: »

Hi igCorcaigh

The speech was on Dec 1st 1989 last quarter of the program

The man on the soapbox was called Don Donnelly who later went on to find GLEN Gay Lesbian Equality Network He spoke for 5 minutes on why the law should be changed and then the panel discussed. The panel had two against the reform and one for it. It’s where Gay answered a question from one of the anti reform people with “What about all the young men obsessed with woman’s front passages” when asked about that the law reform would lead to men being obsessed with other men’s back passages.

That speech now hangs in my bathroom and I married the man who made it

I’ll see if I can find it on YouTube and I’ll post a link

Yes, thank you! I still remember it well.

ongarboy

The front passages clip was on recently on RTE (I think it was a tribute show to Gay after his passing and was one of many clips to emphasize how great he was at always challenging the establishment). I have to admit it was a great comeback line!!