Out In High Places

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brian

Brian Finnegan, editor of GCN [Gay Community News]

Further to Leo’s coming out.

Brian Finnegan writes:

…For a member of the cabinet to come out as gay  sends a huge message to the public. The message is that our leaders, the people who make decisions that affect our lives, are a more diverse group of people than we might imagine. Gay people are elected and appointed to positions of power too, and it has no effect on whether they can do their jobs properly or not.

For someone like High Court judge, Ms Justice Aileen Donnelly, who has acknowledged her female partner since her elevation to the High Court last July, and had her partner acknowledged by the powers that be, I think it’s about being true to yourself while doing the job you have been entrusted to do by society.

Such honesty can only be applauded, and celebrated. Such honesty shows how far we have come as a society in understanding diversity, how far we have travelled in learning to have compassion and respect for our fellow citizens.

I heard this morning about a 62 year-old man who came out to his family after listening to Minister Varadkar’s interview yesterday. I hope that such inspiration spreads. At this time in the history of our country, when the public are being given the serious responsibility to vote on whether certain people deserve to be treated equally under our laws or not, we need more and more gay and lesbian people to be visible, showing they are just like everyone else, that they have the same hopes and dreams, that they take the same social responsibilities, and hold the same commitment to a good, fair and working society, as heterosexual people. They just happen to be gay.

People In The Highest Echelons Of Ireland Are Out At Work (Brian Finnegan, Outmost.com)

(GCN)

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25 thoughts on “Out In High Places

  1. scottser

    blah, blah, fukn blah. can we not just judge him on the mediocre job he’s doing in health please?

    1. Sam

      Well, the point and the problem is that too many people won’t judge him on what he does – however boring it may be, it’s still a problem, although one that is thankfully diminishing to a loud, bitter minority.

      1. Steve

        I’m gonna rob this from an earlier commenter Mary Mary raises a fair point. From Leo’s twitter on Saturday

        122 on trolleys. 71 over 9hrs. 10 hospitals at 0. No sign of flu impact yet. Going to keep at it. Need sustained relentless focus.

        Sounds like the bloke is doing his best

        1. smoothlikemurphys

          “Sounds like the bloke is doing his best”

          This is exactly how I feel. Getting tired of the ‘rabble rabble eff the gubberment’ that gets spouted about on here and various other sites, it’s easy to lose sight of the fact that people like Leo really are doing their best, and it’s working.

          1. Kieran NYC

            And he’s gotten an extra half billion for the health service this year. Which is not nothing.

          2. Zuppy International

            Get out of it. Vlad (like all the other gits in the office before him) is there to preside over the destruction of the Irish health service, running it into the ground so his vulture cronies can sweep in after “privatisation’ (same MO as Irish Wasters).

            Is that what you mean by “it’s working”?

            He lied to boost the Blueshirts’ election prospects in 2011(“not one red cent”) and now he’s figuratively waving his (alleged) sexuality in our faces. It’s irrelevant, uncalled for and unnecessary.

          3. realPolithicks

            That’s a bunch of bull. This trolley disaster happens every year, he himself admitted that they knew it was coming. Why don’t they put measures in place to prevent this situation from happening instead of applying band aids while the crisis is in full swing.

        2. Jordofthejungle

          Exactly. He has been tweeting updates about the trolly issue since the crisis erupted. A crisis shared by the NHS which becomes acute each January. Even in the Miriam interview, he talked of hospital overcrowding. In fact the bulk of his interview was about his work.

  2. Micko

    Gotta love Leo

    Rocks in and does a brutal job in transport and now the heath service.

    Then drops the bomb that he’s gay

    BOOM – Untouchable!

    He’ll be taoiseach some day and he’ll have guilted us all into it :-)

      1. Micko

        Only coz there was some dodgy stories that came out about Norris while he was running. :-)

        If you remember at the start, David’s campaign was going REALLY well!

        I actually think that David Norris is a good politician and like Michael D deserved the office. Unlike Leo – who is terrible!

        1. Je Suis Frilly Keane

          Is that what Leo is at.
          Try and get himself another round of Government (say 3 elections on) to trap the pension
          Get the Arse
          (Spelling Fully intended)
          For two full terms

          Then feck off to Miami Springs or sum’ting

  3. Je Suis Frilly Keane

    Jay’s
    I’m beginning t’feel fierce left out around here

    In
    Out
    What’s it alllllll about Flufffffff ieeeee

    Is it time to move back to the bog sites

  4. PPads

    On a positive note, the fact that a politician’s ratings goes up when they come out is a sign of how far Ireland has changed but the cynic in me thinks he must have been very naive if he thought he could remain a ‘bachelor’ forever, especially as he didn’t seem to hide it in his personal life.

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