From top: PSNI officers during last year’s Belfast Pride March; Belfast Pride founder P A Maglochlainn
‘Some Old Queen‘ writes:
Belfast was a surreal place in the eighties because security meant the city centre was closed at night and the only way in or out was through turnstiles.
On the far side of this eerily empty dark zone was ‘Carpenters’, the original safe space where down an alleyway and after being vetted through a peephole, gay people socialised.
‘Carpenters’ was a very different world for the likes of me, people happy with what they were, if only for a few hours.
The most bizarre scene I ever witnessed was in that club, of British soldiers pushing their way through a dance floor but in true form, people just kept dancing.
‘Carpenters’ did not have a permit to sell alcohol so you didn’t need a gaydar as you just followed those carrying off-licence bags. I am not sure if they ever applied, but the chances of the Northern Irish Gay Rights Association (NIGRA) getting a license in those days was zero anyways.
The first Belfast Pride arrived in 1991 and took the opposite route of now, onto Royal Avenue at City Hall then down towards the Art College.
For reasons known only to the RUC, they refused to clear a path so we were forced to walk through a crowd who were not gay friendly, and that is putting it mildly.
There was no stage or entertainment at the other end but the original trailblazer, P.A. MagLochlainn, stood up on a bench and shouted “see you next year”.
And he did, and every other year until his passing. You will see reference to the late P.A. in this year’s Belfast Pride, in the form of bishops on motorised scooters, his trademark in the latter years.
One important point to make and I know this from personal experience is that that Jeff Dudgeon, P.A. MagLochlainn and rest of NIGRA may have had their differences but they were resolutely non sectarian and that ethos has carried through to this very day.
LGBT+ communities worldwide are renowned for their diversity but there was an added dimension in NI. Some people had a very hard time back then, not just for being gay but also because they mixed with ‘the other side’.
Nowadays, while people may be active in the mainstream, there is a solid understanding that tribalism will never attract Belfast LGBT+ business and on an individual level it is slapped down pretty quick. That is the legacy of NIGRA.
The Rev. Ian Paisley’s career was largely based on the premise that the ROI was a Roman Catholic priest riddled state and for the most part he was right.
But, what he opposed is long gone and its replacement is now the yardstick by which NI is measured.
I won’t dwell on the offensive and hurtful comments made over the years but would someone from the DUP now stand up and explain how they are behaving any differently to the Roman Catholic Church of fifty years ago?
Please explain why your reactionary highhandedness takes precedence over other people’s right to marry. At the very least, make a public statement addressing your own LGBT+ members because as you know; they do exist. The clock is ticking, and it is most defiantly a countdown.
The amount of people demanding reform within NI is growing and LGBT+ is front centre. The number of advocates at Belfast Pride multiples each year, especially among those who have no fear of being mistaken as gay and, the amount of younger is now quite extraordinary.
Pride attracts large numbers of people into the city, generates a lot of much needed revenue and gives an optic into the real soul of Belfast that no tax funded tourist agency possibly could.
But, NI LGBT+ is still fighting for rights, still demanding to be heard, still second class citizens. The only part of UK and Ireland where gay people cannot be married is to the absolute shame of NI.
Sixty thousand people at Dublin Pride, can you beat that Belfast? I hope so, I really do.
Book now, trivago, airbnb, misterbnb, phone a friend, phone a stranger even. In your heart just make a decision in to be there, and you will.
The times they are a changin so come join us at this big smiley protest, be part of history, dress to express, wear comfortable shoes. We have strength in numbers, generosity of spirit and we have fierce unicorns…. they’re called drag queens.
Some Old Queen is a Broadsheet commenter.
Belfast Pride, August 4, starts 1pm Custom House Quay, Belfast .
A fine piece, SOQ. Love your postings always.
Nice Piece SOQ, Enjoyed that.
I sort of want to join NIGRA merely because of the daily misunderstandings the the name must cause…
Enjoyed that insightful piece,
I hope you have a brillent turn out and day,
Keep fighting the good fight and hopefully
” love will bring us together”
Great piece of social history, this. Thanks SOQ.
Great writing, more of this please.
Only in the dump that is NornIrn would someone have to say that the local gay rights movement was “resolutely non sectarian”
Yes, a dump. Specifically, where toxins of Irish history were dumped and closed in, to the benefit of Irish citizens in 26 Counties. Irish citizens in 6 Counties paid and are paying for that freedom for Irish citizens in the rest of the country. They were and are the price paid for the Irish state, for “Irish freedom”. The governance of their lives was largely handed over from Dublin Castle to the Orange Order. Enjoy your freedom from sectarian supremacist Alabama-type headbangers and let’s hope Irish citizens in those six counties are the only ones who have to get their hands dirty dealing with that dump. Probably best, then, to ensure that Irish citizens in that part of the country are NOT allowed vote for the Irish president. That might let some of the contamination from the dump spill over into the 26 county Irish state. “Not in my back yard” should be our guide. Keep the dump where it is.
What are you talking about?
When did Dublin Castle ‘hand over the governance of their lives’ to the Orange Order?
you any relation to jimmey?
You’ve obviously never been to dundalk.
brilliant, soq. well done and fair play etc
and a follow up on august 4 would be great
Yrs, please do!
Sorry, mistyped, that should read:
Yrs sincerely, plse do!
Lovely writing SOQ. Ah, those heady days when the lies we were fed started falling away in the face of
Finding that just ‘being’ and learning how to listen and speak. How to be truthful. This hound of Ulster will stand with you (obviously not in person for legal reasons) .. have a gig one..!!
well written.
Best of luck
Great little peek into the history of Pride in NI. Thanks SOQ! We want photos on August 4th, please!
+1
Very heartfelt and interesting. I had no idea, but like others have said a follow up piece would be great. Nicely done queenie :) x
Good piece but I take issue with this:
“The Rev. Ian Paisley’s career was largely based on the premise that the ROI was a Roman Catholic priest riddled state and for the most part he was right.”
That’s a grossly simplistic view of Ireland in decades past and just lazy generalising.
Er.. I think he was quite right.. btw, did you know his mum was a.. yes.. a RC..
That rankled with me for a moment, until I stopped to consider the gross generalisations and downright rubbish that people in the south routinely spout about the north without ever being contradicted.
That’s such an unfortunate acronym, NIGRA.
Nice piece SOQ, enjoy the parade.
Hello folks, sorry but I was very busy today so didn’t get time to answer. Thanks to BS for publishing and glad you enjoyed it. I wanted to write a sense of history, a serious political message and also a feel good factor which IMO is the three core components of Pride.
‘Priest riddled state’ was Ian Paisley’s words not mine but I rolled with it because the important part of the message was that ROI has moved on and so must NI. It has in some ways but not enough, not by a long shot.
I laid the anti sectarian credentials on thick because a community who stood together through the worst excesses of the troubles are still judged inferior. Ironic given that if everyone else had to have behaved like the LGBT+ community, NI would be very different place today.
Thanks.. I think it was much bigger than you think.. the whole world changed when a guy said I’m gay.. and his mate said, ok.. when we look back.. as we will .. the gay community in NI are the torchbearers of where we are (happily) going as a country ..!!
Just a colourful bump on this.
Belfast LGBT+ is the only community in NI where when someone is described as being in a mixed marriage, the meaning is entirely different. NI marching calendar is Green, Orange, then Pink and the latter most definitely includes members of both former. Although we don’t really march as nationalism is quite bitter, a bit like a few posters claiming to be trolls on broadsheet.ie.