Derry Man to lead Dublin's Pride parade

A Derry man will lead the Dublin Pride parade this Saturday, half a century after he co founded a group that organised the first ever Pride demonstration in Ireland.

Micheál Kerrigan, gay rights, civil rights and socialist activist will be at the front of the parade as Grand Marshal this Saturday, 24 June.

He will be joined by the four other surviving members of the Trinity College Dublin Sexual Liberation Movement.

Despite decades of fearless activism and writing plays seen by countless people, Micheál said he's terrified of taking on his role on Saturday.

“I'm mortified at the thought of being at the front of the parade but I'm going to do it. Not just for me but for the Bogside, where I'm from and where I live now and for Derry,” he said.

“I am a bit scared, daunted, but they've invited friends and family to join me so there's a bus coming from Derry on Saturday and they're going to give me a bit of support.

“[The role of Grand Marshal] sounds very grand but it's basically just being at the front of the parade. There will be five of us because 50 years ago, this October, we started the Gay Liberation Movement in Trinity College. So it's in recognition of that.”

The Gay Liberation Movement, officially the Sexual Liberation Movement (SLM) as Trinity barred them from using the word 'gay', was fighting for gay rights decades before homosexuality was legalised either side of the border.

Micheál co-founded the group on the back of his experience organising in Derry as a younger man.

“I left school at 15 but I went back to do night classes and I got a scholarship to Trinity in 1972, just after Bloody Sunday. I was on the march and my best friend Jim Wray was killed.

“Jim was always encouraging me to go back to classes and go back to school and, you know, do something. So I did but unfortunately he wasn't alive to see me get the scholarship to Trinity in '72.

“In '73 we decided we knew we had to form a gay rights society. Out of that we organised a march to the Department of Justice in St Stephen's Green. There were 10 of us on the march and that was the very, very first ever Pride demonstration on the island of Ireland.”

In the years since SLM held that march, attendance and participation in Pride events across Ireland has exploded.

“It's changed. I haven't been down here for years but there's a great buzz. The Dublin Pride Committee has these great new premises in the centre of town off-Grafton Street. It's called The Hub and it's the operation centre for Pride. It's open all year round with two full-time workers. It's a lovely space and it was packed, selling shirts and all sorts and there's a library.”

Micheál says the Dublin Pride Parade holds its own against any in the world and he loves seeing the great diversity in the capital but it's the parades in small towns are really touching.

“I was at the Buncrana parade. I thought it was terrific. All the families, everybody got involved and it was a real slap in the face to all the conservatives around there.”

SLM was a trailblazing group, organising a variety of events, including a 'symposium on homosexuality' and a gay disco.

“We had the very first gay disco in Ireland, in 21 Westland Row. Trinity had just acquired those premises and who was born there? Oscar Wilde. We couldn't believe it.

“[The gay disco] was very moving as you can imagine. It was supposed to be in the junior common room in the front square but they wouldn't let us have it for some reason so we caused a ruckus and they gave us these premises they had just acquired but there was no electricity,” Micheál said.

Despite the setback the group was determined to make it work.

“We all swung into action. There was a shop next door that gave us a cable that we could plug the record player into so at least we had music. We got brushes and cleaned and dusted all afternoon. We got candles.

“We got candelabra from somewhere that was closing down and lit the place by candlelight and the music came from next door.

“It was a great success. We just brought our own drink in and that's the story of the birth of the Gay Liberation Movement and how it took off,” he said.

Micheál's activism was outward-looking, not just focused exclusively on gay liberation. On one occasion he even helped organise an ambulance full of medical supplies for Gaza in Palestine, which left from Free Derry Corner with a group of volunteers.

“It was 1973. Homosexuality wasn't legalised until 1993. It was a long time. One of the things I got out of those [SLM] meetings is you can't sit around being gay all day long. It's very boring. You have to connect with other people, other organisations, other movements.

“For instance, we had a lot of discussions on feminism, on Palestinian rights and other issues.

“When I was marching for Free Derry I was well aware of what was happening around the world. I was well aware of the riots in Paris, the Prague Spring, the civil rights movement in America, the Stonewall riots in 1969. All these things influenced me. I was marching for all these things too,” he said.

The SLM founders were honoured by the current head of Trinity (Provost) at a gathering at the Provost's garden on Monday night. The setting brought back memories for Micheál.

“The last time I was there was a demonstration for a plaque to Oscar Wilde and I was taken out and taken down to Pearse Street Garda Station.

“The Garda Sergeant said to me 'what you need is a good feed of Guinness to knock those nancy boy shenanigans out of you and if I catch you in here again I'll take you up to Aughnacloy and drop you off at the border' – which wouldn't have been a very good thing in 1973 at the height of the Troubles.”

Micheál named one of his plays Nancy Boy Shenanigans after this interaction.

Dublin Pride will convert The Hub into a theatre on Thursday for a reading of Micheáls new play, which is still a work in progress. The reading will be performed by Andy Doherty from Derry whose performance is 'wonderful' according to Micheál.

Martin's other works include Pits and Perverts and his most recent play Beyond the Barricades, which focuses on 'who was free in Free Derry'. The Derry Playhouse performance of the play is available to stream online. It can be found by searching “derry playhouse beyond the barricades” or at www.youtube.com/watch?v=18oG4WVFfCw.