Mayo Pride issue statement following far-right harassment

A Mayo bookshop which held a Drag Queen Story Hour for young readers as part of Mayo Pride celebrations in June received a slew of hateful messages from "right-wing fascist online groups".

The harassment proliferated significantly after its most recent story hour on Saturday, July 2, leading to homophobic protests outside the shop.

Tertulia co-owner Neil Paul told the Irish Times that a message via Telegram urged people to contact the store to complain about the event.

"Please contact this business to confirm that the parents of Ireland will NOT stand for this ongoing mental & sexual of Children anymore!" the Telegram message said.

Paul told the Irish Times that the shop received a deluge of calls soon after the message was posted, with one woman accusing him of "reading pornographic material to young children".

There were also emails and social media posts calling the owners disgusting and comparing them to child abusers.

“Men of Ireland, please go to this show in Mayo and stop it,” said another group, which was originally set up to oppose Covid-19 restrictions.

Originating in San Francisco in 2015, Drag Queen Story Hours are events for children where a drag performer reads stories. Kids at the bookshop are always accompanied by an adult, and are shown a more open-minded view of the gender binary and gender expression.

“We were prepared for some of it this year but it just seems there’s more out there now,” Tertulia co-owner Bríd Conroy said.

“What’s most disconcerting is they were posting pictures of our bookshop on their channels and asking people to come out against us. We’re a small business. They’re picking on us because they can.”

The alt-right protesters found themselves outnumbered by Pride attendees who had come to the shop to show their support for drag queen Aunt Annie, notably our June cover star Rory O'Neill (Dr Panti Bliss).

Mayo Pride in Tertulia! With Panti Bliss and friends #abookshoplikenoother #mayopride pic.twitter.com/xiVk0WGQs2

— TertuliaBooksWestport (@TertuliaBooks) July 2, 2022

One protester demanded to know if LGBTQ campaigner Panti Bliss had “Garda clearance” to be present.

“I’ve Garda clearance to tell you to go f*** yourself,” Mr O’Neill responded.

We’re inside having story time. The fascists are outside screaming at the LGBTI+ community and the local Gardai pic.twitter.com/dMe4PlfVJL

— Dr Panti Bliss-Cabrera (@PantiBliss) July 2, 2022

Mayo Pride as an organisation also responded to the homophobic counter-protest on Instagram.

"Our Drag Storytime was targeted by far-right protesters on Saturday. Mayo Pride and Tertulia Bookshop were informed earlier in the week about far-right online groups who were planning to disrupt the event. Both Mayo Pride and Tertulia were subjected to violent threats and harassment."

"At the event itself, protesters behaved abusively towards LGBTQ+ teenagers, with some left in tears."

"Mayo Pride does not receive commercial funding and is run completely by hard-working volunteers. The harassment we received was scary. It was intended to stop us promoting and building an inclusive society."

"Mayo Pride will not be intimidated. We will run a full schedule of events again next year. If you’d like to support us, please donate now and share to get the word out!"

Read the post in full below.

 

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