Taoiseach Leo Varadkar Acknowledges Debt To LGBT Activists In Ireland

Dublin briefly became the centre of the LGBT universe today, with 30,000 people turning out in the capital, in what was the biggest ever Pride march in Ireland.

The march had a special resonance this year, coming in the wake of the recent election of Leo Varadkar as the first ever gay Taoiseach. Varadkar spoke at a rally held in Smithfield as part of the weekend celebrations.

“I have not changed things for you,” the Taoiseach told members of the LGBT community and their friends and sympathisers, who gathered in the square. “You have changed things for me.” It was a clear recognition, from a man who was very late to come out, that he owes a huge debt to the activists who fought for gay rights in Ireland, often against huge official resistance, and who were prepared over the years to risk opprobrium, at a time wen being gay was likely to be met with one form of discrimination or another.

The Taoiseach also committed to working towards full recognition of LGBT rights across the whole of Ireland. Currently, gays in Northern Ireland are not entitled to marry, making the six counties the only exception in either Ireland or the UK.

"I pledge as Taoiseach to use my office,” he said, "for as long as I hold it, to advance the cause of LGBT rights, to press for marriage equality across Ireland, to speak up for LGBT rights around the world where they are under attack, and to push for the implementation of the sexual health strategy here at home at a time when it is more important than ever.

"I don't think my election as Taoiseach actually made history, it just reflected it, reflected the enormous changes that had already occurred in our country.'

The CEO of BeLong, Monine Griffiths was the Grand Marshal. She sent a “Happy Pride” message out to the country this morning. “Together,” she said, "we will march in solidarity with LGBT and young people suffering at the hands of stigma and harassment they experience because of who they are, or who they love. We are working hard to create a safer, more supportive Ireland for our young people.”

It was a mixed day for LGBT rights activists worldwide, with the announcement that the Turkish Pride parade, planned for Istanbul, had been cancelled, because of so called “safety concerns.” The decision is seen as reflecting the hostile attitude towards gays engendered by the hard-line Islamic President, Recep Tayyip Ergodan.

"There will be no permission for a demonstration or a march on the said date considering the safety of tourists in the area... and public order,” the city governors office said in a statement.

Meanwhile, in contrast, an estimated 3 million people turned out in the Sao Paolo Pride march in Brazil. Homophobic violence is a major issue in Brazil, with an estimated 160 people having died this year in anti-LGBT violence.

"Our main enemies today," one of the organisers of the parade, Claudia Santos Garcia, said, "are the religious fundamentalists seeking to end the rights we already gained."

The parade was a rebuke to any and all religions that discriminate against gays. Which, of course, is what the message of Pride is about, all over the world: the importance of ending discrimination and stigmatisation. Long may this great movement flourish...