John Brady (Wicklow, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

This year marks the 50th anniversary of the founding of the Sexual Liberation Movement in Dublin in October 1973. This followed a meeting of a group of academics and activists in Trinity College to establish what was a short-lived but highly influential sexual liberation movement, which mobilised for systemic change on a range of issues. These included reproductive rights, access to contraception, better sexual healthcare and reform of the archaic British law that criminalised gay men. This year also marks the 40th anniversary of the death of Declan Flynn, who was murdered by four teenagers, in what was shockingly described by the media of the day as queer-bashing, in Fairview Park, Dublin. The four were later tried and handed suspended sentences by a judge who described them as having come from good homes. Following the murder of Declan Flynn, Dublin witnessed an historic march from Liberty Hall to Fairview Park in protest at the killing and the discrimination and violence against the LGBTI+ community in Ireland. It was a march against a culture of endemic violence against women and gay men. The march took place against a backdrop where a persecuted community was told that a gay man’s life had no value in the eyes of the law at that time, after the courts allowed persons convicted of a killing of an innocent man to walk free.

It is also marks the 40th anniversary of the first Pride march in the city, which took place in June 1983, a few months after the killing of Declan Flynn. This year tens of thousands will march in Dublin alone, to be joined by many others at marches across the country to celebrate the LGBTI+ community in Ireland. This coming Saturday, 24 June, marks the 30th anniversary since the State officially decriminalised consensual sexual activity between men, which came about following a ruling by the European Court of Human Rights that the draconian laws in Ireland contravened the European Convention on Human Rights. The Oireachtas introduced a law, which meant that it was no longer a crime to be gay in Ireland. It meant that the cruel and repressive Victorian British laws were consigned to history. It was the same cruel and vindictive colonial law under which Oscar Wilde was imprisoned. Its overturning marked the culmination of a 16-year battle led by Senator David Norris and others. It was another example of how social progress in the State was driven forward by the efforts of private citizens and activists in the 20th and 21st centuries, who dragged the State forward in their wake through their courage and tenacity.

The new law had the effect of setting in train a raft of progressive anti-discriminatory and equality legislation, including the Equal Status Act 2000 and, more recently, legislation for marriage equality and gender recognition. Sinn Féin once again calls on the Government to fulfil its commitment to disregard the convictions of those who were convicted of historical offences prior to the decriminalisation of consensual same-sex acts between men. Since the repeal took place in 1993, there has been a global movement towards the decriminalisation of consensual sexual activity between men. While the number of countries that continue to criminalise consensual same-sex acts has decreased from 113 countries in 1990 to 64 countries in 2023, courageous LGBTI+ activists continue to campaign against criminalisation and in pursuit of human rights at great personal risk. There are 11 countries where consensual same-sex acts between men carries the sentence of death. These are Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Afghanistan, Iran, Yemen, Somalia, the United Arab Emirates, Brunei, Nigeria, Mauritania and Pakistan. Recent research reveals that 87% of LGBTI+ young people have seen or experienced anti-LGBTI+ harassment online. We have increasingly seen this pattern of online hate translate to real-world violence against Ireland’s LGBTI+ community. An Garda Síochána has reported a 29% increase in hate crimes and hate-related incidents in Ireland. The figures show that targeting on the basis of sexual orientation was the second-highest recorded form of hate crime and hate-related incidents.

The Garda must receive the resources it requires to address this rising threat. The rise in hate crime and hate-related incidents is emblematic of the wider growth of hate and discrimination that is being fostered by extreme forces within the State, which deserves to be met with the strongest opposition from the whole of society.

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