The Gay Pride festival is 40 years old this month. Ian Lambkin takes a look back at its ‘difficult teenage years’ and measures the challenges ahead
It’s 40 years since the first Gay Pride festival in Dublin but it wasn’t always as much fun as this year’s event will be. On June 27th 1974, a gay rights public demo was held outside the Department of Justice (Irish Gay Pride Day), when eight people protested about anti-gay laws. Despite its importance, it wasn’t until March 1979, with the establishment of Ireland’s first ever LGBT community centre, the Hirschfeld Centre, that the human and economic resources became available to mount a proper week of events: Gay Pride Week.
This was organised by the National Lesbian and Gay Federation (NLGF) in June of that year and the highlight of the event was the release of 2,000 pink balloons at St Stephen’s Green.
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