Advertisement

We need your help now

Support from readers like you keeps The Journal open.

You are visiting us because we have something you value. Independent, unbiased news that tells the truth. Advertising revenue goes some way to support our mission, but this year it has not been enough.

If you've seen value in our reporting, please contribute what you can, so we can continue to produce accurate and meaningful journalism. For everyone who needs it.

Dublin's Gay Pride Parade in 2010. Photocall Ireland

Beaten, robbed and left to die: One march that paved the way for the Dublin Pride parade

The parade is expected to attract huge crowds today but where did it all begin?

This article was originally published on 28 June 2014. 

DECLAN FLYNN WAS 31 years old when he was killed by a gang of four in Fairveiw Park in 1982.

The Aer Rianta worker was set upon by four youths in the park who were aged between 14 and 19 years old. He was kicked, beaten with sticks and robbed. Flynn was left on the path to die.

What was the motive behind the attack? He was gay.

His four attackers admitted during their trial they had been “queer bashing” in the park that day.

In March 1983, the four attackers were given suspended sentences between one and five years, sparking what is considered by some as the first large-scale demonstration in Dublin for gay rights.

fairview Fairview Park, Dublin. Google Maps Google Maps

Outrage

In outrage at the sentencing and in protest against violence against gay men and women in Ireland, the gay community, the unions and supporters marched from Dublin city centre to Dublin’s Fairview Park.

A newspaper from the time reported that seven hundred turned out to march.

While there had been small scale marches, this was the first time a group of people, not just from the gay community, gathered to demand equal rights for all.

“I knew Declan quite well. He was a lovely person, shy and kind. His tragic death really was a turning point. It was significant because it got the whole community out together. People were revolted by the sentencing. There was solidarity amongst people against what had happened to Declan. It really was an early manifestation of support for gay rights,” said Senator David Norris, who was pivotal, along with other people, in the decriminalisation of homosexuality in Ireland.

In 2013, a Dublin City Councillor proposed that the Fairview footbridge to be named the Declan Flynn Memorial Bridge in his honour.

While the matter was discussed by the council at the time, the matter didn’t proceed further.

The Fairview march in 1983 outstripped the Pride parade that was organised for later that year for many reasons, such as homosexuality still being a criminal offence at the time.

People who took part in the Fairview march walked alongside a large trade union presence, as well as those that were not from the gay community, meaning it was less identifiable for people to take part in.

The first pride parade was organised by the National Lesbian and Gay Federation for June 1983 and followed a route through the city centre of Dublin from St Stephen’s Green to the GPO on O’Connell Street.

The Fairview march and the Pride parade in 1983 were not the first gay rights demonstrations in Dublin. Although there had been no ‘pride’ marches in the capital, there had been marches protesting against the criminalisation of homosexuality.

“The movement really began in 1973/74. We were unaware of the Stonewall riots that had taken place in New York, so we were really acting independently,” said Norris.

I was at the first march. There was just seven of us. I held a banner that said ‘Homosexuals are horrendous’ – it caused quite a stir, practically causing the 46A bus go into the gates of Stephen’s Green.

He said that it was a big deal for people to openly take to the streets campaigning for gay rights as it was still illegal.

“One girl that was on the march walked up Dawson Street so she wouldn’t have to pass by her place of work on Grafton Street. It really was like that,” said Norris.

He recalled how they had a picket outside the Department of Justice.

One burly man pulled up in a truck with a carpet for the government department. ‘Jaysus, fucking queers’ he said when he saw us. Then the other fellow with him said, ‘I don’t care – a picket’s a picket.

Speaking to TheJournal.ie, Brian Finnegan, editor of Gay Community News (GCN) said that march should be remembered. “So few people were out of the closet at that stage so it was hard to fight the fight back then,” he said.

March 

“The march for Declan Flynn took place 10 years later and it was huge. People, not just from the gay community, marched against how the police and courts had handled the case,” said Finnegan.

Following the 1983 Pride parade, the attendance at the marches dwindled, with just handfuls showing up.

Ireland in the 1980s was going through a lot of difficulties, it wasn’t really until the 1993 march that there was an explosion in popularity.”

In 1993, the Victorian laws criminalising sexual acts between men were removed from Ireland’s statute book.

Finnegan said the decriminalisation of homosexuality was a fundamental shift for the Pride parade.

GAY PRIDE DEMO SEXUALITY DRESSING UP Scenes from 1993 Gay Pride March. Photocall Ireland Photocall Ireland

“I was there at the Pride March in 1993 and I had attended the one the previous year. There was something very different about the 1993 march. It was a celebration,” said Finnegan.

“It really exploded that year. It was around that time that Ireland was changing too. We had new money, we were doing well. We had a self-confidence about ourselves.Pride had always been about a right of passage, but it was also about fighting for gay rights. In 1993, it truly felt like Pride was all about a rite of passage for gay people.

Before that, it always was that too, but it was taken in trepidation. In 1993, there was no fear of that.”

While he said that it is about a statement of visibility, in 1993, Finnegan said that the gay community were there in huge numbers saying “we absolutely deserve equality. No one is going to make us feel bad about ourselves”.

GAY PRIDE DEMO SEXUALITY DRESSING UP

After 1993,  Finnegan said there was a fall off again in the numbers attending, but in recent years, there has been a resurgence in the parade’s popularity.

“Pride has evolved with Dublin city and with Ireland,” said Finnegan.

The Pride parade is about being proud of who you are, said Norris, who added that it is not all about the Mardi Gras element that is so often portrayed in the media.

“I have a problem with the way the media interpret the parade every year. They only show the ‘plastic tits, no knickers’ style photos. That is a part of the parade but it is only an element of it,” said Norris, who said coverage of the huge delegation of police forces from around the world that marched last year, in uniform, was not given enough coverage.

Dublin Gay Pride Parades Dutch transgender policewoman Willemijn Ahlers (with flag) leads members of the European Gay Police Association march in this year's LGBT Pride Parade in 2012. Laura Hutton / Photocall Ireland Laura Hutton / Photocall Ireland / Photocall Ireland

Dublin Gay Pride Parades Laura Hutton / Photocall Ireland Laura Hutton / Photocall Ireland / Photocall Ireland

“The Mardi Gras images are always splashed across the newspapers and they are great fun, but there are people there that are deeply serious too. I am not in anyway saying that these people are not serious too – just look at the likes of Panti who is glamorous, politically on point and witty too. I just think the flamboyance can sometimes make people dismissive of the event,” said Norris.

While Finnegan said a lot has changed for the gay community over a relatively short period of time, the message of Pride is still the same. “It is still a rite of passage,” he said.

“It is great to see 17 year olds there celebrating their passage to adulthood and sexual orientation. Not only that, but to see a whole community embrace that and welcome them – that is a huge part about what it is about now. It is wonderful to see that,” said Finnegan.

Norris said that young people don’t need to be as afraid as they were in the past, but said “queer bashing” still happens today.

Finnegan recalled one of his first Pride parades where a woman spat in his face and said “God hates you”.

GAY PRIDE DEMOS PARADES SEXUALITY DRESSING UP RELIGION IN IRELAND A man shows a bible during the Gay Pride Parade. Gareth Chaney / Photocall Ireland! Gareth Chaney / Photocall Ireland! / Photocall Ireland!

“No matter how permissive society gets, gay people are still marginalised. People are still called gay in derogatory fashion, still called faggot – but the Pride parade is not about that – it is about a loving thing,” said Finnegan.

“After that woman spat in my face and told me God hated me I said, ‘well, I love you’. This march is not about hate, it is not a thing of anger, it is a love thing. It is about loving yourself,” he concluded.

Gay Pride Parades Gay Pride March in Dublin in 2011. Leon Farrell / Photocall Ireland Leon Farrell / Photocall Ireland / Photocall Ireland

Column: ‘Coming out’ as gay meant that, at 54, I could finally be myself>

 Column: Two years on – how civil partnership helped change Irish attitudes>

Readers like you are keeping these stories free for everyone...
A mix of advertising and supporting contributions helps keep paywalls away from valuable information like this article. Over 5,000 readers like you have already stepped up and support us with a monthly payment or a once-off donation.

Close
75 Comments
    Install the app to use these features.
    Mute Laura Maguire
    Favourite Laura Maguire
    Report
    Apr 1st 2022, 1:12 PM

    What a tool. Sentence should be increased for the audacity to appeal avd wasting the courts time.

    985
    Install the app to use these features.
    Mute FiannaFáilness FineGaelness
    Favourite FiannaFáilness FineGaelness
    Report
    Apr 1st 2022, 1:27 PM

    @Laura Maguire: Absolutely agree, except tool isn’t a strong enough term for him. But yes I understand TheJournal won’t allow stronger terms be used.

    317
    Install the app to use these features.
    Mute Stephen Murphy
    Favourite Stephen Murphy
    Report
    Apr 1st 2022, 2:05 PM

    @FiannaFáilness FineGaelness: and you will be blocked. Next the journal is going to say that he is a good father and son and a law abiding citizen with 300 convections.

    137
    Install the app to use these features.
    Mute Mick Murphy
    Favourite Mick Murphy
    Report
    Apr 1st 2022, 1:14 PM

    Has a cheek even appealing the “severity” of the sentence. Could have been double that and still not excessive imo

    470
    Install the app to use these features.
    Mute Derek Moean
    Favourite Derek Moean
    Report
    Apr 1st 2022, 1:31 PM

    Should have been given 3 life sentences. For murder

    444
    Install the app to use these features.
    Mute john smith iv
    Favourite john smith iv
    Report
    Apr 1st 2022, 1:52 PM

    So who advised him that he had a chance on appeal here?

    181
    Install the app to use these features.
    Mute David F. Dwyer
    Favourite David F. Dwyer
    Report
    Apr 1st 2022, 8:06 PM

    @john smith iv: A lawyer who saw a nice fat brief for something that was doomed anyway.

    38
    Install the app to use these features.
    Mute Richard Ahern
    Favourite Richard Ahern
    Report
    Apr 1st 2022, 1:36 PM

    That’s our “justice” system for you!; costly, inefficient, out of touch with reality, mystifying, encouraging thugs/thieves to continue with their life of crime until they hit crime number 140 or 180. Ineffective & pointless in the extreme.

    227
    Install the app to use these features.
    Mute Antaine O'Labhradha
    Favourite Antaine O'Labhradha
    Report
    Apr 1st 2022, 3:30 PM

    @Richard Ahern: It is impossible to have a fully efficient justice system in any jurisdiction due to the nature of the human animal. Punitive action by the state against criminals doesn’t ‘reform’ criminals. It makes them hate the state and society more. It’s always been that way and likely always will. It is impossible to have a crime free society. Always was and always will be. The justice system can only punish transgressors. It is not capable of bringing about the personal change necessary to reform these transgressors. I would say that in the majority of cases, such reform isn’t possible and will not occur. I think a lot of law pays too much attention to the rights of defendants and too scant attention to the rights of victims and an more equitable balance needs to be struck thereabout. Criminality is an integral part of any and all societies that pivot around the acquisition of wealth and are primed by the unequal distribution of wealth. There will never be any country with a perfect justice system, as there will never be a crime-free society in any country of the world. A lot of crime is committed by corporations and businesses, so crime is interwoven into the fabric of our societies. If we wish to reduce crimes, we need to legislate for all of them. For example, why are cars made that can travel in excess of 150 kph? How is that safe, or necessary, on public roads?

    39
    Install the app to use these features.
    Mute Richard Ahern
    Favourite Richard Ahern
    Report
    Apr 1st 2022, 5:02 PM

    @Antaine O’Labhradha: Antaine, thanks for your detailed, well thought-out, comments. However, as you mentioned, the thugs have far too much lenience & money thrown at them and the damaged victim is entitled to f. all. As I said earlier, the system is inefficient, useless, expensive and to hell with the victims.

    34
    See 2 more replies ▾
    Install the app to use these features.
    Mute sean o'dhubhghaill
    Favourite sean o'dhubhghaill
    Report
    Apr 1st 2022, 5:21 PM

    @Richard Ahern: If it is as you say surely his appeal would have been granted?

    3
    Install the app to use these features.
    Mute Jason Walsh
    Favourite Jason Walsh
    Report
    Apr 1st 2022, 7:04 PM

    @Antaine O’Labhradha: high enough consequences will deter most folk, if consequences are low as it is now it’s deterring no one

    6
    Install the app to use these features.
    Mute Gordon Larney
    Favourite Gordon Larney
    Report
    Apr 1st 2022, 1:39 PM

    The level of trust we put in others when we get into a car and drive on the roads is massive. The Rules of the road is what this trust is based on. When someone completely ignores them and drives at totally ridiculous speeds in a reckless manner whilst recording them (to show how “mad” he is in his super cool car to his friends) then disaster can and did happen. Three people are dead because of his attempt to show off. A lifetime ban from driving and a minimum sentence of 20yrs should have been his punishment. The idi0t got off lightly and he still isn’t happy with that….

    241
    Install the app to use these features.
    Mute Antaine O'Labhradha
    Favourite Antaine O'Labhradha
    Report
    Apr 1st 2022, 2:46 PM

    I think anyone who kills someone while driving while doing something they shouldn’t be [drinking, being over the limit, being on drugs, no insurance or no licence or tax, excessive speed, texting or using a mobile phone, whatever it is] should automatically get 25 years minimum, no remission or parole. The relatives of the deceased get a life sentence. So should the person[s] who caused the death of an innocent road user/pedestrian. Driving under the influence or in an illegal or dangerous manner should be regarded as intent, since ALL drivers know the rules of the road, whether they keep to them or not.

    94
    Install the app to use these features.
    Mute Shane Terry
    Favourite Shane Terry
    Report
    Apr 1st 2022, 3:06 PM

    @Antaine O’Labhradha: 25 years minimum for No Tax ? Do you work for Revenue.? or the Green Party? Or are you just a keen cyclist ?

    46
    Install the app to use these features.
    Mute OnlyHereForTheComments
    Favourite OnlyHereForTheComments
    Report
    Apr 1st 2022, 3:09 PM

    @Shane Terry: I admire the absolute olympic-standard leap that you’re making to shoehorn a negative comment about cyclists into a story about a car driver that killed three people.

    49
    See 2 more replies ▾
    Install the app to use these features.
    Mute Tom Halpin
    Favourite Tom Halpin
    Report
    Apr 1st 2022, 4:01 PM

    @OnlyHereForTheComments:
    25 years for o taxand you have the gall to criticise someoneelsefortheirreply

    8
    Install the app to use these features.
    Mute sean o'dhubhghaill
    Favourite sean o'dhubhghaill
    Report
    Apr 1st 2022, 5:24 PM

    @Tom Halpin: It actually says “25 years if you kill somebody while driving with no tax”, not 25 years for not having tax.

    23
    Install the app to use these features.
    Mute E.J. Murray
    Favourite E.J. Murray
    Report
    Apr 1st 2022, 1:58 PM

    He has some neck on him if he thinks the sentence is too harsh, the accident must have given his brain a severe rattling.

    155
    Install the app to use these features.
    Mute Seán Ó Briain
    Favourite Seán Ó Briain
    Report
    Apr 1st 2022, 4:20 PM

    The audacity of him to ask for a reduced sentence. The sentence wasn’t long enough.

    46
    Install the app to use these features.
    Mute Keth Warsaw
    Favourite Keth Warsaw
    Report
    Apr 1st 2022, 5:33 PM

    Tell me the 20 years driving ban starts when he comes out? Please tell me.

    29
    Install the app to use these features.
    Mute Marty Quish
    Favourite Marty Quish
    Report
    Apr 1st 2022, 3:32 PM

    What an absolute C yoU Next Thursday.

    34
    Install the app to use these features.
    Mute Rostyballs78
    Favourite Rostyballs78
    Report
    Apr 1st 2022, 5:40 PM

    Neck on him like a jockeys bollix and a huge show of disrespect to the families of the victims.

    25
    Install the app to use these features.
    Mute Alan Rothwell
    Favourite Alan Rothwell
    Report
    Apr 1st 2022, 6:15 PM

    Why wouldn’t he appeal?! There needs to be a punishment for a BS appeal. Everyone will appeal because they know that the sentence won’t be increased, which it should if your appeal fails.

    21
    Install the app to use these features.
    Mute J Flood
    Favourite J Flood
    Report
    Apr 1st 2022, 9:07 PM

    9 years, a joke. Insult to the families.

    17
    Install the app to use these features.
    Mute Jason Walsh
    Favourite Jason Walsh
    Report
    Apr 1st 2022, 7:02 PM

    Will this chap have a life time driving ban when he eventually gets out. He shouldn’t touch the steering wheel of a car again even if he claims it’ll impact him working. He should be struggling to make ends meet everyday after his release, living on the breadline might teach him so humility he’s clearly lacking.

    14
Submit a report
Please help us understand how this comment violates our community guidelines.
Thank you for the feedback
Your feedback has been sent to our team for review.
JournalTv
News in 60 seconds