The community prize was shared by Rosaleen McDonagh and the Gay Traveller Support Group.  When it came time for the Gay group to come and collect their prize nobody in the room felt that they could come forward because they didn’t feel comfortable.   Rosaleen collected the award on their behalf, she and other Travellers and other lesbians and gay men working with Travellers have been supporting this group who this year marched in the Dublin and Galway Pride Parades.

I’ve been aware of the group for some time and the great difficulties that they experience both in the lgbt community/scene and in the Traveller community. As the gay man interviewed in the Irish Times piece says there are huge similarities between different groups and their lived experiences in Irish Society.

It struck me how similar the life of a disabled person is to the life of a Traveller. We both have to fight against prejudice and isolation.

As a lesbian with a disability I have known the difficulties in both the lgbt community and also the disability sector.  It’s a case of constant coming out or constant shutting up or being shut out.

Rosaleen said yesterday that there are 100 ways to be a Traveller and that is so true elsewhere – there are 100 ways to lesbian, gay, bisexual or transgendered.  Different ethnicities, social classes, abilities, sexual desires, relationships,  marital statuses, opinions and needs.  We’re a very diverse bunch and that diversity has to be recognised and celebrated.

There are great difficulties faced by lgbt Pavees in living their lives openly.   Retaining your Traveller identity while coming out is hard.  Coming out to family and friends and staying connected to those contacts is nearly impossible.

There are also huge challenges for Lesbian Travellers as they are even more invisible for many reasons including lack of access to money, freedom and safety to move and explore their lives and been seen to reject marriage and family obligations if they do not marry.

The recognition by Traveller culture of the diversity in their community will hopefully help the Gay Traveller Support Group to thrive in the coming years and for it’s members to overcome the racism and homophobia in both communities.  The LGBT community must also work on continuing to support the group and lgbt Travellers and other minorities in Irish society.

Congratulations to them and of course also to Rosaleen McDonagh for winning the overall prize for her work in pursuing a more inclusive community for Travellers.

On Saturday they registered http://www.davidnorris4president.com. It is presented as a positive site but a quick glance and a few clicks later it’s full of rubbish about homosexuality, HIV/AIDS and promiscuity. (I’m not linking to it directly – no need to feed their stats!)

There are also references to previous interviews David has given with no exact quotes and a dig at his birthplace in Congo.

Helpfully the website notes that

*Note: This website is not endorsed or produced by David Norris. Furthermore Campaign for Conscience does not endorse David Norris for President.

I’m sure there is more to come and that Senator Norris has his lawyers about. The possible candidacy is now being covered internationally on gay blogs in the USA and in The Guardian.

The Press release sent out at the end of the meeting says that the bishops are going to publish a leaflet on Marriage.

‘Why marriage matters’ – statement by the Bishops’ Conference on the Civil Partnership Bill

Bishops agreed to publish a leaflet ‘Marriage matters’ in support of marriage and family life.  This leaflet expresses concern about aspects of the Civil Partnership Bill, currently before the Oireachtas.  The leaflet summarises key elements of Catholic teaching on marriage between a man and woman.  It reiterates the importance of the family as the natural primary and fundamental unit of society and therefore deserving of special protection by the State.  It also highlights that other forms of relationships are not of the same nature and status as that of marriage as the basis of the family.

This information leaflet will be released as a statement, published by Veritas, made available in dioceses and on www.catholicbishops.ie.  Bishops encouraged everyone concerned to inform themselves and to read ‘Marriage Matters’.

Patsy McGarry reports in the Irish Times this evening

Bishop Jones also expressed grave concern about the Civil Partnership Bill at the press conference. He said the bishops had discussed taken a Constitutional action against the Bill should it become law. “As you know marriage and the family are enshrined in the Constitution and the State has an obligation to protect and promote marriage and family life,� he said.

“We are really very concerned that the Civil Partnership Bill is going to undermine marriage by conferring all the rights on same sex unions as marriage, equating same sex union to marriage itself,� he said.

Where the refusal of the Minister for Justice Dermot Ahern to allow an opt out clause for people who had conscience problems when it came to association or involvement with same sex ceremonies he said the bishops were “very worried about that. Very worried.

The people involved in the ceremonies beyond the couples are the registrars, Bishop. And they are simply being required to do their jobs.  And we know you don’t give a toss about this conscientious objection and just don’t want any rights given to ‘the gays’.

Of course they are late to the party here – the bishops intervention comes 8 months after the publication of the bill when it’s about to enter committee stage and supposedly long enough after the publication of the Murphy and Ryan reports for their graces to rear their heads.   It’s Civil Partnership but the church leaders are far from civil and of course siding with the extremists (yes they are!) who will be partying for days or at least trying to.  David Quinn’s phone calls giving out to them earlier this year have been productive! (Yes he did call them giving out loads that they were chickens not saying anything).

Update:  More from Patsy McGarry on the forthcoming episcopal (m) utterings  in Thursday’s Irish Times  including the line that Same Sex Unions are ‘incapable of realising the specific communion of persons that is marriage’.  Well if it’s their particular  communion that we can’t realise that’s fine so, that’s not what most same sex couples wish to ‘aspire to’.

It’s so long ago since there has been any public discourse in the Irish media on the matter.

The answer is yes – lesbians and gay men can openly serve in the defence forces, in fact there has been no preclusion but in 1993 when male homosexuality was decriminalised in Ireland there was a significant change to make sure that there was no discrimination in terms of policy. At the same time as equal age of consent was introduced the Irish Defence Forces calmly announced that they would be treating heterosexuals and homosexuals equally – no relationships between senior and junior officers. No harassment of gay officers and no asking questions about peoples sexuality was also confirmed by Ministers and Army chiefs.

From the Irish Independent May 1993

In a related development, the Chief of Staff of the Irish Defence Forces, Lieutenant General Noel Bergin, told the _Irish Independent_ on Tuesday that a report on the introduction of a code of conduct governing interpersonal relationships is being prepared. The decision to prepare a report follows a recent announcement by the Minister for Defence, Mr David Andrews, that military regulations would be modified to take account of any reform in the civil law on homosexuality. Mr Andrews is seen as a member of the liberal wing of the Fianna Fail party. Lt Gen Bergin pointed out that the Army does not ask potential recruits about their sexual orientation, and that they had few problems in the past in this area.

And a quote from the Dáil record in February 1993 from the then Minister for Defence David Andrews

51. Mr. Barry asked the Minister for Defence if there are regulations governing homosexuality for entrants to the Defence Forces; the current official position on the matter; if it is proposed to make any changes in the present regulations; and if he will make a statement on the matter.

Minister for Defence (Mr. Andrews): While the question of homosexuality is not specifically covered in Defence Force Regulations the provisions of section 169 of the Defence Act, 1954, provide that acts which are in breach of the criminal law of the State are also deemed to be offences against military law.

Information regarding sexual orientation is not sought from personnel wishing to enlist in the Defence Forces and it is not proposed to change this policy.

The Defence forces have a code on interpersonal relationships and guidelines in relation to discrimination – see Section 4 par 119.

I’m sure there is still discrimination faced by gay and lesbian members of the defence forces but the policy would indicate that there is no bar on lesbians and gay men working in this area. Other lgbt historians and folklorists may wish to add information to this post?

Maybe we could send current Minister for Defence Willie O’Dea to Washington to tell them all about it? It’s 17 years ago since the issue was dealt with here and 17 years since it was last debated in the Capitol Hill.

This morning while discussing Peter Robinson’s statement on his wife’s affair, Pat speculated that some aggrieved gay person was out to get Iris for her remarks on homosexuality and hence why the story was broken. Himself and Eamon Mallie then went on to talk about the hatred for Iris from gays and others. Cough, her own ire for us  didn’t get much of a look in. Lovely woman seemingly if very unpopular everywhere.

I’m still laughing here at the thoughts of a gay man being so conniving – you give the gays far too much credit Pat? And of course it’s a convenient air time filler while you and everyone else wait for the Spotlight programme to go ahead. It wasn’t a gay man that Iris was having an affair with, and allegedly getting people to give money to was it?

Update:

11.15 Pat returns to ‘the gays’ and Iris and interiews Samuel Marr about his documentary, Mise an tUafás, trying to interview Iris Robinson about her comments about homosexuality. Pat wonders if ‘the gays’ are ‘too touchy’ on the subject.

Tomorrow morning on Ocean FM in the North-West there will be a debate on Civil Partnership legislation between Izzy Kamikaze a ‘fearless’ local lesbian and Mary Doherty from  Renew, a fairly new organisation which was linked to the the Donegal Says No Campaign in the Lisbon Referendum. (You may remember the spat recently on Today with Pat Kenny’s Lisbon post mortem programme between the group and Jim McDaid TD.)

Renew was launched officially in May of this year and the launch was addressed by Most Rev Seamus Hegarty, Bishop of Derry, Dónal O’Sullivan-Latchford, Family and Media Association, Patrick McCrystal, Human Life International ,  Mary Doherty, Founder of RENEW. (Rumour has it Maman Poulet’s favourite columnist/not quite reactionary, David Quinn from the Iona Institute, was to be there too but I’m not sure if he made it!)

Mary Doherty is an interesting character having run for the Christian Solidarity Party in Donegal in the 2007 election. She is known locally for a number of campaigns including a picket outside a sex shop opened in Letterkenny.

Renew describes itself as a national group ‘valuing dignity and reviving morality’.  The campaign issues for the group include

The promotion and protection of marriage and family life

To influence government legislation which protects and supports family life

The teaching of sex education is primarily the role of the parent and must be taught in accordance with Catholic principles which always respects the child’s natural modesty

The protection of children against sexualisation by the media and the entertainment and commercial industries.

To end the commercialization of human sexuality and the objectification of women through the media, sex industries and on the internet

To lobby the government to strengthen the obscenity laws and to impose heavy sanctions for the breaking of those laws

The regulation of the media and advertising industry by an impartial body, independent of the industries concerned

The interview is due to take place at 9.10am tomorrow on Oceanfm (102.5fm locally and also available online).  If you feel inspired to take part you can text 083 3500 530 tel 0818 365 500 or email studio@oceanfm.ie

Back to this research which was a survey of over 1100 people using online non random methods. Funded by the European Commission and SIPTU it was conducted earlier this year and is launched tomorrow along with a report of a conference on Marriage Matters hosted by the NLGF in May.  The NLGF have stated that they are using this research to establish their mandate in influencing policy in national and international spheres – ooh a consultation!  To be followed by meetings around the country!  Good to see talking and listening to people is suddenly in vogue!

..the NLGF decided to consult with LGBT individuals and organisations nationwide, on what they consider to be the most important policy areas affecting them. The first stage of this was undertaking an online survey of the community. We were delighted to receive over 1100 responses to the survey, which makes it one of the largest consultation exercises ever undertaken with the LGBT community. The results of the survey form the basis of this report.
The next stage will be a number of meetings with people and organisations across the country to discuss the issues and plot the way forward. This will help us prioritise our future work, and inform us as to how we may best continue to support the LGBT community.

The Key Research Findings on the main issues concerning the LGBT community rank as follows

1. Equal Rights at Work

2. Personal Security

3. Marriage Equality

4. Support for younger LGBT people

5. Supporting people coming out

The Age and Gender split on the issues is very interesting and there is a strong emphasis in the report on the issues affecting people outside of Dublin and the difference between rural and urban respondents.

Marriage equality ranks highest for women under 35 and only 5th highest for women over 35. It does not rank at in the top five issues for Men over 35 and is third important for younger men.

It is to the Qualitative Data that the researchers are asked to turn to to drag up the Marriage Equality ranking.  Put simply respondents said more in open answers as a Burning Issue Priority on Marriage Equality issues than any other. So that makes it important again.  This blog’s resident sociologists can interpret this further if they wish! (Question 4a in the questionnaire and page 24 and 25 of the report)

Respect and dignity at work and safety in the streets coming higher than marriage in this research may serve as an important reminder to those recognised as commentators and consulted on LGBT issues.  But then again a few of them are busy talking up the LGBT community as confident actors in the economy.  Oops that was before the recession, I don’t know what the spin will be now.  Maybe the vulnerable and socially excluded drums will start beating soon enough as the money runs out.

It is interesting don’t you think that no other Catholic Church body was invited in to address the meeting or were they? Have Iona suddenly been elevated to Church mouthpiece? In the same way GLEN seem to be regarded as speaking on behalf of the LGB community? (Yes I know they say they don’t and many wish they wouldn’t but you get my drift).

So the ruse that Iona began with on Prime Time a while ago of protecting the parish hall committee a few weeks ago is continuing – this is where someone from Iona says that Civil Partnership legislation should contain a conscientious objection clause because before you know it Jack and Steve will be able to do the indecent thing in the local parish hall and the parish committee won’t be able to object due to equality legislation. In today’s Sunday Times we now have the photographer and the printer mentioned as needing protecting should they refuse to take the photos at a civil partnership or print the invites. Not a lot of mention of the registrars these days because maybe people feel registrars are public servants and should be doing their jobs in the same way nurses and Gardai are expected to serve?

Any organisation or individual who ‘discriminates’ in the provision of employment rights, such as pensions, or who ‘discriminates’ in the provision of goods and services against individuals in a civil partnership will very likely find themselves on the wrong side of the law,� it claims. Iona said policy-makers had a choice of treating belief in “traditional marriage� as a “prejudice�, or protecting that belief as “legitimate�.

Senator Ronan Mullen describes it as a ‘conscience opt out’. Conscience cop out more like.

We all know that Iona Institute would rather not have Civil Partnership legislation introduced at all. But the proposed bill is so basic and non offensive (except of course to a lot of lesbians and gay men) that there is little for them to complain about. So they come along and pretend they are worried about the people who may be paid to provide services at these events who may not wish to do so. I’m wondering why they didn’t mention florists? Or do you think that they realised that most florists would be only delighted? What about wedding planners? Caterers? Hairstylists? Okay I know I’m guilty of stereotyping but I’m just giving you some assistance in seeing through the pile of rubbish that is Iona’s latest ruse.

Back to that FF Parliamentary Party meeting – there were 25 TD’s and senators in attendance and there is allegedly some discord within the party on the bill. Not as much Discord as there is over the proposed Drink Driving legislation and nothing like the discord there should be over NAMA.

David Quinn says that the examples they are giving and case they are making “have happened overseas. This interpretation isn’t some kind of phantasm.�

Lovely new word there phantasm - orgasm of thought for rightwingers?

As a Catholic Priest openly mentions, sympathises and grieves with partner of Stephen Gately and is widely praised for it, the Iona Institute have to dig deeply to raise the ire of traditional catholics in Ireland against any legislation protecting same sex relationships. Sure the local GAA club is now not safe as a traditional area of marital protection since Donal Óg came out. (Ok I know I’m going too far there – my next post will be on the GAA and their role in closet keeping in Ireland. )

So do you think the TD’s were told by GLEN that lots of people are deeply unhappy with the legislation? And that many families are not protected by it?

A Glen delegation addressed the meeting separately. Kieran Rose of Glen described the meeting as “positive, open and friendly�.

He added: “All of the debate was totally reasonable.�

I’m sure it was.

She’ knows absolutely nothing about lesbian and gay life in this country or any country. Or indeed about ensuring that children’s rights are protected in same sex couple headed families.

And Rory. you’ve just got a whole new show out of this. I’ll be in the front row.

Today Channel 4 announce their shock jock ‘scoop’ factor for the alternative Christmas message and it’s a long long way from Quentin Crisp.

Adam Long emails me tonight with his thoughts…

Channel 4 has decided to invite Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad to deliver their alternative Christmas message. This decision is a complete disgrace and should be immediately reversed.

Under the leadership of this vile and obnoxious bigot, Iran has executed countless numbers of gay people in what they call a crackdown on immoral and unislamic behaviour. In 2005, pictures from Iran of two teenagers being hanged in a public square for being gay shocked the world. (Photo is upsetting).

This repugnant regime also actively denies the Holocaust and is a world leader  in propagating anti-semitism and hatred of Jewish people around the world. Meanwhile women are beaten and arrested by Ahmadinejad’s “morality” police if they dress “immodestly”. In Iran this means not adhering to strict Islamic dress codes by showing too much flesh.

Now Channel 4, a broadcaster who until now I held in high esteem for their progressive and enlightened news values, has decided to give a platform to this despot and by doing so are giving legitimacy to the human rights violations he is perpetrating against his own people and the hate he is trying to export around the world.

A diversity of views should be welcomed but surely Channel 4 could have achieved this by inviting someone on who does not persecute gay people or other groups in society. There are so many more worthy people who could have been given this honour instead of this hate-monger.

Unfortunately there is a view in certain left-wing circles that your enemy’s enemy is your friend. Some people who would consider themselves liberal and progressive (Channel 4 Journalists I’m sure) conveniently overlook things as homophobia and misogyny if the countries spouting such bile are, for example, anti-American or critical of Israel. For me being a liberal means respecting basic human rights and standing up against bigotry no matter where it comes from. Ahmadinejad along with the likes of Ratzinger is the very embodiment of such bigotry.

Please e-mail Channel 4 to urge them to reconsider their decision. If they go ahead with giving a platform to this homophobic despot it will be a smack in the face to every gay viewer of the station and reasonable people everywhere.

Do you think anyone else cares?