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Limerick LGBTQ

Limerick LGBTQ has a thriving community working together and with other organisations to progress gay rights and culture in the city and county. The highlight of the year is the annual Limerick LGBTQ Pride festival. The Festival has grown from strength to strength. For Limerick LGBTQ who identify as Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender and even Queer, this is an amazing occasion as everyone walks with Pride up O’Connell Street accompanied by their loved ones, family and friends as the lovely people of Limerick cheer from the sidelines.

The History of Limerick LGBTQ Pride: 

After the decriminalisation of homosexuality in Ireland in 1993, the doors opened quite literally for LGBTQ individuals to celebrate who they were amongst like minded people, but it wasn’t until 2001 that the first Pride Events took place in our beautiful city of Limerick and from there we really haven’t looked back.

Beginning in 2001, the festival began humbly when community stalwarts Paddy Doyle and Nicole Dunphy organised the first festival of celebration with their events in both Cosmo and Yum Yum Niteclub. Every year since, the festival has grown into what we have come to enjoy today.

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Richard Lynch marching in Limericks first Pride Parade in 2007. Photo by Eamon Mc Carthy

Rainbow Support Services became involved in the festival organisation in 2002. This culminated in both the Pride festival and RSS participating among Limerick’s other cultural and sporting organisations in the 2003 St. Patrick’s Day Parade. By 2004, the festival continued upwards, closing off Cecil Street and hosting the first street-party of the festival. The festival opened with a live-music set by Benoit, while an impromptu Pride marched up O’Connell Street with six individuals and a pride flag.

In 2005 the festival continued on its journey of recognition and celebration organising alternative events from film nights to party nights. All of these led up to the establishment of the first women’s only night in 2006.

The festival began its now-annual Pride Parade in 2007 attracting crowds of several hundred people as we marched down O’Connell Street. This was the first year that Out In UL, the University of Limerick’s LGBT society took part and they put together the first float of the festival. The festival also recognised the International Day Against Homophobia as an important date in its off-season calendar.

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In 2008 Richard Lynch produced Limerick Pride 2008  Picture: Cormac Byrne.

We continued to expand the Limerick LGBT Festival in 2008 when it went mainstream and that was the year Richard Lynch produced the Festival and it made it a week long event. It was also the birth of ILoveLimerick.com as the Festival was called that year to make it an integrative and inclusive for all community groups regardless of their sexual orientation with music, art, theatre and culture. Alternative Miss Ireland Ms. Sheila Fitspatrick. Shelia along with her partner Madonna Lucia became the first Grand Marshals for the Parade and led us down O’Connell Street and back to Leamy House where we tea-danced with Myles Breen. The Parade also included delegations from the leading trade unions and LGBT campaign — Marriage Equality. This was also the first year that the national 300ft Pride Flag was unfurled down O’Connell Street and carried by those who marched. That night Leanne Moore performed to a packed out club at Prides first ‘Climax’ party at Dolans Warehouse.

2009 was another special landmark year as in conjunction with Limerick City Council; the bridges on the approach to the city raised the Pride flag over the river Shannon. On a more solemn note, the first Remembrance Service took place recognising those who have gone before and their contributions to the lives we now live.

In 2010 the festival continued its’ firsts receiving letters of support from Her Excellency President Mary McAleesse. Eurovision starlet Niamh Kavanagh took to the stage at Dolans and entertained the crowds with a fantastic show.

In 2011 we celebrated a Decade of Pride in Limerick and OUTinUL organised a ‘Love Diversity’ Mural on the Post Office Lane wall. In 2012, Pride won a Gala award for Best National Pride event.

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A sea of pink for Marriage Equality at the Limerick Pride Parade 2013. Richard pictured with Sheila Fitspatrick, Hugo Dahn, Miss Limerick Shauna Lindsay, Chole Heslin, the Limerick Rose and Madonna Lucia. Picture: Dolf Patijn.

In 2013 everyone wore pink in honour of Marriage Equality and it was amazing to see a sea of pink move up O Connell Street.

2014 was the first year the Pride flag was flown at the Limerick Garda station and this caused a little controversy in the national media.

In 2015, Ireland became the first country in the world to pass same sex marriage based on a public vote. The referendum marked a dramatic social shift in a traditionally Catholic country that only decriminalised homosexuality two decades ago. After one of the largest turnouts in a referendum there, 62 percent of voters said ‘Yes’. It is a social revolution and it’s very clear that this referendum is an affirmation of the views of young people.

In 2016, the theme of this year’s festival was #UnitedColoursofLimerick and the Parade was led by Broden Giambrone, the chief executive of Transgender Equality Network Ireland. Broden brought many friends from Dublin and after the Parade made an inspirational speech at PrideFest 2016, a showcase of local LGBT culture, held in a beautiful marquee on the grounds of the Hunt Museum.

In 2017, the focus of Limerick LGBTI Pride 2017 was the youth with inspirational young people taking pride of place in the celebrations. The Limerick LGBTI Pride 2017 Grand Marshals were the incredible young people who form the Youth Advisory Panel on the LGBTI Youth Strategy. This strategy is the first of its kind in the world focusing on the needs of LGBT young people in Ireland. The young people came from all over Ireland to represent the youth strategy team. Seven members of the group travelled to Limerick to take part in the LGBTI Pride Parade as Grand Marshals.

Limerick city turned into a sea of rainbow colors for the Limerick Pride Parade 2018. The theme for this year is “We are Pride”, celebrating the people who have worked tirelessly behind the scenes over the years to make Pride happen for Limerick.

All of the participants gathered at Limerick City Hall to get ready to walk with pride up O’Connell Street with Richard Lynch, founder of ilovelimerick and the Grand Marshall for the Limerick Pride Parade 2018 leading the way. 

Limerick Pride 2019 took place on Saturday, July 13, 2019 and was proved to be Limerick’s biggest Pride parade ever! Thousands of people of all ages lined the streets for Limerick’s most splendid and colourful day celebrating lesbian, gay bisexual and transgender culture. People travelled as far as the USA to celebrate this year’s Festival which marked the 50th anniversary of the Stonewall Riots in New York and the birth of the LGBT Pride movement. 

This year’s Grand Marshall was Moninne Griffith, Executive Director of BeLonG To Youth Services, a national organisation supporting lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and intersex (LGBTI+) young people in Ireland.

Limerick Pride 2020 was unfortunately unable to physically happen because of the Covid-19 pandemic, but instead, the festival went virtual and held online from Monday, July 6 until Sunday, July 12 with a virtual Parade taking place on Saturday, July 11 and was a huge success. The theme this year was #spiritofpride and the Grand Marshall was Senator David Norris.

Limerick Pride 2021 took place again virtually and theme for that year was ‘Different Families, Same Love’. The Pride festivities kicked off with Grand Marshall Ranae von Meding launching Pride with the Rainbow River Parade which saw over 80 swimmers from Limerick swimming group Limerick Narwhals taking to the river followed by over sailing boats, paddle boats and kayaks in a celebration of Pride on the River Shannon. #stillnotequal 

For Limerick Pride 2022, thousands of people were in Limerick on Saturday, July 9, as the first in-person Pride parade of the decade took place. The theme for the festival this year was ‘Pride is Culture’, with a diverse series of events planned for the week which really contributed to Limerick’s culture. The Pride parade of course was the highlight of the week and was an explosion of many different colours as part of one of the biggest LGBTQIA+ celebrations Limerick has ever seen. This year it was back with a bang as people young and old joined in the fun, with the parade led by Grand Marshall Sharon Slater, a well-known local historian and author. #prideisculturelimerick

For further information visit the Limerick Pride website here

Read more about Limerick YES Equality here

Read more about Limerick LGBT here