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Press release

Live Out Loud event celebrates Ireland’s LGBTI+ youth in culture, society and sport

A live-streamed celebration of the Government of Ireland’s Live Out Loud campaign was broadcast from the National Opera House in Wexford on Friday 25 June. Stephen Byrne hosted the event which featured a host of special guests including Irish rock band Pillow Queens, Minister Roderic O’Gorman and performances from LGBTI+ young people who creatively told their stories from such iconic locations as the National Library of Ireland, The Hugh Lane Gallery and the Gallery of Photography Ireland.

Live Out Loud was a national campaign that celebrated LGBTI+ young people to show how they are visible, valued and included in culture, society and sport. The campaign launched on International Coming Out Day, 11 October 2020 with an open call for creative submissions of stories clearly showing how young people and adults contribute positively to the LGBTI+ youth community.

Speaking at the event in the National Opera House Minister Roderic O’Gorman stated

“I was delighted to take part in the Live Out Loud event in Wexford Opera House. In recent years, giant strides have been made towards equality for all, and it is the young people who are the driving force behind that change. Friday’s event was a celebration of that, and of Ireland’s LGBTI+ youth. After what has been a difficult year for everyone, tonight shone a light on our LGBTI+ young people and the amazing contributions that they make to our society.”

Host Stephen Byrne remarked on stage about his own experiences growing up in the LGBTI+ Irish community as a young person saying

“This is a one of a kind event.. It's a monumental night.. Personally if I had had an event like this growing up, it would have done me the world of good… We’ve come so far as a country but we still have far to go”

Pillow Queens opened and closed the show and took the time to chat to Stephen Byrne about what their journeys looked like and how it shaped them as artists. Sarah Corcoran, bass guitarist and vocalist of Pillow Queens said

“We’re incredibly proud, we wanted to have a band like us to look up to when we were younger so it’s really nice that we can be that for certain people, pride identity is so important to us.”

Emotions were high throughout the night as brave LGBTI+ young people took part in the event telling their stories and sharing their journeys in different forms of art and media, specifically spoken word, poetry, interpretive dance and rap.

  • A female rap group all aged between 16 and 17 years of age and hailing from Terence MacSwiney Community College in Cork bounced onto the screen performing their original track called ‘Live Out Loud’ from the National Photographic Archive in Dublin.
  • A 23 year old biomedical engineer, Jack O’Reilly from Kildare wrote and delivered a powerful poem about living authentically as himself. Jack’s performance was recorded in the reading room of the National Library.
  • Ruairí Ó’Gobhann also had the opportunity to use the Reading Room of the National Library as his stage and travelled through the years using spoken word to showcase just how far we’ve come as a nation.
  • Jack Rua took to the stage of the National Opera House in Wexford performing his original track Vacuum.
  • LGBTI+ young people from Foróige showed the journey from start to finish of their Shine With Pride mural collaboration with SUBSET located on Camden Street Dublin 2.
  • PureGrand, a young singer songwriter from Dublin blazed the stage of the National Opera House with his song Pink which called on young people across Ireland to embrace themselves and to not try to just fit in.
  • LGBTI+ activist Marty Pawlak featured at the event, speaking from the Gallery of Photography Ireland. Marty, originally from Poland, spoke about life as an LGBTI+ person in Poland and the situation for many young LGBTI+ people internationally. When asked what Irish young LBGTI+ people can do to support internationally, Marty explained

“Following activists on social media and supporting them is so important. Just educate yourself because knowing more is helping. There’s always something you can do, even if you feel it’s not much.”

  • Sheilagh Noonan from Skerries Dublin, choreographed and performed her dance piece in the Sculpture Hall of the Hugh Lane Gallery with her friends. The interpretive dance told the story of how she courageously came out to her friends and how they accepted her for who she was.
  • Niamh Kelly and Eoin McMahon represented the LGBTI+ forum on the night. Speaking to Stephen, Niamh Kelly commented her personal journey

“Growing up I didn’t have many gay role models I could look up to so now to have this platform to implement change for LGBTI+ young people for generations.. I am that person that a ten year old me could aspire to be.”

  • When asked why the LGBTI+ Youth Forum is so important Eoin McMahon said,

“As LGBTI+ young people, our voices have always been viewed as invalid and disregarded, it’s so important now that we involve people who these policies will directly affect and that is exactly what is happening in the Youth Forum today.”

Live Out Loud is a youth-led action that has been developed by the LGBTI+ Youth forum. The Youth forum is a group of LGBTI+ young people, aged from 16 to 22 that support implementation of the LGBTI+ National Youth Strategy. The Youth Forum keeps young people at the heart of strategy implementation and gives them an opportunity to participate in decision-making on issues that affect them.

The LGBTI+ National Youth Strategy was published by the Government in 2018 and is the first of its kind in the world. The mission of the Strategy is that all LGBTI+ young people are visible, valued and included.

Live Out Loud: Celebrating LGBTI+ Youth full show will be featured on the RTÉ player in the near future.

ENDS