The SIPTU LGBTQ members’ network is marking LGBT History Month with discussions and a screening of the film ‘Did Anyone Notice Us? Gay Visibility in the Irish Media 1973-1993’ in Liberty Hall on Wednesday, 26th February. A public debate on media representations of the LBGT community will follow the screening in the Liberty Hall Theatre at 6.00 p.m. Speakers will include NUJ Irish Secretary, Seamus Dooley, Gay rights activist and drag queen performer, Rory O’Neill, Director of the Women’s Studies Centre, UCD School of Social Justice, Dr. Katherine O’Donnell and Irish Times journalist, Una Mullally. SIPTU LGBTQ members’ network activist, Rachel Mathews McKay, will chair the debate. Rachel Mathews McKay said: “The debate’s theme has been provoked by the recent controversy surrounding Rory O’Neill and the exposure of homophobic sentiment in the media. “The idea is to create a safe and equality driven space in which the issues raised by this controversy can be discussed. The aim will be to encourage LGBT people to play a greater role in public discourse on issues that directly affect our lives.” SIPTU Campaigns and Equality Organiser, Ethel Buckley, said: “According to the largest survey ever undertaken of gay people in Ireland conducted by the National Gay and Lesbian Federation, the number one concern of LGBT people was discrimination in the workplace. “This report, the publication of which was funded by SIPTU and the Equality Authority, clearly indicates why gay people should join unions to protect themselves from discrimination.” She added: “SIPTU regularly represents the interests of LGBT people, and increasingly transgender workers, in the workplace. We have an established track record in fighting discrimination in all its forms.”
SIPTU hosts major event in Liberty Hall to mark LGBT History Month
