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Sat, 24 Jul, 2021 - 01:21

John Daly

The Cork LGBT community is diverse and fabulous.

It is a community made up of a diverse range of individuals, including activists, artists and athletes — all contributing to making the Cork LGBT community colourful, dynamic and vibrant.

Cork Queeros is a photography exhibition portraying a range of people engaged in various ways with the Cork LGBT community.

Cara Holmes is developing a feature documentary about the 40-year history of Lesbian Lines, a telephone helpline set up to help women who were questioning their sexuality.

“The Cork Queeros exhibition showcases photographs, self-selected by the participants, alongside biographical information about each person, showing their connection and contribution to the Cork LGBT community,” explains Queer archival activist Orla Egan, who has been actively involved in the Cork LGBT Community since the 1980s, and established the Cork LGBT Archive to preserve, share and display information in relation to the rich history of the community in Cork.

Clive Davis is an LGBT rights advocate and activist, and has been the Chairperson of the Cork LGBT+ Pride Festival since 2010.

Participants in the exhibition identify as Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Queer, GenderQueer, GenderFluid, Feminist and Dyke. The most senior was born in 1945, while the youngest participant was born in 1999.

The exhibition was developed by Orla, author of ‘Queer Republic of Cork’, and is supported by Cork Pride Festival and the Heritage Council of Ireland.

“The exhibition is about increasing the visibility of the Cork LGBT Community and giving us an opportunity to see ourselves, as Cork LGBT people, reflected in this exhibition,” said Orla.

Toni Burgess is a Cork lesbian activist, and was one of the first Irish lesbians to successfully fight to keep custody of her children after coming out as lesbian.

“It is particularly important to give young LGBT people, and those who may be exploring their sexuality or gender identity, an opportunity to be able to see the diversity and fabulousness of our Cork LGBT Community.”

The Heritage Council has funded the Cork LGBT Archive since their first application in 2016.

Virginia Teehan, CEO of The Heritage Council, said: “We feel it is important that archival material which provides an insight into the evolution of contemporary Ireland is preserved for future generations.

“We are especially delighted there has been such tangible results from the involvement of the Heritage Council. The efforts of all concerned provide a baseline which can be further built on in the future.”

Michael O’Donnell is a social activist, involved in a range of issues including disability activism, asylum seeking and student activism.

Photo expo in Cork City Library

Cork City Library is proud to support Pride, adds Patricia Looney, executive librarian, who said: “We hope to see many people coming to view the Cork Queeros Exhibition in the library, which is open to welcome all from across the city.”

Pádraig Rice is an LGBTQI+ community organiser and human rights activist based in Cork City.

The Cork Queeros project is a hugely important record of Cork's Queer Heroes and is a veritable who's who of the community over the past 40 years, comments Kery Mullaly, business development manager, Cork LGBT+ Pride Festival.

He said: “Cork Queeros acknowledges and celebrates the contribution of many high profile community figures and activists — but also importantly highlights the work of those not-so-familiar names that have effected such valuable work behind the scenes over the years for the betterment of our LGBT+ community in Cork, and beyond.

Valerie Mulcahy is a Cork gay Gaelic footballer and teacher. She is regarded as one of the greatest ladies footballers of all time.

“The Board of the Cork LGBT+ Pride Festival are delighted to be able to support this unique initiative through its 2021 Cork Pride Community Funding programme, and would like to thank Orla Egan, and all at the Cork LGBT Archive for their work in bringing the Cork Queeroes project to life.”

A digital exhibition is accessible on the Cork LGBT Digital Archive www.corklgbtarchive.com. The Cork Queeros Exhibition is on display in Cork City Library from Saturday, July 24, to Saturday, August 7, 2021.