LINC, the beloved and necessary support organisation for lesbian and bisexual women, celebrates its 20th anniversary this year. Peter Dunne hears from some of the incredible women who set it up and keep it running and the community who treasure it.

One of a kind - that’s the phrase you could use to describe LINC. For almost 20 years the Cork jewel has been the only community development organisation working exclusively with lesbian and bisexual women in the Republic of Ireland. It is no exaggeration to say that thousands of women have been supported and assisted during that time, and thousands more have found friends, family, a safe space, a lifeline and a home.

Ask many queer women, and they will describe passionately how much it has meant to them. That passion and love for LINC (and the community it serves) is reflected back just as strongly by the women who founded it and the women there today who ensure there is always a welcome for a sister in need.

Siobhan O’Dowd, one of its founders, explained its origins: “There was a very definite sense of the need in 1998 for a space and place for LB women in Cork. There was a piece published in the Community Workers Co-Op magazine wondering why, given that there were so many community workers in the LGBT community, how come they weren’t using those skills within the community?”

From a small group of about 10, conversations began and so did meetings. As the numbers grew, those involved branched out into different pieces of work, then in 1999 a funding group was formed, which Siobhan was a part of. They applied for Millennium Funding and received enough to rent a premises, and the LINC (Lesbians In Cork) magazine started to be produced as well as the website. LINC immediately began to attract those it was intended for, providing open evenings, social evenings, the type of space that had never existed in the Republic before.