Shirley’s Burn Book

Perfect Ten

As the year draws to a close we’re having a reflective moment in GCN towers. 2018 was a momentous year, for the country in general and an extra special one for us, as we marked our 30th year in publishing- three glorious decades of being the national LGBTQ+ press in Ireland. This is a milestone we would not have reached without you, dear readers! With that in mind, here are some of our GCN highlights

Finding Time For Yourself

PEOPLE OFTEN ASK ME WHAT IT’S LIKE TO BE A SAMESEX PARENT. WELL IT’S PRETTY MUCH THE SAME AS BEING A PARENT. ONLY THAT YOUR PARTNER IS OF THE SAME GENDER

Finding Your Community Online

HAVE NEVER REALLY BEEN A FAN OF THE WORD ‘BISEXUAL’. FROM A PURELY PHONETIC POINT OF VIEW IT DOESN’T ROLL OFF THE TONGUE. ‘BI’ NEVER WORKED FOR ME EITHER

ACT UP ACT NOW!

ACT UP Cork member and PLWHIV, Will Kennedy speaks about his disappointment with HIV treatment services in Cork. Photograph by Stephen Moloney

modern anthem013 Charting The Songs We Love So Well

In 2018, it’s hard to picture pop culture without RuPaul’s Drag Race. Queens from the show sell out venues, references are everywhere, judge Michelle Visage has even become an Irish TV star thanks to Ireland’s Got Talent. But before the advent of the massive reality show, RuPaul launched into the mainstream in November of 1992 thanks to the hit single ‘Supermodel (You Better Work)’

The Verdict

Although Christmas is her season, Mariah Carey is not content

THE BOOK GUY

What’s keeping Stephen Boylan up at night this month?

A COLD BRAZIL!

How did a far-right, pro-torture, dictatorship-praising populist become Brazil’s president-elect in 2018? Originally from Brazil but now living in Ireland, Guilherme Souza talks about the situation back home

Black Dog Days

With a recent report showing that over 47 percent of Irish LGBTQI+ people live with depression, Chris O’Donnell speaks about societal attitudes to our community’s mental health as well as their own experience in accessing services

As I live & breathe

Due to personal reasons Peter Dunne took an extended leave of absence from exercise. Here he talks about how Pilates turned things around

Please Hold...

Providing an essential community service since 1979, the Dublin Lesbian Line have been tireless in their support of those who need it. Peter Dunne speaks to the people behind the line that is not just for Dublin, and not just for lesbians

REELING IN THE YEARS: 20GAYTEEN

2018 has been a memorable year for the Irish LGBT+ community with GCN reporting on over 1,400 stories on our site alone. Here are just some of the milestones and highlights for Ireland’s LGBT+ community over the past 365 days

KNOW YOUR STATUS

The recent rollout of the HIV Self-Test Autotest VIH into pharmacies should be broadly welcomed, says Eugene Renehan

Seeking Sanctuary

It was 2013 when Carlos Velasquez arrived in Dublin from Venezuela, a country whose downward spiral now sees it on the brink of economic and social collapse. Here he speaks to Aoife Moriarty about being the target of both verbal and physical abuse. Photograph by Hazel Coonagh

WORD TO THE WISE

GCN was a fly on the wall as a new generation of trailblazers sat down with esteemed community leaders to share their experiences. Each of the amazing pairings spoke about their lives, how attitudes have changed from generation to generation and how they look after themselves when times are tough. Photographs by Hazel Coonagh

THE EARLY DAYS OF THE BATTLE

With the recent 30th anniversary of World AIDS Day highlighting just how long we have been dealing with HIV and AIDS, Peter Dunne speaks to clinical virologist, Marty St Clair about the moment she helped discover the medication which would give hope to a ravaged community

Community News

Following the launch of the LGBTI+ National Youth Strategy in

INSIDE OUT

Journalist, previous Irish Times Environmental Editor and scourge of corrupt property developers and cynical politicians, Frank McDonald has released his memoirs - Truly Frank. It tells the story of growing up in the Dublin of the 1950’s and ‘60s and how a young gay man navigated a scene forced underground