Activists Reunited
On June 5, the IGRM (Irish Gay Rights Movement) met in a Dublin Pub for their 45 year anniversary reunion. Co-founder of the group, Clem Clancy, shared the story of their beginnings in 1974 and their battle for gay rights. Photo by Kieron Gillen.
Launched in 1974, the IGRM was created as non-party political grouping to further gay rights. At the time, as Clem says, “There were no gay rights. The aim of the group was decriminalisation.
“It was hard to be open [in 1974], there wasn’t too much flack, but obviously, we weren’t parading around in the early stages, as there was no such thing as Dublin Pride.
“Most of the founding members were holding down full-time jobs, therefore we had responsibilities because when we took on leases and tenancies and managed pubs and all of that, we had to have bank guarantees supporting our initiatives, in order to actually have a telephone, actually have an office desk. So we weren’t too public.”