A day long Pride Festival is to be held in Clonmel on Saturday August 26th. In the lead up the event the progressive LGBTQI+ flag is being raised at a number of venues across Clonmel.
The theme of this year’s Festival is “Standing Together, United and Proud”.
The organisers have something for everyone ranging from a Breakfast event at 10am to a late night Pride After Dark Show at O’Keefe’s (Hearn’s Hotel).
A Parade is scheduled at 1pm from Gordon Street Car park to the Kickham Plaza – an afternoon of family friendly entertainment is available until approximately 4.30pm.
The organisers say Pride events are an important way to allow allies to show support for the LGBTQI+ community. Despite progress in the area of Marriage Equality and a recognition of the wrong done to those convicted of under anti-gay legislation prior to 1993 there is a sense of an increase in homophobia and transphobia in Ireland with people fearing being attacked including the murders of two men in Sligo last year.
Gerard Sweetman, one of the organisers says as “much as Pride is a celebration it is also a Protest until members of the LGBTQI+ community can live their true lives without any hate or prejudice.”
