Well, it’s been quite the lesbian weekend. Here we give a wee snapshot: Team Ireland at the Gay Games 2010 in Köln (aka Cologne); Clare Balding smacks down the Sunday Times; Darlene from Roseanne (finally) comes out. What else are we missing?!

Well, can you Adam-and-Steve it, folks, it’s been thirteen whole days since the last Gaelick news round-up? So, what has been happening in that intervening period? Lesbian LOLs? Sapphic surprises? Dishing the dykey dirt? Read on!

Skipping between his views of “morals,” the Irish constitution, and “democracy,” Fr Vincent Twomey’s argument against the Civil Partnership Bill is wide-ranging, but struggles to stand up to scrutiny

You would think that the Roman Catholic hierarchy in Ireland has better things to do than continue wittering on about gay rights issues. But no. Their strategy – as it is for the Vatican downwards – continues to be to try to distract from their child abuse issues by attacking equal rights issues: the gays (and women’s control over our own bodies).

On Friday, Reuters reported that a number of countries in the United Nations have tried to block the IGLHRC’s status as an accredited organisation at the UN. Accreditation allows organisations to make representations to the UN on human rights issues within their expertise.

If you cast your minds back to the weekend – past the hungover fugue, past the Saturday night binge, keep going.. there! You may remember my wee post flagging IDAHO, the International Day Against Homophobia and Transphobia, which takes place this week.

Guess what, kids? Monday, 17th May, is International Day Against Homophobia and Transphobia, aka IDAHO. And this year, to mark this important day, a Great Global Kiss-In is taking place. Plus, in Ireland, Changing Attitude is organising services open to all.

Last Thursday night, friend and I went along to see the Wild Oats Productions performance of The Laramie Project as part of the 7th International Dublin Gay Theatre Festival (IDGTF). The Laramie Project is a play documenting the murder of Matthew Shepard in October 1998.

I was at lunch in the canteen with my workmates to whom I am out and open. They are all grand and couldn’t give a monkey’s, just as it should be. However, there were three people sitting at the same long table, chatting away to each other about gays.

Next month, from 9th-18th April, sees Stand Up! LGBT Awareness Week by BeLonG To, the organisation that supports lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender young people in Ireland. The Week aims to tackle homophobic bullying and encourage support from our straight friends and peers.

A week before ‘International Day Against Homophobia in Football’ sees the FA having to rethink their anti homophobia video due to the league’s star players snubbing the venture.
It’s more than disheartening to see the FA’s efforts at ending homophobia stilted by the players themselves.

From many quarters the accusation has been made that the story about Iris Robinson was the result of a “witch hunt” perpetrated by gay activists on account of the MP’s  vile views against homosexuals. Despite the BBC’s Spotlight programme making it plain that the story came from her former advisor, Selwyn Black, and her [...]

Unless you’ve been under a rock (or several feet of snow) during the past week, you will be aware that Iris Robinson has been caught in a big, giant, public tangle of scandalous revelations woven by none other than herself. And I find the whole thing delicious!

You may or may not have yet heard about the BBC poll earlier this week, which asked the question, “Should homosexuals face execution?” No doubt as a result of worldwide outrage at the question, the Beeb has, of course, since quietly changed the title to “Should Uganda debate gay execution?” That’s significantly different, but [...]

I’m hoping that you can help me out. Recently, my partner and I had one of those incidents where you think to yourself “is that because I’m gay?”. Here goes… We arrived at the Bull & Castle, a place we go to regularly, in Dublin’s Christchurch. We had a drink upstairs while waiting for a table and for our other friends to arrive. They came, we gabbed away and the four of us went down to our table. All good in the hood.

People in Mersyside attended a candlelit vigil in thier hundred to show support to a 22 year old trainee police officer who was brutally attacked by up to twenty young people on Sunday, Oct 25th.

It’s wonderful to see events like this so well supported and hopefully it will make the point that this kind of thing can not be tolerated by anyone.

For those of you who may have been living in a yurt in Outer Mongolia recently, you may not have been aware of the odious example of verbal diarrhoea penned by one Jan Moir of the Daily Fail newspaper. Identifying homophobic language for what it is is hugely important, as it’s just one point on a spectrum of hate.