Panti wins People of the Year award

PANTI’S BLISS?Stephen Fry pictured embracing Rory O’Neill before presenting him with his award for his courage and defiance in fighting for freedom of expression and breaking down barriers to equality at the 40th Annual People of the Year Awards organised by Rehab and broadcast by RTÉ 1and held in the CityWest Hotel, Dublin. ?Pic. Robbie Reynolds

Panti wins People of the Year award


WHAT do two gardaí and a drag queen have in common? They were all among the winners of the 2014 People of the Year Awards on Friday night last.
Garda whistleblowers Maurice McCabe and John Wilson, along with Ballinrobe’s Rory O’Neill received awards at the annual ceremony in Dublin’s Citywest Hotel.
Rory accepted the award as his alter ego Panti Bliss from English comedian, actor and writer Stephen Fry. O’Neill was awarded a People of the Year Award for Panti Bliss’s courage and defiance in fighting for freedom of expression and breaking down barriers to equality.
Fry expressed his support for O’Neill throughout this year’s ‘Pantigate’ saga, which saw RTÉ award €85,000 in damages to six people, including journalist John Waters and members of the Iona Institute, over remarks made by O’Neill, during an interview on ‘The Saturday Night Show’.
After the interview, O’Neill delivered a passionate address at the Abbey Theatre, describing the reality of everyday life for some members of the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) community in Ireland. The controversy and subsequent speech sparked national and international public debate on the notion of tolerance and equality for all members of society.
O’Neill says he never set out to become an activist, but his alter ego Panti Bliss has now become a poster-girl for Ireland’s equality campaign. He attended the awards as Panti, accompanied by his mother, Fin, and sisters, Auveen, Clare and Edel.
The 40th annual ceremony was presented by GrΡinne Seoige and broadcast live on RTÉ One on Friday last.