Rainbows ripple for Pride against prejudice

Castlebar to host Mayo’s first ever Pride festival


Ciara Moynihan

Rainbows will appear all over Castlebar this weekend, accompanied by a colourful celebration of love, identity, diversity and progress. The first ever Mayo Pride takes place from Friday to Sunday, July 21 to 23, with a jam-packed schedule of events that will include comedy, an art exhibition, poetry readings, cabaret, family fun, mountain climbing (take that Sydney!) and of course, the central event, a parade.
“Pride is about celebration,” says Pride committee chair Cathy Blake, “but it’s also about being seen. For some people who are LGBT+ it is still difficult to be themselves. Pride is a way to celebrate diversity, but it is also about saying to people ‘It’s okay to be you, there is a community out there for you to be a part of, and there is support available when you need it’.
“We want Pride to be inclusive, so we are inviting our parents, family, friends, supporters and other communities to join in and enjoy the fun.”

Special anniversary
This year marks the 20th year of Outwest, a voluntary social and support group for gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgender people and gender and sexual minorities in the west of Ireland. The organisation was founded just a few short years after homosexuality was decriminalised in this country, and the fact that it not only survived but thrived is a shining testament to all those involved and those who attended its events – as well as to our society’s rapidly maturing attitude to sexuality and LGBT+ issues.  
To celebrate the two-decade milestone, the current committee of Outwest wanted to do something extra special, something that would last, something that the LGBT+ community of the west would remember. And so the idea of Mayo Pride was born, in glorious technicolour.

Friday frolics
Following the official launch and flag raising at Mayo County Council offices at 6pm, the focus moves to the Ivy Tower (formerly the Welcome Inn) for drinks and the Mayo Pride exhibition featuring Peter Francis Fahy, Michael O’Malley and Gary Duffy, as well as poetry by MiceΡl Kearney.  
Later that evening, at 9pm, the Ivy Tower will host the festival’s comedy night, with none other than the scourge of RTÉ, satirist supreme David McSavage heading the bill. Other comedy acts include Paul David Murphy, Teresa Cahill, Sean Sheridan and Michael Kearns.  The evening, which will be hosted by Martin ‘Beanz’ Warde, will be rounded off with a live DJ session with Inertia.

Rainbows and rhythms  
Saturday starts at noon with an hour-long parade drumming workshop at the Ivy Tower, to get everyone’s rhythms in sync for the big street celebration to come. Parade participants and anyone who fancies joining in will then meet up on the Mall at 1.30pm, with a view to starting the parade at 2pm.
The rainbow route will start at the Mall, and ripple along Ellison Street to Market Square, then on to Chapel Street, Tucker Street, Linenhall Street and Main Street before returning to Market Square, where all sorts of fun for all the family will unfold for the rest of the afternoon.  
That night, it’s back to the Ivy Tower for a spot of burlesque cabaret with Galway’s renowned Dirty Circus, whose troupe of singers, dancers and performers will dole out tricks and treats, devilish and divine, to an audience whose hearts will be forgiven if they get a little faint.

Climb up, wind down
On the Sunday, rainbows will snake up the side of the Reek when festival goers will scale Croagh Patrick with Sidhe Chonamara, followed by a well-earned wind-down session in the Connaught Inn.
While this inaugural Mayo Pride has been organised by Outwest, the organisation insist that this it not an Outwest event, that it is open to all. “This is not a cruise along the Shannon or a disco in the TF. This is a community event and people are invited to join them along the way,” they explain.
“We’re not just celebrating Outwest but the LGBT+ community too,” says Cathy. “Mayo Pride is a gift from us and the people who helped organise this inaugural event to the LGTB+ citizens of Mayo, their family, friends and our allies.”
As such, the idea is to establish a Pride festival that Outwest can hand over to a new committee once it’s over, and say ‘This is for the LGBT+ community, with love from Outwest’.
And what a heartwarming gift it is; love, fun, acceptance, support and a celebration of diversity, all wrapped up in a rainbow-coloured ribbon.  

More details are available on the Mayo Pride website, www.mayopride.com, from 087 972 5586, and from the Mayo Pride pages on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.