Tag: ireland

You have to watch this Ireland’s Eurovision entry features a gay couple in the music video. Ryan O’Shaughnessy, who competed on Britain’s Got Talent in 2012, will perform in Lisbon in May with the acoustic track Together. The 25-year-old, who previously also appeared on The Voice of Ireland, unveiled the video this weekend. It sees a same-sex couple walking through the streets of Dublin hand in hand. It is hoped this video will see Ireland through to the Eurovision final for the first time...

Conor McGregor recently came under fire calling an another MMA fighter a faggot. People were not happy with the use of the slur. McGregor has now apologized in a taped segment on the Irish TV Show, "The Late Late Show". He explained the situation saying he was trying to console a fellow fighter after a loss and said his words got away from him. He continued, "I witnessed him lose a fight in a potential career-defining or a career-ending fight in a...

Ireland is passing new legislation allowing unmarried couples to apply to adopt. An amendment to the Adoption (Amendment) Act 2017 has been signed, allowing unmarried couples to put forward applications to adopt a child. The changes to adoption laws will commence starting tomorrow (Thursday 19 October). Previously, only married couples were allowed to adopt a child. This was the case whether a couple was gay or straight. With this new legislation, unmarried couples will now be eligible to adopt in Ireland. This is...

"Are those two gays kissing?" Two local gay men were attacked last month in Ireland by a group of men who objected to them kissing in public, the Irish Sun reports. Gary Daly, 32, was on a date with the other victim, 20, at a Sligo pub when he heard another patron shout, “Are those two gays kissing?” “A guy started demanding we leave the bar, but we refused and said ‘we have the same rights as anyone else to be here,'”...

Two men have been left with significant injuries after a homophobic attack in the Republic of Ireland. Gary Daly was on a date in the town of Sligo when he was confronted for kissing another man. The 32-year-old lab technician told the Irish Sun: “A guy started demanding we leave the bar, but we refused and said ‘we have the same rights as anyone else to be here’. “He left and returned with a bunch of guys, between eight or ten, and...

Leo Varadkar made history Wednesday as he was formally elected Ireland’s new Taoiseach — Irish for prime minister. Among the milestones he represents for his country: he is the first out gay premier, the first of both Irish and Indian heritage and the youngest prime minister ever to hold the office. His relatives in Maharashtra, India, where his father was born, plan to celebrate the momentous occasion, according to NDTV. “Our joy is boundless. But we have not made any formal...

An openly gay Irish politician has been named as the country’s next Prime Minister after winning a leadership contest. The country, which was once known for its strong Catholic values, has made a lot of progress on LGBT rights in the past few years. A 2015 referendum brought equal marriage to the country, while it has also adopted progressive gender recognition laws. More progress was made today, as politician Leo Varadkar was confirmed as the country’s next Taoiseach (Prime Minister) – only...

Leo Varadkar has emerged as the favorite to become Ireland‘s first gay prime minister. Varadkar, 38, currently serving as Minister for Social Protection, came out in an interview in a radio interview in 2015. He is facing off against Housing Minister Simon Coveney to replace Prime Minister Enda Kenny, who announced he was stepping down earlier this year after 15 years leading the country. He would become just the fourth openly gay head of government, Pink News notes. “It’s started really well...

Ireland is set to become the first country in the world to enforce a national LGBT youth strategy. The strategy will help tackle homophobia and address other challenges faced by young LGBT people in Ireland. Events are being organised across the country to open a line of communication and give government ministers a better understanding of issues that need to be addressed. The launch is starting on Facebook where Katherine Zappone, the Children’s Minister, will be launching an online questionnaire. The programme hopes...

Ireland's policy is “unnecessary, discriminatory and disproportionate.” We told you last week about the young man who gave up sex for a year in order to make a statement about the outdated blood-donation regulations currently aimed at gay men, but it looks like the problem reaches far beyond the U.S. Tomás Heneghan told The Irish Times that he’s been fighting “tooth and nail” for the right to give blood as a gay man in Ireland, and even filed a lawsuit to...

The amendment to the country's adoption law is considered to be the final step toward full equality for all LGBT people - gays and lesbians in Ireland, who are eager to become parents, but they weren't alllowed to do it according to the law. But now they are free to give an adopted child a chance to enjoy happy life in a full family of two moms or two daddies. Congratulations, Irish gays and lesbians! Now you can hear the laugh of...

A British same-sex married couple were on honeymoon when one of the spouses died. David and Marco Bulmer-Rizzi married in UK and spent their honeymoon in Australia where David died after an accident. Authorities released an Australian death certificate that stated "never married." Marco Blumer-Rizzi was told that “not one of the drop-down options on the computer.” This happened because Australia is one of the five countries (Ireland, New Zealand, Canada, and South Africa) where the UK policy doesn't enable Britons to get UK-style death...

The singer has posted a shocking message on Facebook, declaring that she has taken an overdose. Her post starts with an overview of the events that triggered her breakdown: "There is only so much any woman can be expected to bear. What was done to me this week was appalling cruelty. By my husband, my family, by St Pats and by An Gardai Siochana, by my son, Jake and by Donal Lunny and Angela singleton, by my son's girlfriend, his friends......

Ireland has become the first country to legalize same-sex civil marriage by popular vote, with 62.1 percent in favor of the legal union between two people "without distinction as to their sex." This happened in May at a Referendum that has written another page in the history of the LGBT community. But today the law came into effect, and same-sex couples of the Republic of Ireland can now get married. The law recognizes same-sex marriages that were legalized abroad immediately, and...