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Magazine Issue 06 – November 2013
The Arts Issue
Mr Gay Ireland & Mr Gay Northern Ireland
Outburst Queer Arts Festival
The Importance of Being Earnest Coming Out as Trans* Also Inside: LGBT Literature | California Dispatch | Holly Elle
EILE Magazine | Who’s Who
Contributors Jon Beaupré
Jon is a professor of TV, Film & Media Studies at California State University, Los Angeles and a contributor to This Way Out.
Scott De Buitléir
Scott is the creator of EILE Magazine and is a writer and broadcaster from Dublin. He also hosts The Cosmo, RTÉ’s LGBT radio show every Wednesday at 10pm.
Albha Foley
Albha is a student from County Kerry, who has recently come out as transgender.
Louise Hannon
Based in Dublin, Louise is a professional photographer and has also worked in the past with numerous Irish LGBT groups.
Dr. Shay Keating
Shay has his clinic at the Harold’s Cross Surgery in south Dublin and is an associate specialist in Genitourinary Medicine at St. James’ Hospital, Dublin.
Dermie O’Sullivan
Dermie is a chef from County Cork who whips up delicious recipes. You can find more on his blog, gasmarkseven.com
Frances Winston
Frances Winston has contributed to publications such as The Irish Independent and Irish Tatler and is a regular contributor to The Daily Update.
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EILE Magazine | Welcome
Highlights November 2013 Outburst Belfast – P.12
Volume 1, Issue 06
The Belfast Queer Arts Festival returns for its seventh year.
Editor-in-Chief: Scott De Buitléir Features Editor: MKB
Mr Gay Ireland – P.26 Robbie Lawlor takes the crown at the MGI Grand Finals in Dublin.
California Dispatch – P.32 There are certain dates in LGBT history we should not forget, writes Jon Beaupré.
Holly Elle – P.24 EILE chats with the rising star about her music, activism and Nashville home.
Writers: Jon Beaupré, MKB, Albha Foley, Louise Hannon, Shay Keating, Dermie O’Sullivan, Frances Winston Photographers: Louise Hannon, Mary Lord, Annick Thijs, Charity Vance Special Thanks to MKB for all her hard work, dedication and support. Web: http://eile.ie Contact: eilemagazine@outlook.com Twitter: @EileMagazine Facebook: http://fb.com/eilemagazine Note: All opinions expressed in this issue are the writers’ own.
Being Earnest – P.6 Composer Gerald Barry takes on the Oscar Wilde classic through opera.
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EILE Magazine | Editor’s Letter
Contents 6-
Holly Elle
8-
LGBT News Round-Up
Welcome! Scott De Buitléir
12 - Mr Gay Ireland 18 -
California Dispatch
24 - The Importance of Being
Earnest
30 - Outburst Queer Arts 32 -
Film Reviews
34 -
LGBT Literature
36 -
My Name is Albha
38 -
Cooking with Dermie
40 -
Health
| Editor-in-Chief
For as far back as our historians can tell, the arts and those people we identify today as LGBT have been intrinsically linked. Ireland is no exception, and while Oscar Wilde may deserve the title as the most famous gay Irish writer/artist, he is by no means the only one. This month, we celebrate the arts on both sides of the Irish border, with Gerald Barry’s rendition of Oscar Wilde’s The Importance of Being Earnest on an all-Ireland tour, while Belfast prepares itself for its ninth annual Outburst Queer Arts Festival. We also look into some fantastic LGBT literature that has recently come out of Ireland, as well as out of Britain and the United States. Community is at the heart of everything that we do at EILE. With that, we celebrate the crowning of the new Mr Gay Ireland, and Mr Gay Northern Ireland, the competition which has managed to raise over €140,000 for people in Ireland living with HIV, since the event first took place nine years ago. We chat with Robbie Lawlor as he prepares for his year of representing gay Ireland, as well as Mr Gay Ireland founder, Brian Merriman. We are also delighted to have a wonderful piece by a young trans* person from County Kerry, who recently made the brave and praiseworthy move to come out by posting a video on YouTube. We are fully aware that trans issues are not highlighted enough in LGBT media – let alone media in general – and we are proud to actively challenge that. So, enjoy this November issue of EILE. Let us know what you think of what our writers have to say by tweeting @EILEMagazine, or by contacting us via eile.ie/contact. We always enjoy hearing from you! Scott
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First New Jersey Gay Marriages – Christie Drops Appeal
[In eile.ie - October 2013] Just past midnight, early yesterday morning Monday 21st October, the first gay marriages took place in New Jersey. Mayor of Newark, Cory Booker, officiated, and was obviously delighted to do so. The first of the happy couples were Orville Bell and Joseph Panessidi who had been together 15 years. During the ceremony, a heckler raised an objection, but Booker dealt with the matter very smoothly and with good humour, ordering the heckler removed, and saying: “Not hearing any substantive worthy objections, I will now proceed”. And proceed he did, as he was scheduled to officiate at several more LGBT weddings yesterday. In other good news, Governor of New Jersey, Chris Christie, has dropped his appeal against the ruling by Judge Mary Jacobson on gay marriage. A spokesman for the Governor’s Office stated: “…the Court has now spoken clearly as to their view of the New Jersey Constitution and, therefore, same-sex marriage is the law. The Governor will do his constitutional duty
News | New Jersey
and ensure his Administration enforces the law as dictated by the New Jersey Supreme Court.” Hayley Gorenberg, the Deputy Legal Director for Lambda Legal, the pro-LGBT attorneys in the case, stated: It’s done – New Jersey is the 14th state with the freedom to marry, and same-sex couples and their families can celebrate without fear that their rights and dignity will be taken away. The New Jersey Supreme Court made clear on Friday that same-sex couples were being denied equality, and the State has now – finally – chosen to stop standing in the way of love and fairness. What a joyous day! Although delighted with the ruling for New Jersey, Lambda Legal is continuing the fight for marriage equality across the US, and has just filed a brief with the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals in Nevada, challenging the amendment to the Constitution which bans same-sex marriage. MKB/Eile
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Introducing‌
Holly Elle Equality activist and singer/songwriter
Interview | Holly Elle
Holly Elle is a singer/ songwriter from Alberta, Canada, who
moved to Nashville, Tennessee, to focus on becoming a professional in the music industry, and it seems that it was the right move for her, as she has since gone from strength to strength. She may be classically trained in opera-singing with a B.Mus. in Vocal Performance, but her latest EP, Leopardess, is a delicious blend of pop with a hint of commercial dance. Think Britney Spears’ style, mixed with the power of Adele’s voice, and you have Holly Elle. Not suprising really, as some of her main influences include Lauryn Hill, Destiny’s Child, and most of all, Mariah Carey. To the uninitiated, Nashville might only seem appealing if you’re a fan of country music, but it is well known as the place to be if you want to make it in the music world. “I was considering L.A. and New York,” Holly explains when asked about her
reasoning behind the move to Tennessee, “but I just fell in love with this city. It’s gorgeous and the people are so nice. It was just a feeling, and I decided to stay.” It may be her location, or just her sultry tones, but Holly’s music has a subtle tone of country music to it, especially if Leopardess is anything to go by. Predator is a track on the EP that could easily be snapped up by DJs around the world, while another song of hers, Don’t Come Home, was featured on MTV’s Real World: San Diego. One song in particular, however, struck a chord with the LGBT community, which led to it being featured in many gay magazines and media in the US, and which led Holly into equality activism. “It was something I fell into,” she states with a strong tone of humility in her voice. “I didn’t come up with a plan to be an activist. Around 2010, we had a lot of kids committing suicide, here in the States, and other places as well, from being bullied. Because of that, I wrote a song
called Freak, and it just seemed to start getting attention from LGBT media.”
“I did something that I felt in my heart was right, and I’m glad I did it.” Other people were clearly glad Holly did it as well, as she ended up singing alongside the likes of Steve Grand at Atlanta Pride earlier this year. “I was so excited about that,” Holly says. “That was probably my greatest achievement to date in my life. I was so happy to be there – I even brought my parents and one of my friends there!” If her music is anything to go by, Atlanta won’t be the only place she’ll be excited about. This is one singer who deserves to go far. Find out more about Holly Elle at hearholly.com.
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News | World
LGBT Monthly News Roun Russia: Baryshnikov Speaks Out Against Anti-Gay Law To ‘No More Fear’
statement reads: THE MISSION OF THE FOUNDATION IS TO PROVIDE A LIFELINE OF RESETTLEMENT SUPPORT SERVICES TO MEMBERS OF THE LGBT COMMUNITY THAT SEEK ASYLUM IN THE UNITED STATES FROM VIOLENCE AND PERSECUTION IN THEIR HOME COUNTRIES. Baryshnikov came to more mainstream attention when he played a love interest for Sarah Jessica Parker’s character Carrie in the HBO series Sex and the City.
Anglican Church Group: LGBT Excluded From Event (eile.ie / 17 October) Famous Russian ballet-dancer-turned-actor Mikhail Baryshnikov has added his voice to Russian celebrities such as Garry Kasparov (the Russian Chess Grandmaster) and other celebrities such as Lady Gaga and Cher, who have condemned Putin’s recent antigay propaganda laws. Baryshnikov, who feels “equal treatment is a basic right”, made the statement to the No More Fear Foundation, which provides support services for LGBT people who seek asylum in the US from violent discrimination in their own countries. The following is the statement from Baryshnikov, published on No More Fear’s website on 13th October: Mikhail BaryshnikovNo More Fear tries to highlight issues that affect the LGBT community, while offering support to those seeking asylum in the US from homophobic violence in the native countries. Their mission 8 EILE Magazine
(eile.ie / 20 October) An Anglican pro-LGBT group. Changing Attitude Ireland, has accused the Anglican Church in Ireland of excluding its openly- gay members. The group said that the church failed to invite any openly -gay members to a listening event in Armagh about same-sex relationships. Although 150 church members were invited to attend, not one openly-gay or lesbian member had been included, even though Changing Attitude Ireland had supplied a list of the gay members to the organisers, said Canon Charles Kenny. Cannon Kenny feels that the event could only be seen as a sham if LGBT people are excluded from the listening process.
He stated: “the whole ‘listening process’ will be seen to be a sham if out LGBT church people continue to be deliberately excluded from these tripartite diocesan events”. This is not the first time LGBT people were excluded by the Anglican Church in Ireland. The CAI complained to the church about its treatment of its LGBT members before, when a twoday conference in Cavan also excluded its gay and lesbian members in March 2012, This is against a backdrop in the UK of the Archbishop of Canterbury, Justin Welby, having meetings with LGBT groups and activists since he took office earlier this year, in an attempt to reformulate the Anglican Church’s attitude to LGBT people. Peter Tatchell was among those he met with in April this year, and Tatchell urged him to apologise to the LGBT community for the centuries of suffering inflicted on them by the church. The founder of Changing Attitude Ireland, Rev’d Mervyn Kingston died in August this year after a long battle with cancer. – MKB
News | World
nd-Up France: Mayors Told They Must Perform Gay Marriage
lack of a clause allowing them to opt out on reilgious or moral ‘freedom of conscience’ grounds was unconstitutional. The Council said in their statement: “The Council judged that, in view of the functions of a state official in the officiating of a marriage, the legislation does not violate their freedom of conscience”.
(eile.ie / 18 October) A group of mayors, who contested France’s new gay marriage laws on the grounds that they should have been allowed to opt out due to reasons of freedom of conscience, have been told by the highest court that they must officiate at gay marriage ceremonies. The court ruled that they cannot refuse to perform these duties just because they don’t agree with them, saying that gay marriage was constitutional. Same-sex marriage became legal in France in May of this year. Whereas many people also have religious ceremonies in France when they get married, they also need the municipal authorities to make the marriage official. France’s highest court, the Constitutional Council, ruled against the appeal by the group of mayors and registrars on Friday. The group had argued that the
The anti-gay marriage group, Manif Pour Tous, which led protests against same-sex marriage legislation, has said it supports “all the mayors who courageously dare to assert their right to freedom of conscience”, claiming that their petition to defend the rights of officials not to officiate at gay marriages has received over 80,000 signatures. Also denouncing the ruling was Mayor Jean-Michel Colo, who was the first official to refuse to officiate at a gay wedding last June, where he was subsequently sued by the couple involved, JeanMichel Martin and Guy Martineau Espel. When speaking to AFP about the Council’s decision, Colo stated: “The Constitutional Council has been manipulated by politics. It is a political decision”, and he also said that the mayors now intend to proceed to the European Court of Human Rights with the case.
Russia: Anti-LGBT ‘Parental Rights’ Law Scrapped (eile.ie / 19 October) The draft bill presented to Russia’s State Duma, which would have stripped Russian LGBT people of all parental rights, has reportedly been scrapped. According to the Russian LGBT Network, the Bill on the ‘deprivation of parental rights of homosexuals’ was revoked and will not now be considered. The draft legislation proposed making amendments to the Russian ‘Family Code’, which would have meant that LGBT people in Russia would have had no right to raise their own children, whether biological or otherwise. The draft was proposed by Aleksey Zhuravlev, the deputy of the State Duma. The move can be seen as part of a potential shift in anti-gay politics in eastern Europe, as Moldova recently repealed their law banning so-called ‘homosexual propaganda’, while protests have continued against Russia’s current homophobic legislation ahead of the Sochi 2014 Winter Olympics. Meanwhile, famous Russian ballet-dancer-turned-actor, Mikhail Baryshnikov, has added his voice to Russian celebrities such as Garry Kasparov (the Russian Chess Grandmaster) in condemning the anti-gay ‘propaganda’ laws.
eile.ie EILE Magazine 9
News | Northern Ireland
Nesbitt: “Nothing Responsible About Blood Ban”
(eile.ie / 20 October) The leader of the Ulster Unionist Party, Mike Nesbitt, has announced his disapproval of Northern Ireland’s current ban on gay and bisexual men donating blood, despite other countries in the United Kingdom having eased restrictions. During yesterday’s keynote speech at the Ulster Unionist Party Conference at Belfast’s Ramada Plaza Hotel, party leader Mike Nesbitt MLA said that there was “nothing responsible about an irrational blood ban” for which Health Minister Edwin Poots (DUP) has recently been criticised. Nesbitt’s comments come in light of a Belfast High Court ruling, where Justice Treacy ruled that the ban on gay and bisexual men donating blood in Northern Ireland is “irrational”, defeating Health Minister, Edwin Poots. Justice Treacy also ruled that 10 EILE Magazine
Poots was in breach of the ministerial code by failing to take the issue before Stormont. Northern Ireland is the only region in the UK that currently enforces a complete ban on MSMs donating blood; England, Wales and Scotland lifted the ban in November 2011, replacing it with new rules, which allow blood from men whose last sexual contact with another man was more than a year ago. Despite the ban being lifted in the rest of the UK, Poots maintained that the ban in Northern Ireland had been held in order to ensure public safety. Yet imported blood was not subject to the same standards. Meanwhile, Mike Nesbitt’s comments on the gay blood ban in Northern Ireland should be viewed in the context of his speech, where he was criticising many other flaws in the current Stormont Assembly, in both the DUP – their biggest Unionist rival – and Sinn Féin. During his
speech, Nesbitt was also critical of the Department of Education (which is currently run by Sinn Féin’s John O’Dowd), as well as the DUP/SF-shared Office of the First Minister & Deputy First Minister. Despite his positive move yesterday, however, Mr Nesbitt has been ambivalent about the issue of gay rights in Northern Ireland in the past. Last year, Nesbitt stated that a vote in Stormont on same-sex marriage was not a party issue but “a matter of personal conscience”, although he added that he did not see the point to marriage equality, as civil partnerships have been legal in Northern Ireland since 2005. That said, Nesbitt has more respect for the LGBT community than some of his fellow unionist colleagues. Last year, Nesbitt made sure that the UUP distanced itself from its own Lord Maginnis, when Maginnis made some very homophobic comments during an interview on BBC Radio Ulster.
News | World
Human Rights Watch Calls On Pope To End LGBT Violence (eile.ie / 21 October) According to its letter to the Holy See, Human Rights Watch has called on Pope Francis to condemn violence and discrimination against LGBT people, and to ensure that Catholic officials act in accordance with church teachings. Expressing concern that the Catholic Church’s message to its global community has not always been consistent regarding LGBT issues, the rights organisation stated that despite Pope Francis’ more progressive statements and attitudes towards gay rights, other Church officials are sending out mixed messages. “It is encouraging to see Pope Francis taking a public stance against discrimination and violence and calling for a more inclusive church,” said Graeme Reid, LGBT rights director at Human Rights Watch. “What we ask is that Catholic Church officials adhere to church teachings and stand against violence and discrimination, including the bishops, who often
wield considerable influence.” Human Rights Watch also cited instances from across the globe in its letter, in which church officials have supported discriminatory legislation against LGBT people, contributing to a climate ready for violence against people in sexual and gender minorities. “Officials of the Catholic Church have given tacit or explicit support for discriminatory laws and practices against LGBT people,” Reid said. “Pope Francis has a unique opportunity to change that.” Human Rights Watch acknowledged the moderated stance Pope Francis has taken, his willingness to engage in meaningful dialogue, and his stated commitment to ensuring everyone’s fundamental freedoms and human dignity. Human Rights Watch called on Pope Francis to: Publicly condemn violence
against people in sexual and gender minorities Call for the decriminalisation of consensual, sexual relationships and support the repeal of other unjust criminal penalties for people in sexual and gender minorities Emphasise his opposition to the death penalty Change the tone of the church’s public discourse on sexuality Call for greater legal protections for people in sexual and gender minorities “Pope Francis should use his position as head of church and head of state to ensure that church officials throughout the world act in accordance with the basic tenets of the Catholic Church for treatment of people in sexual and gender minorities,” Reid said. “He should call for respect for human dignity, and an end to violence and discrimination.” To read Human Rights Watch’s letter to Pope Francis in full, click here.
Don’t forget to visit eile.ie for daily LGBT news and updates! EILE Magazine 11
Photo: Annick Thijs
Events | Mr Gay Ireland
Mr Gay Ireland Dubliner Robbie Lawlor has been crowned as the new Mr Gay Ireland for 2014, while County Down native, Patrick Murdock, was crowned Mr Gay Northern Ireland, at the Grand Finals in Dublin over the October bank holiday weekend. Seventeen contestants from across Ireland took part in the finals, which took place at the Arlington Hotel in Dublin. Speaking on RTÉ Radio, Lawlor said that the new title “still hasn’t sunk in yet” and that he was looking forward to working with Murdoch in forging better links between the LGBT communities in Northern Ireland and the Republic. Lawlor, a 22-year-old from Clondalkin who has a degree in zoology from University College Dublin, also volunteers with
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the GUIDE sexual health clinic, working with patients who have been recently diagnosed with HIV. Both Murdock and Lawlor will go on to take part in the Mr Gay Europe competition, which will take place next year in Austria. Other winners on the night included runner-up Mr Galway, Nick Flanagan – who spoke eloquently and movingly about mental health issues and suicide prevention. Aside from the winners, all the contestants had raised funds for the New Fill Project at St James’ Hospital, and gave an excellent account of themselves during the competition. Mr South Tipperary, Stefan Iannelli, held a Dirty Dancing movie night as well as numerous
other fundraising events, while Mr Ruby Lounge, Roy O’Flynn, held a joint fundraiser with Mr Gay Cork, Mícheál Ó Riordáin, called “The Ultimate Pyjama Party”. Mr Kerry, Bobby Leane, was praised for his work in creating an LGBT scene in Kerry through his work with the LGBT society at IT Tralee, while Mr Pantibar, Pepe Oliviera, spoke passionately about “facing your fears” and about living as an open and confident gay man since moving to Ireland from Brazil. Mr Dublin Devils, Dermot Haverty, highlighted homophobia in sport on the Grand Final night, calling it one of the last places where discrimination is still left untackled. Philip Kelly, who was Mr Carlow had organised two events – one in Carlow and one in Waterford – as part of his
Mr Gay Ireland
Clockwise from Left: Patrick Murdock, Nick Flanagan, Robbie Brennan, Roy O’Flynn, Pepe Oliviera, Donal Dalziel fundraising campaign, whereas Nick Flanagan, Mr Galway, took part in a skydive for the Dublinbased charity. Ciarán Purcell, Mr G-Bar Galway, who won the title of Mr Congeniality, had organised a table quiz. Mr Dragon, Darragh Gaskin, hosted two fundraising events in the niteclub he represented, while Mr Loafers, Stephen Spillane spoke about community involvement, and had organised a bake sale and barbeque to raise funds. Mr George, Brazilian Geraldo Selvia, also raised much-needed funds in the iconic Dublin gay bar, and Robbie Brennan, Mr Kilkenny’s events included a comedy night in the historic city. Mr Limerick, Donal Dalziel – who had a great crowd in the audience for moral support – won the Mr Popular title, and also helped contribute to the €12,000 raised for the New Fill Project.
Mr Gay Laois, Mark Graham, was a Mr Gay Ireland first, as he was the first contestant to be entered and sponsored by a company, Graham Brothers Construction. He organised a fashion show, called A Fashionable Night Out With Jack Wills, to raise funds for the charity. Mr Gay Northern Ireland, Patrick Murdock, from County Down, had also raised funds at three Strictly Come Dancing charity events. The Mr Gay Ireland competition, now in its ninth year, raises funds for the St James Hospital New Fill Project, which treats HIVpositive patients whose facial muscles have been affected by HIV medication. Over €12,000 was raised by the contestants this year, with thanks to various fundraisers held across the country. This means that over €142,000 has been raised by the Mr Gay Ireland competition for
More Over the charity since the competition began nine years ago. “It’s a lovely concept,” said Mr Gay Ireland Executive Producer, Brian Merriman, about the competition. “You’ve handsome, healthy young men raising money all over the country to restore the facial dignity of people living with HIV. That is a lot more than a beauty pageant! 100% of the money raised will go directly to the service, and I am immensely proud of the contestants over the years.” The night was co-hosted by television presenter and fashion writer Darren Kennedy, alongside EILE Magazine founder and broadcaster Scott De Buitléir. Entertainment on the night included singer and club host Paul Ryder, The Magpies, Shannon Murphy and Mark Power. YouTuber James Mitchell EILE Magazine 13
Event | Mr Gay Ireland
Clockwise from Left: Mícheál Ó Ríordáin, Mark Graham, Bobby Leane, Geraldo Selvia, Stephen Spillane, Dermot Haverty. created a brilliant video using photographs of all the contestants, called ‘Mr Gay Ireland – The Journey’,to the music of Avicii’s Wake Me Up. The video can be viewed here. We can leave the last word to Mr Gay Laois, Mark Graham, “I can honestly say that that weekend was the best weekend of my life…We really do take life for granted way too often! We raised over 12,000 euro for the charity! That’s over 40 lives changed for the better! Incredible!”
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Column | Mr Gay Europe
Clockwise from Left: Philip Kelly, Stefan Ianelli, Ciarรกn Purcell, Darragh Gaskin, Mr Gay Ireland winner Robbie Lawlor.
Photos by Louise Hannon
The Mr Gay Ireland competition was held as a fundraiser for the New Fill Project at St James Hospital, Dublin, for patients whose facial muscles have been affected by HIV medication. EILE Magazine 15
News | Croatia
Croatia To Vote On Same-Sex Marriage Ban
(eile.ie / 27 October) In Croatia, an organisation called In The Name Of The Family (U Ime Obitelji) has gathered enough signatures to force parliament to table a referendum on an equal marriage ban, for 1st December. The news that parliament had agreed to the referendum was released during an ILGA Conference in the capital, and appeared to take delegates by surprise. In June of this year, supporters of the ban marched to the capital Zagreb, and handed over a petition signed by one-fifth of the electorate. The ban would change the constitution, defining marriage as being between a man and a woman. As the European branch of ILGA (International Gay & Lesbian Association) was holding a conference in Zagreb at the time of the news release, it appeared to upset Croatia’s Foreign Secretary, Vesna Pusic, who spoke at the 16 EILE Magazine
conference, and was at pains to point out that Croatia had come a long way over the last few years. She stated: “We have a lot of uphill struggles ahead of us, one pretty close ahead of us….Every discrimination, every attempt to stigmatize or exclude anybody, is a human rights issue”. She also pointed out that a Pride march held annually at Split on the coast, which had sparked violence three years ago, now proceeds without trouble. The conference hosted 290 activists spanning 40 countries, together with human rights officials from the EU and the US, including Aurel CiobanuDordea, director for equality in the European Commission Justice Ministry. These officials, however, appeared to be primed not to comment, with Acting US Assistant Secretary of State Uzra Zeya saying the US is focused
on countering criminalisation of LGBT status, and combatting hate crimes, which are core issues, and not commenting on same-sex marriage within other countries. Even if a referendum comes out in favour of an equal marriage ban however, this does not mean an automatic change to the constitution, as parliament would then hold a vote and could veto the ban. Since June, gay activists had called the possible referendum homophobic, and had asked the centre-left government to block the anti-equal marriage initiative. Croatia, which was only accepted into the European Union in July of this year, has a population which is approximately 90 per cent Roman Catholic, with the petition carrying 740,000 signatures out of a country of just over 4 million.
News | Northern Ireland
Edwin Poots Loses NI Gay Adoption Case at UK Supreme Court (eile.ie / 22 October)
The UK Supreme Court has dismissed an appeal made by Northern Ireland’s Health Minister, Edwin Poots, in an abortive attempt to preserve Northern Ireland’s ban on gay couples jointly adopting children. The Supreme Court published its statement regarding the case online earlier today: The Supreme Court issued an order on 22 October 2013 stating that the application did not satisfy the criteria of raising an arguable point of law of general public importance. Many LGBT groups throughout Northern Ireland, the rest of the UK and including the Republic have celebrated the Court’s decision today. Stephen Donnan, convenor of the Alliance Party’s LGBT group, said: “Alliance LGBT are pleased that the UK Supreme Court ruled as we thought it would, and rejected
the Health Minister’s bizarre attempt to maintain the ban on allowing unmarried and civil partnered couples to adopt in [Northern Ireland]. It is likely that we will see further delays before the law is changed to reflect the ruling and the cost to the taxpayer has already been disgracefully high however we are hopeful that the issue is now settled and the Minister will adhere to the rule of law.” Speaking on the decision, Stephen Glenn, LGBT+ Liberal Democrats Northern Coordinator, said: “[…]It has taken over a year of legal proceedings for Edwin Poots to finally run out of legal avenues to pursue at a great cost to the public purse. This should be a lesson to him to stop spending public money on continuous appeals to attempt to block LGBT equality moving forward in Northern Ireland. Though these is now also an appeal pending on the blood ban and there is still a differential viewpoint on same-sex marriage to the
rest of the UK.” Meanwhile, Prof. Michael O’Flaherty, Chief Commissioner of the NI Human Rights Commission (which brought Minister Poots to court regarding the blood ban) welcomed the Supreme Courts ruling, adding that ”all of the judgments and today’s rejection by the Supreme Court to hear a further appeal confirmed that the law in Northern Ireland was out of step with the UK’s human rights obligations.” In June of this year, the Belfast High Court ruled that the Department of Health’s ban on same-sex couples – as well as straight, unmarried couples – jointly adopting children, was unlawful. Despite running up a bill of over £40,000 in legal fees to fight to preserve the ban by that time, Minister Poots announced after Justice Treacy’s ruling that he would make an appeal to the Supreme Court. It remains to be seen, however, how the Supreme Court will react to Poots’ appeal regarding Northern Ireland’s current lifetime ban on gay and bisexual men donating blood.
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California Dispatch
Californi
Saving the D
The anniversary of Matthew Shepard’s death is just one date the LGBT community should never forget, as Jon Beaupré explains
In the middle of October, I realized that it was exactly a decade and a half since the death of Matthew Shepard. That grim crime marked a turning point in the gay history of the U.S., not just here in the west. For the most part, the beautiful little town in Wyoming is not made up of hate-mongers and queer-baiters, but rather kind people whose lives were ripped apart by the killing of the 21year-old University of Wyoming student. Shepard’s murder also spurred marches and protests from coast to coast, and inspired national hate crime legislation in 2009. Not all of the marchers or lawmakers were gay either. On Friday May 11, 1950, gay pioneer Harry Hay, accompanied by a (very) small group of friends, held the first meeting of what ultimately became The Mattachine Society, the first formally organized gay activist group in this country. Nine years 18 EILE Magazine
later, Hay published the first edition of the Mattachine Review, by most accounts the first [gay men’s] journal of an open – if secretive – gay organization, all here in Los Angeles. In October of 1955, Del Martin and Phyllis Lyon held the country’s first meeting of a formal Lesbian group, The Daughters of Bilitis, in San Francisco. (I was two and a half years old, so I don’t remember it first hand!). It’s weird how we keep track of these milestones. On February 12, 2008, again in California, a middle school boy shot and killed another boy who had a crush on him. Most shocking about this ‘gay panic’ murder were the ages of the victim and the child charged with his murder - 15 and 14 respectively. This case wound its way through the courts, until late 2011 when Brandon McInerney pleaded guilty to second-degree
murder of the sweet, effeminate Larry King. Ventura County, where the shooting took place, is adjacent to Los Angeles County. Residents there are used to gay people; they aren’t even a novelty. It was just shocking that the juvenile killer could have developed such a rage that he could end the life of another adolescent, just because of the victim’s orientation and behavior. I remember the first kiss I shared with my Colombian boyfriend, and the last time I saw him - over a decade ago, leaving in anger and bitterness from the house we shared – both on April 19, a decade apart, the kiss in New York, the parting in California. Not all of those milestones are tragic. June 26, 2013, will forever raise a tearful, proud smile on my face. That’s the day the U.S. Supreme Court effectively legalized same-sex marriages here in California, the nation’s most populous state.
California Dispatch
ia Dispatch:
Date This just passed October 11 was the 25th anniversary of National Coming Out Day. The first Coming Out Day was almost exactly a decade before the death of Matthew Shepard. Forty years ago this December, the American Psychiatric Association began the process of removing homosexuality from its Diagnostic and Statistical Manual, based on ground-breaking research of UCLA psychiatrist Dr. Evelyn Hooker. (The actual APA vote didn’t take place till the following April. Why in God’s name do I remember that?) That the course of gay history could be changed by a formidable, grandmotherly scholar could hardly be believed. Hooker’s research, while controversial, was incontrovertible. She and her
co-researchers concluded the obvious: gay men are just about as well-adjusted, neurotic, happy, mixed up, and complicated as straight people. She became an unwitting heroine, and fought until her death in November of 1996 for the rights of lesbians and gays, whom she felt were the victims of gross discrimination. Her passage was an inspiring milestone for the millions of gay people whose lives had been validated by her science. Maybe I’ve become sentimental about these dates, and the other milestones, because they are the measure of life experience. I remember exactly where I was when I heard that gay San Francisco supervisor Harvey Milk had been assassinated on November 27, 1978, when it was announced on July 25, 1985 that Rock Hudson had AIDS, and listening to Melissa Etheridge’s
second album, Brave and Crazy, in 1989 with goosebumps running up my arms. You could argue that it’s not the date that is important, but rather what happened on that date, what it meant, and how it changed the world. But in the long run, we can’t unlock the tantalizing meaning of those events if we can’t pin them on a calendar. They remind us from where we have come and how far we have to go. Jon Beaupré is a Professor of TV, Film & Media Studies at California State University, Los Angeles and a contributor to This Way Out
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News | Religion
Methodist Minister Officiates At Gay Son’s Wedding Reverend Frank Schaefer will now have to go on trial within the United Methodist framework to account for his actions. (eile.ie / 28 October) A Methodist Minister, who broke the rules and officiated at his son’s samesex wedding, is facing the wrath of his church leaders. Reverend Frank Schaefer, 51, will now have to go on trial within the United Methodist framework, on November 18th, to account for his actions. The methodist hearing will take place at the Innabah Camp and Retreat Center in Chester County, with retired bishop Alfred Gwinn presiding. The prosecutor will be Christopher Fisher, who is pastor of First United Methodist Church of Schuylkill Haven and director of United Methodist Studies at Evangelical Seminary in Myerstown. Schaefer, who ministers in Pennsylvania, and his wife fully supported their son Tim when he came out to them, and in 2007, the reverend travelled 300 miles to Massachusetts to officiate at the same-sex ceremony. However, someone made a complaint to the church elders just before the statute of limitations ran out, and now Schaefer may lose his church and be banned from practising as a minister.
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Schaefer hopes that this issue will someday be seen along the same lines as slavery, civil rights, and women in the clergy, and he believers things are changing for the better. Schaefer hopes that this issue will someday be seen along the same lines as slavery, civil rights, and women in the clergy, and he believers things are changing for the better. He also has the
support of many of his colleagues, who intend to officiate at a samesex marriage before his trial date to show their support. Three New York ministers of the United Methodist Church are also due to answer for their actions with regard to LGBT issues – Stephen Heiss and Thomas Ogletree who officiated at same-sex ceremonies, and Sara Thompson Tweedy who is an openly-gay lesbian minister. MKB/Eile
23 Stephen’s Street, Dublin 2 | T: +353-1-4160040
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Feature | Opera
The Importance of Being Earnest 24 EILE Magazine
Feature | Opera
Scott De BuitlĂŠir chats to composer Gerald Barry and soprano Aoife Miskelly about their new production
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Feature | Opera Let’s play a game, for a minute: Imagine a night at the opera. I can guess that you’re thinking of people dressed like they were living in the 1880s, sitting in an old theatre, looking at someone warbling in Italian. Does the idea of megaphones and teddy bears on stage go with that mental picture? Thought not. That’s why NI Opera’s all-Ireland tour of The Importance of Being Earnest is so special. In an operatic adaptation, written by the great modern Irish composer, Gerald Barry, and in association with both NI Opera and Wide Open Opera, Oscar Wilde’s famous play The Importance of Being Earnest is currently on an Irish tour, having had its début in Derry last month. After performances in Derry, Belfast and Cork, ‘Earnest’ finishes its tour in Dublin’s Gaiety
Theatre for two nights only, and is as funny and modern as it is edgy and classic. This is not the first time Barry’s opera has been on stage, however, as it débuted in New York, receiving rave reviews there, before moving to London. Irish audiences can expect orchestral parts for pistols, a duet sung through megaphones and a climax of breaking dishes, smashing any misconceptions you may have about opera.
of Wilde’s original text, you’d wonder if the new Opera resembles anything of what it came from. The opposite seems to be true, claims Barry, as “it just shows you how strong the Wilde structure was because even with two thirds of it gone, it still stands strongly.”
Composer Gerald Barry was more than aware of Wilde’s legacy, yet the fame of Earnest didn’t phase him as he undertook a musical rendition of this iconic piece.
That seems to be the case. According to leading soprano Aoife Miskelly, the crowd in Derry’s Playhouse Theatre was “in stitches laughing” at the production, which is a description not often used when talking about opera. Miskelly, who’s from Belfast but now based in Cologne, is delighted not only with her involvement with Earnest, but also with the chance to come home to Ireland for such a different and fun production – a far cry from the more traditional
“The idea was more challenging than the reality,” he explained, “because you’re dealing with a very famous text.” In the end, it turned out to be an embarrassment of riches, because [I] had wonderful material to work with.” Having cut about two thirds
Aoife Miskelly
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“If you never read the play,” Barry says, “you’d never know that two thirds were missing.”
Gerald Barry
Feature | Opera operas in Germany. The humour is as crucial as the music to Barry, but when he was writing this new version of ‘Earnest’ (as both Barry and Miskelly affectionately refer to it) he didn’t write the comedy with the audience in mind. “I do it to please myself,” he explains, “and if I’m happy, I can only hope that other people will be happy, too.” If the reviews alone are anything to go by, it seems he got it just right. -
EILE Magazine is delighted to offer a lucky reader two tickets to one of the Dublin shows by answering this simple question: Who originally wrote The Importance of Being Earnest? a) Oscar Wilde b) James Joyce E-mail your answer with your contact details to eilemagazine@outlook. com by Tuesday, November 5!
The Importance of Being Earnest plays at the Gaiety Theatre, Dublin, on November 8 and 9.
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Youth | Kildare
New LGBT Youth Group for Kildare
(eile.ie / 26 October) A new group for LGBT youth in County Kildare has been opened by Kildare Youth Services, with the guidance and support of BeLonG To Youth Services, the national organisation for LGBT young people in Ireland. The KLGBT Youth Group is open to Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Trans young people, their friends and young people who might be questioning their sexual orientation or gender identity. The group will offer a mix of one-to-one and group supports to young people attending as well as an exciting programme of activities.
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Speaking at the announcement today, Maura Littlewood, North Kildare Coordinator with Kildare Youth Services said: “We’re delighted to announce the opening of KLGBT within Kildare Youth Services, for many years LGBT young people in Kildare have had to commute to the city centre in Dublin to access support, information and advice. We’re very thankful for the support of BeLonG To in helping us to open an LGBT youth group locally.” KLGBT will support young people to be themselves, develop new skills and grow as individuals. The group will operate from Kildare
Youth Services on Basin Street in Naas (opposite Naas Library). David Carroll, Director of Services with BeLonG To, said on the announcement: “KLGBT is the 22nd LGBT Youth Group to be established in Ireland as part of our National Network of groups. We’re extremely thankful to Kildare VEC, Kildare Co. Council, the Kildare LGBT Group, and the Community Foundation for Ireland for their ongoing and continued support in helping to get this vital community support in place.” For more information, visit www. kys.ie or belongto.org
News | Law
Catholic Charity Director Allegedly Fired for Pro-Gay Views The former director of a Catholic marriage advice charity has claimed that the reason for her dismissal was that she wished to extend counselling services to gay, divorced and unmarried couples. Dublin woman Ruth Barror was employed by the charity Accord – an organisation established by the Irish Catholic Bishops’ Conference – between October 2008 and January 2012. During her term of employment, Barror was on a salary of over €100,000 ($132,200). According to an Irish Times report on October 5: [Ms. Barror’s] counsel Síle O’Kelly told an Employment Appeals Tribunal yesterday Ms
Barror was told she was being made redundant because of financial constraints, but “the real reason for her dismissal” was because of a motion passed at Accord’s annual meeting in October 2011. Motion five, originally tabled by the Accord Wexford centre, proposed to make “the full range of counselling and therapy services” available to all those seeking them from the organisation. Ms O’Kelly claimed Accord president Bishop Christopher Jones had said if the motion was passed, the organisation would be closed down. Despite Bishop Jones’ fears, Barror’s proposal was passed
by a strong majority of the 800 delegates who attended that annual meeting. The motion, however, was deemed invalid by the charity’s national executive committee later that year. Accord’s legal representative at the Tribunal, Mr Tom Mallon, refuted Barror’s claims of unfair dismissal, stating that hers was a “relatively straightforward redundancy”. Mallon also added that Accord’s current staff remained at eight full-time and eight part-time employees, meaning that Barror had not been replaced due to financial constraints. The case has been adjourned until April 2014.
Arts | Outburst
Outburst Belfast’s Queer Arts Festival Friendly and enthusiastic as always, Ruth McCarthy talks highly of her city as she chats with me on the phone from Belfast. She calls her Laganside home “a vibrant city,” and compares its arts scene to that of Berlin. She should know, as she is the Director of Outburst, one of the most innovative LGBT arts festivals on the island of Ireland. The Outburst Queer Arts Festival started in 2007, with a small group of people sitting around in Belfast, thinking how great it would be to have an LGBT arts festival for the city. Six years later, it has grown to be one of Northern Ireland’s most creative and diverse arts festivals, and as McCarthy explains, it’s a festival “that everyone can enjoy, not just LGBT people”. It returns to the city November 15-23, with yet another vast range of events, from plays to film screenings, as well as public art installations, which
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shine a light on the city’s ‘queer’ side. For a relatively small city, Belfasts’s LGBT and queer arts community has grown so much in recent years, with high-profile venues like the MAC, Black Box and Queen’s Film Theatre having been involved over that time. The festival’s growth has not been without its challenges, however, as Belfast and Northern Ireland are not always known for their progressive and forward-thinking politicans and other cultural leaders. “And in fairness, we’ve had a lot to kick against,” McCarthy quips, making reference to more than just the Troubles. “There’s a lot of fundamentalism and there’s a lot of opposition [against the LGBT community] in government, but there’s also a really thriving arts scene, and many of those people are really bringing [Belfast] out
of that post-conflict era. A lot of people would describe it as a bit ‘Berlin-y’!” Indeed, if there’s one thing Belfast’s queer arts scene should be known for, it’s a sense of community. A lot of people get involved that aren’t necessarily LGBT, as there are many volunteers who support the idea of ‘queer’ arts, which McCarthy explains is about being “more on the edge”. With artists, productions and groups from across Belfast, the rest of the UK, and Dublin taking part in the 9-day festival, Outburst has a range of events that will appeal to everyone, regardless of who they are or where they come from. Dublin’s own Acting Out amateur acting group will perform ‘Gay : Dad’ during the festival, while London’s comedienne Amy Lamé and performance artist Scotty will
Arts | Outburst
also take part. A photography exhibition will also feature as part of Outburst, in honour of the Northern Irish LGBT activist and founder of Belfast Pride, P.A. Mag Lochlainn, who passed away last November. Also, one of the public art installations features photographs of transgender people from Belfast, visible at bus-shelters across the city. “We want [people] to go to the events,” McCarthy says, “go to the pub afterwards with their friends, or go home and have conversations with each other about what they’ve seen, and have a bit of craic while doing it!” No better place to do all of that, than Belfast. The Outburst Queer Arts Festival takes place from November 15th to 23rd at various venues across Belfast City. For more information, visit outburstarts. com or @OutBurstArts on Twitter.
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Reviews | Frances Winston
Thor: The Dark World The fact that heart-throbs Chris Hemsworth and Tom Hiddleston appear on screen together in this super hero sequel will be enough to get a lot of people’s bums on cinema seats. For those of you who are more cynical though, and like to know what to expect, Hemsworth and Hiddleston resume their roles as the rival siblings, in a sequel that picks up directly after the events of the Avengers Assemble movie (taster trailer below). There are plenty of references made to this, and even a surprise (hilarious) appearance by another member of the super hero team, which will fill in the gaps of the story. But of course this is technically a sequel to Thor, and those who have seen that movie will remember that director Kenneth Branagh brought a lot of gravitas to the flick. Here, Game of Thrones director Taylor goes for grit and humour, and finds a lot of a laughs in the story. As with all movies of this genre, the plot is somewhat contrived and complex. As a disgraced Loki is sentenced to imprisonment by his father Odin (Hopkins) Thor is wistfully missing his human love Jane (Portman). Meanwhile 32 EILE Magazine
on earth, she is just as hung up on him, but tries to put him out of her mind by dating Richard (O’Dowd). However, as she searches for a way to reunite with her Norse God, she accidentally absorbs an ancient energy called the Aether, which awakens The Dark Elves – enemies of Thor’s home world Asgard - who wish to see all of the nine realms in darkness. Returning to earth, Thor brings Jane to Asgard for her own safety, but the Elves, led by Malekith, track her down, and are determined to retrieve the power she now possesses. With Asgard’s defences destroyed and its army cut down, Thor is forced to commit treason and free his disgraced brother from prison so he can fight alongside him. While Malekith prepares to put his evil plan into action, the ensuing battle takes all involved through several different worlds – including earth – as they attempt to stop him once and for all. The ante just keeps getting upped on superhero movies of late, and this is no exception. The explosions are bigger, the effects are bigger and, if it’s possible,
Hemsworth’s muscles are bigger than in the first movie. While the first movie was set predominantly on earth, the plot here allows us to take in several other worlds that are overseen by Asgard, which provides a nice contrast to London where the earth action is set. While this is never played for laughs, it is high on humour – both black and laugh out loud – although that never detracts from it. As you would expect, given that this is his third outing in the role, Hemsworth is fabulous, and it’s hard to believe that he wasn’t the first choice for the part originally. A lesser actress than Portman could have made love interest Jane rather insipid, but she manages to pull off even the silliest aspects of her character’s predicament. Skarsgård is brilliant as her mentor, Erik, who has been seriously affected by having a God inside his head in the Avengers movie, and Hiddleston manages to bring a totally new dimension to bad guy Loki, even managing to evoke sympathy from the audience (seriously – you will feel sorry for him). The rest of the cast do a great job in their roles also.
Reviews | Frances Winston
Frances Winston on Movies Directed by: Alfonso Cuarón – Starring Sandra Bullock, George Clooney, Ed Harris I approached this film with great trepidation, as it seems an unlikely premise to engage an audience for 90 minutes. After all, there is only so much you can do with a person stranded in space – or so you would think. Thankfully I was wrong, and this proves to be one of the most engaging movies of the year to date. Bullock plays Dr Ryan Stone, who is on her first mission on the space shuttle Explorer. During a spacewalk with veteran astronaut Matt Kowalski (Clooney) they are struck by debris from a satellite that has been destroyed by the Russians, and are separated from their ship. Floating aimlessly, Stone tries to resume contact with the shuttle to no avail, until Kowalski pinpoints her location and tethers her to him. Using a thruster pack the pair make their way back to their craft, only to discover that it has been destroyed, and all the crew are dead. They are then forced to
head to the nearest Space Station in the hope that they can use one of their shuttle craft to return to earth. However, this proves more difficult than expected, as fire and a lack of fuel make this mission look more and more hopeless by the minute. The real star of this movie is the cinematography – space has never looked so good. Although a lot of the movie is set in this usually bleak looking arena, the scenery is so breathtaking that you simply can’t take your eyes off it. Bullock does a wonderful job as Stone, who finds herself drifting thousands of miles from home and sees no hope of ever getting back, while Clooney’s wisecracking, yet experienced, Kowalski is exactly the kind of person you would want by your side if you found yourself in a situation like that. Although you wouldn’t think it possible, there are twists and turns galore in this movie, and at no point do you find your attention waning. As Bullock struggles to get back to earth you really root for her and feel her
GRAVITY
pain. Each time she attempts a radio transmission you hope that there will be someone on the other end, even though there usually isn’t. This soundtrack to this film complements the visual so perfectly, that it is difficult to tell where one ends and the other begins. The best way to describe this is as a sensory overload. I saw this in IMAX 3D and would thoroughly recommend that in order to get the maximum impact from this film. With IMAX you truly get a sense of the vastness of outer space and the hopelessness of the situation. Immediately after the screening I described this as Titanic in Space, and indeed it does leave you with the same lump in your throat that the James Cameron epic did. This really engages the audience on an emotional level, and makes you consider how tiny we really are in the grand scheme of things. Beautiful, thought provoking and engaging I would be hugely surprised if this did not clean up at awards season. In Cinemas November 8th
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Books | Deò
A Breath of Gaelic Air of youth from many perspectives, taking inspiration from such places as Aberdeen, Edinburgh, Alicante, Ireland and his home city of York. The imagery in much of this poetry is strikingly beautiful and strong, taking inspiration from physical, emotional, erotic and even linguistic landscapes. In SluaghGhairm (Battlecry) he plays with the concept of the gay ‘closet’ when addressing the topic of Gaelic in Scotland, using the word and its meaning in both Gaelic and English: Cha dhaibhsan a tha mi a’ sgrìobhadh, Ach do fhleasgaichean bàna, diùid, Sgaraicht’ eadar clòsaid leis an aodach Is clòsaid eile leis a’ chac. It’s not for them that I’m writing, But for the timmering, gentle lad, Stuck between one closet with the clothing And another closet with the crap.
For as well-established as gay-themed poetry is in English-language literature, it is still but a fledgling form in the literary worlds of the Gaelic languages. While Irish has its fair share of modern gay writers – Mícheál Ó Conghaile and Alex Hijmans, to name two of the most recent – the same cannot be said for that of its sister language, Scottish Gaelic. That might soon change, however, with the introduction of gay writer, Mark Spencer Turner – better known to Gaelic speakers as Marcas Mac an Tuirneir. Deò (meaning ‘breath’) is the first poetry collection from Mac an Tuirneir, who is originally from York but studied at Aberdeen University, where he learned Gaelic. The collection is written in Scottish Gaelic with English translations on the opposite page, facilitating those whose ‘Gàidhlig’ ranges from rusty to non-existant. Deò explores the journeys 34 EILE Magazine
As many of his poems are powerfully descriptive, Mac an Tuirneir proves his worth with Deò, showing his beautiful mastery of the Gaelic language and of poetry in general. There is a musicality to his writing that is hard to find in modern Gaeilic literature, especially when dealing with translations and idioms. Deò is a welcome addition to the world of Gaelic poetry, as well as its new gay sub-genre.
Deò by Marcas Mac an Tuirneir is published by Grace Note Publications for £9.99. Available in selected bookstores in Britain and online via Amazon.
Books | Queer & Celtic
Gay Ireland: Alive and Well Compiled and edited by Wesley J. Koster, who teaches Irish in the Minneapolis-St. Paul area of Minnesota, Queer and Celtic is an anthology of literature from Irish and Irish-American LGBT writers. The collection is as varied as the writers themselves, from poetry about tea to Longfordbound trains, from love to loneliness and more. It deals with Ireland’s lesbian history, the legacy of Erin’s children abroad, and present-day gay bars in Irish cities.
Queer & Celtic completely dispels any notion that the Irish cultural identity – whether for a native Gael or person of Irish descent – would be at odds with an LGBT identity. Instead, it shows the fluidity of our identities – nationality and sexuality – in a refreshingly honest way.
Queer & Celtic is available from Squares and Rebels (part of Imprint Press) and available to order online here for $14.95.
Amongst the pieces in this anthology is The Gentleman Caller, a wonderfully poignant and emotive one-man drama by Brian Merriman about Martin, an older man who seems to have devoted his life to helping others. The journallike entry by Lambda Literary Award winner, Jeff Mann, a refreshingly unromantic portrayal of an American in Ireland, is completely engaging, while Derry native Hilary McCollum’s poem, I Love, possesses a great beauty in its light humour. In a bilingual submission, Micheál Ó Conghaile’s Father/Athair is both moving and sublime, and well worth the read in either language. Other worthy writers include Wisconin-based poet, Arthur Durkee, and Cork playwright, Diane Searls.
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Trans* Coming Out
My Name Is Albha
Albha Foley writes about coming out as a young trans* person. In many ways I consider myself lucky to have been born in this day and age, where things are more widely accepted and people are more open-minded. I cannot imagine being born 100 or even 50 years ago, knowing how different and suppressed my life would have been. Compared to other trans* people, I have had it easier, but that doesn’t mean it was easy to come out.
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I had been out to my family and close friends for over two years now. But I quickly became tired of leading a double life – living as a guy at home, and as a girl, or rather being perceived as one, at school. It is exhausting to put on a face for 8 hours a day. I ended up only really being able to be my true self for 1 or 2 hours a day. Between hiding myself in school and then being too busy with homework and study, I barely got
to spend any time being me. I suppose one of the main reasons I put it off for so long was that I wanted to wait until I actually began transitioning. I had this fear that if I told people when I was 16, two years before I could even start testosterone, there would be no real changes that people could visually see, so maybe they wouldn’t believe me, think it was a phase, or even
Trans* Coming Out
worse, think I was lying or looking for attention. I suppose I’ve found that that is the major difference between coming out as gay and coming out as transgender. If you tell someone you’re gay, you don’t need to prove it. Yes, I mean people may not accept it, but they’d never not believe you. But in this country and society, it seems that if you are transgender, you have to prove yourself before people believe you. In Ireland, before you can even start hormones, you have to go to counselling and get a “diagnosis” of who you are, so to speak. Then you have to get a second opinion from a psychiatrist, and then the endocrinologist has to sign off on the fact you are transgender, and then, and only then, can you be given hormones. However, it doesn’t stop there. In order to change the gender on your passport, you have to prove you have been living as your desired gender for a certain period of time. Also, you can’t just make an appointment to go ahead with your surgeries, as again, there must be a letter of referral from someone else, when realistically, the only person who should be signing off on who I am, and how I feel, is me. That was also one of my main reasons for putting off coming out. I knew I couldn’t just put up a status on Facebook or Twitter and people would believe me. The majority of people would probably just think it was a “frape” or a “twape”, basically where someone
else I knew was on my account and impersonating me. I don’t know how many times over the years I’ve seen accounts post: “I’m gay” and everyone knows it’s a joke, that someone else is typing the words. So instead, I felt the need to explain everything in a nearly 11 minute long video on YouTube. Making the video was difficult, as talking about something so personal out loud, even just to a camera lens, is hard, and emotional too. But it was not nearly as difficult as gathering all the courage I had to upload it, and post it on Facebook and Twitter for all my friends and peers to see. I was sitting on the chair in my living room with my laptop open, my finger hovering over the mouse. My incredibly supportive and amazing family were around me, encouraging me to post the video without nerves or fear. I spent nearly a full hour debating back and forward in my head, and out loud, whether to click that button or not – was I ready for this? What if the reaction is bad and I get hate? Or possibly worse, what if the reaction is so bad that I’m ignored? Because the one thing I have craved my whole life, from both family and friends alike, is acknowledgment, regardless of agreement or disagreement, just that people acknowledge this part of my life. Because that’s all it is; just a part of my life. It does not define me. Just like being gay doesn’t solely define a person, it’s just something they happen to be, no different from hair colour or eye colour, just a part of who we are as human beings on this planet.
But to my shock and astonishment, the response was incredible. I put the video up at 9pm Friday October 4th, and I was up until 4am responding to everyone’s personal messages of love and support. From funny, genuine ones that started with: “You da man, Albha!” to deep, heartfelt ones that nearly brought me to tears on several occasions, from people I spoke to and saw only days before, and from people I haven’t seen or spoken to in years. And this continued for days afterwards, constant messages and comments. It was more than I could have hoped for, and a part of me honestly did regret that I didn’t have the courage to come out years ago. I’d like to take this opportunity to thank every single person, from the bottom of my heart, who gave me so much love and support – it means the world to me. This has been an eye-opening experience for me, and has helped to restore my faith in humanity. It made me truly believe in the up-and-coming generation, and the change they will inspire in the world. I only wish that all individuals like me, who were oppressed and knocked down by previous society’s prejudice, could have been born in this century. No, things aren’t perfect, but in my eyes, things are looking up.
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Cooking with Dermie
Dermie’s Dishes Dermot O’Sullivan, Eile’s favourite chef, gives us some wonderful, warming recipes for those chilly days ahead.
- 1 Medium Onion (Diced) - 2 Medium Potatoes (Diced) - 1 Garlic Clove (Crushed)
butter. Season with a pinch of sea salt and freshly ground black pepper. Allow the onions and potatoes to sweat over a gentle heat until soft but not browned. 2. Add the boiling stock then gently cook until the diced potatoes are fully cooked. Test to see if the potatoes are soft with the tip of a knife before adding the milk, cream, nutmeg and spinach. Bring to the boil uncovered for a further five minutes ensuring not to overcook as this will result in you losing the lively green colour.
Dermie says: Spinach is a well-known superfood; it’s one of the healthiest foods you can eat, with benefits ranging from increased strength, to instant bursts of energy, It’s also packed with antioxidants which help nourish skin and maintain a healthy weight. It’s the perfect healthy soup for a quick Autumn supper after a long day, or it can make for a delicious starter for that special dinner party. The soup gives an earthy, lively green colour which coupled with the blue cheese makes for an invigorating start to any dinner party. Ingredients: - 50g Butter [or vegan spread] 38 EILE Magazine
- 350g Spinach (De-stalked) - 500ml Chicken [or Vegetable] Stock - 450ml Organic Milk [or vegan milk substitute] - 150ml Organic Cream [or vegan cream substitute] - Scraping of Whole Nutmeg - 110g Blue Cheese (Rind Removed) [vegans could try any vegan cheese here] - Sea Salt and Freshly Ground Pepper - 1 Tbsp Rosemary (Chopped) - Crème Fraîche & Blue Cheese to serve [vegans any vegan cream topping] Method: 1. Sweat the onions by melting the butter in a medium saucepan and when it begins to bubble add in the onions, potatoes and garlic ensuring they are well coated well in
3. Add in the chopped rosemary and crumbled blue cheese (alternatively just crumble the blue cheese in after blending leaving delicious crumbled bits of blue cheese in the soup). 4. Allow the soup to cool just slightly before blending the soup. Serve in warmed bowls topped with a spoonful of crème fraîche and decorate with diced blue cheese. (Serves 6) Recipe: Dermot O’Sullivan Photography: Joleen Cronin Styling: Dermot O’ Sullivan
Creamy Spinach, Rosemary & Blue Cheese Soup and Creamy Potato Gratin And here’s Dermie’s mouthwatering recipe for creamy potato gratin! He says:
heat and bring it to the shivery stage. Grate a few scrapings of nutmeg into the milk mixture.
During these cold evenings, you just want to pop something quick, warm and utterly comforting into the oven. For me it’s an indulgent, creamy, cheddar cheese potato gratin; the warmth from the oven coupled with the comforting aroma quickly fills the house. Multiple layers of floury potatoes gently coated in fresh organic cream and topped with a dark golden brown layer of cheddar cheese. It’s the perfect partner to a nice leg of lamb, delicious just on its own or as a side dish with a succulent steak.
2. Place a quarter of the potatoes into the pie dish; season with sea salt, black pepper. Pour a quarter of the cream over the potatoes, topping with a quarter of the cheese. Continue this while building up two more layers of potato, seasoning each layer as you go and topping with cheese.
Ingredients: - 900g Rooster Potatoes (roughly 6 medium sized potatoes). - 1 Garlic Clove. - 600ml Organic Cream. - 225g Cheddar Cheese (Grated) - Sea Salt, Black Pepper & Fresh Nutmeg.
Note: Vegans can enjoy this recipe by substituting, soya or almond milk, nut butter, any vegan cream, and vegan cheddar cheese substitute where applicable. Recipe: Dermot O’Sullivan Photography: Joleen Cronin Food Stylng: Dermot O’ Sullivan
3. Cover the dish with a sheet of aluminum foil and place in the oven and bake for an hour. Check that the potatoes are cooked by inserting a skewer or sharp knife into the potatoes ensuring that they are tender.
Method: 1. Preheat your oven to 180c / Gas Mark 4. Grease a potato gratin dish lightly with butter and smear the dish with a clove of garlic all over. Peel and slice the potatoes 3mm thick before setting aside. Pour the cream into a heavy bottomed saucepan over a gentle EILE Magazine 39
Health | PCP
Getting to know PCP This month, Dr Shay Keating gives us a run-down on PCP, a form of pneumonia caused by a yeast-like fungus, which is of particular concern to the immunocompromised Pneumocystis jiroveci pneumonia (PCP), formerly known as pneumocystis carinii pneumonia is a form of pneumonia caused by a yeast-like fungus. The organism is specific to humans, and is commonly found in the lungs of healthy people. Most children have been exposed to the organism by age 3 or 4 years, and its occurrence is worldwide. It can be a source of opportunistic infection in people with a weakened immune system: those suffering from HIV/AIDS and those on medications that affect the immune system. Opportunistic infections are caused by pathogens, bacteria, funguses or protazoans that usually do not cause disease in those with healthy immune systems. Since the start of the AIDS epidemic in the early 1980s, because PCP affected the immunocompromised, it was often the first clue to a new AIDS diagnosis. Prior to the advent of anti HIV medications, Antiretroviral Therapy (ART), PCP was a common and rapid cause of death in persons living with AIDS, and occurred in 70-80% of patients with HIV infection. In patients with HIV infection, current mortality rates of 10-20% for PCP are reported. 40 EILE Magazine
In populations that do not have access to ART, PCP continues to be a major cause of death in AIDS. Symptoms of PCP are non specific and include fever, a dry cough, shortness of breath on exertion, weight loss and night sweats. Pneumothorax (air in the chest cavity) is a well recognised complication. Involvement outside the lungs does occur but rarely. The physical examination findings are non-specific and include fever, increased heart and respiratory rates. There may be mild crackles or wheeze on listening to the chest but in 50% of cases no abnormal sounds are heard. PCP diagnosis is confirmed by characteristic appearance of the chest x-ray and an arterial oxygen level much lower than would be expected from the symptoms. The arterial oxygen level also drops dramatically with exercise. The definitive diagnosis of PCP is by identification of the causative organism at histology, following bronchio-alveolar lavage (lung rinse). A lung biopsy also has characteristic findings for PCP. As HIV disease progresses, without treatment the risk of PCP infection increases greatly when the CD4 count is less than 200cells/mm3. Acute PCP is treated with the antibiotic
co-trimoxazole and steroids to minimise inflammation. Some patients are allergic to co-trimoxazole and alternative medications such as nebulised pentamidine, are used. It is standard practice to use oral co-trimoxazole or nebulised pentamidine to help prevent the disease in people with a CD4 count of less than 200/mm3. this is termed prophylaxis In the developed world where ART is available for the treatment of HIV, many on ART are virally suppressed (have undetectable amounts of HIV in the blood) and have very healthy CD4 counts. PCP is still diagnosed however, in those who are not adherent to their ART regimes, or who test positive for HIV with advanced disease. Worryingly, many in high risk groups for HIV infection such as men who have sex with men, do not test. We need to strongly encourage all who are in high risk groups for HIV acquisition to test early and to adhere to ART, once offered. Dr. James (Shay) N. Keating, BA Mod, MB, PhD. MRCP, Dip GUM, Dip Occ Med., has his clinic at the Harold’s Cross Surgery, Harolds Cross, Dublin 6W, and is an Associate Specialist in Genitourinary Medicine, at St. James’s Hospital, Dublin. Contact stdclinic.ie Phone: 01-497 0022 or +353 87 234 5551
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EILE Magazine Holly Elle by Mary Lord