Dublin Pride 2018 attracts tens of thousands of people
Tuesday, July 3, 2018
On Saturday, the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender (LGBT) Pride in the Irish capital Dublin attracted a record number of people. According to the organisers of the Pride, about 60 thousand people attended the event, almost double the number of attendees in last year's Pride.
For the first time, members of the Defence Forces attended the annual rally in their military uniforms, The Independent reported. The Defence Forces were led by Vice-Admiral Mark Mellett. This year's theme was "We Are Family". Buildings were decorated in the colours of the rainbow on the eve of the 25th anniversary of the Dublin Pride.
According to reports, ex-president Mary McAleese and children's minister Katherine Zappone had attended the Pride. "Happy Pride everyone! Have a great day celebrating equality, inclusiveness and love", Health Minister Simon Harris tweeted.
Homosexuality was decriminalised in the Irish Republic 25 years ago in 1993, and the marriage of same-sex couples was legalised in November 2015 after a nation-wide referendum. On June 19, Irish Taoiseach Leo Varadkar, who is the country's first openly-gay Taoiseach addressed the Dáil saying, "Today the people I want to pay a special tribute to are the unknown heroes, the thousands of people whose names we do not know, who were criminalised by our forbears".
Same-sex marriage is illegal in the neighbouring country of Northern Ireland. Mary Lou McDonald, leader of the Sinn Féin political party said, "We stand in solidarity to those in the North who are still struggling to have their families recognised in the most basic of ways - marriage equality". She added, saying, "The people here, the people of pride are an unstoppable force. Rights are for all. Equality is for all. Change is coming and make no mistake the North is next."
Photo gallery
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Image: Dr Rebecca O'Neill. (CC BY-SA 4.0)
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Image: Dr Rebecca O'Neill. (CC BY-SA 4.0)
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Image: Dr Rebecca O'Neill. (CC BY-SA 4.0)
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Image: Dr Rebecca O'Neill. (CC BY-SA 4.0)
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Image: Dr Rebecca O'Neill. (CC BY-SA 4.0)
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Image: Dr Rebecca O'Neill. (CC BY-SA 4.0)
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Image: Dr Rebecca O'Neill. (CC BY-SA 4.0)
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Image: Dr Rebecca O'Neill. (CC BY-SA 4.0)
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Image: Dr Rebecca O'Neill. (CC BY-SA 4.0)
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Image: Dr Rebecca O'Neill. (CC BY-SA 4.0)
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Image: Dr Rebecca O'Neill. (CC BY-SA 4.0)
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Image: Dr Rebecca O'Neill. (CC BY-SA 4.0)
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Image: Dr Rebecca O'Neill. (CC BY-SA 4.0)
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Image: Dr Rebecca O'Neill. (CC BY-SA 4.0)
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Image: Dr Rebecca O'Neill. (CC BY-SA 4.0)
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Image: Dr Rebecca O'Neill. (CC BY-SA 4.0)
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Image: Dr Rebecca O'Neill. (CC BY-SA 4.0)
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Image: Dr Rebecca O'Neill. (CC BY-SA 4.0)
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Image: Dr Rebecca O'Neill. (CC BY-SA 4.0)
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Image: Dr Rebecca O'Neill. (CC BY-SA 4.0)
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Image: Dr Rebecca O'Neill. (CC BY-SA 4.0)
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Image: Dr Rebecca O'Neill. (CC BY-SA 4.0)
Related news
- "Leo Varadkar becomes first openly gay elected Taoiseach of Ireland, succeeds Enda Kenny" — Wikinews, June 16, 2017
- "Ireland legalises same-sex marriage" — Wikinews, May 24, 2015
Sources
- Rebecca Black and Cormac Byrne. "Dublin Pride Parade 2018: Thousands take to the streets to celebrate gay event" — Irish Mirror, July 2, 2018
- Sabrina Barr. "The best pictures from Dublin Pride 2018" — The Independent, June 30, 2018
- "Pictures: Thousands take part in Dublin Pride Parade" — TheJournal.ie, June 30, 2018
- Edel McAllister. "Thousands gather to celebrate Pride parade in Dublin" — Raidió Teilifís Éireann, June 30, 2018
- Conor Gallagher. "Record numbers attend Dublin Pride Parade" — The Irish Times, June 30, 2018
- Edel McAllister. "Taoiseach pays tribute to homosexuals who were criminalised in past" — Raidió Teilifís Éireann, June 19, 2018