Meath Woman's Diary: When the flags come down, the fight continues

As Pride Month comes to a close for another year, it is as important as ever to remember that Pride is a lot more than a colourful parade or what is portrayed on social media.

While the music, dancing and flags are a wonderful celebration of who we are and bring a smile to so many faces, many 'keyboard warriors' like to gloss over the fact that Pride is still protest.

There is something about the sheer joy of those who march in the Pride parades that seems to trigger some social media users, so much so that they feel compelled to comment negatively on it. One of the most common comments that have appeared and seem to keep appearing is: ‘Where is straight Pride? Why do we have to do this for the LGBTQIA+ community?’

It dawned on me recently that while I would usually see this type of comment as blatant ignorance and a quick Google search away from an answer, not everyone has had the opportunity to educate themselves on the history of Pride.

Pride began in Ireland in 1982 because of the murder of a young gay man in Dublin, as a protest against someone losing their life for simply being themselves.

Declan Flynn’s life was brutally taken from him in Fairview Park, close to where he lived. Rather than being a colourful display of celebration, Pride began in Ireland as a protest of safety for the LGBTQIA+ community. Straight people have never had and will never have their lives and safety threatened because of their sexuality.

As simple and straight forward as it sounds, many people can’t seem to or maybe don't want to grasp that concept. Maybe because they have never lived the experience of being scared to love who they love or be who they are.

Maybe it's due to religion, or other external circumstances that are out of their control, but the premise always remains the same - being straight has never been labelled a crime, it has never made any individual receive prejudice and it has never caused someone to lose their life.

That’s why Pride is needed. This isn’t something that happened ‘way back when’. It is something that queer people experience daily, all over the world.

Some of my best friends are LGBTQ+ and they are also some of the kindest people I have ever met and are in some of the most loving relationships I’ve ever seen.

It really is difficult to comprehend that their love is still illegal in 65 countries and that they couldn’t legally get married in 165 countries as of 2026.

I’m lucky enough to be from a place where both are legal, but that doesn’t dismiss the ongoing homophobia that takes place in Ireland constantly. Education is the most powerful tool for combating ignorance and hatred, so the more we help each other to understand, the better.