At 13, my great granda, Patrick, started working in Harland & Wolff. He carried rivets around the Titanic but, after they found out he was the “wrong” religion to be a welder, he was sacked. He started his own firm which eventually brought us Nuala with the Hoola. I ❤️ Nuala
Still fascinated that the English/Liverpool phrase "ta-ra" comes from the Irish "tabhair aire" (take care) and was spread by Irish diaspora.
Keep picturing
#Cilla
on
#BlindDate
.
#Gaeligeoir
Gay Byrne ends his interview of Annie Murphy:
“If your son is half as good a man as his father, he won’t be doing too badly.”
Annie Murphy
“I’m not so bad either.”
This is how Ireland has treated women.
#BishopCasey
#AnnieMurphy
At Easter, I’m always grateful to the peacemakers for working for a better future for next generations. Mo Mowlam won’t be remembered as much as she should, but she was the catalyst for peace. An inspiration.
#ThanksMo
#MoMowlam
#GFA25
It may surprise some, but not everyone involved in the Easter Rising was straight. The beautiful Roger Casement, Dr Kathleen Lynn, Madeline ffrench-Mullen, Elizabeth O’Farrell and Helena Moloney… all not straight.
*The 1916 Proclamation uses gender neutral language* 🏳️🌈🏳️⚧️
No Matt, I am not sure how well you knew Mark or have researched him. He called himself queer. Your trans exclusionary take is, to put simply, dog shit.
If you try to use Mark Ashton’s name to drive division, you and I will have a very serious problem.
To whoever sees this. As a lawyer, I am begging you. DO NOT COMMENT on live criminal proceedings.
Posting rumours and speculation and things you’ve heard in the pub could result in criminal proceedings COLLAPSING and NO JUSTICE for
#NatalieMcNally
.
Train back from Dublin. A woman and her four kids have sat down at the same table as me. I’ve been kicked, my coffee has been sneezed on. They’re listening to Disney without earphones. One is screaming.
I am about to have a conniption.
Today is the anniversary of
#MoMowlam
’s death.
I remember, 1998, standing in the kitchen, watching this clip of a brave English woman zooming into the Maze to bring people from violence towards peace. I was amazed and inspired.
#ThanksMo
In 1975, the first openly gay man appeared on Irish television.
The first questions he was asked were “David, are homosexuals sick people?” and “Could the state of homosexuality be cured?”
This is the context I’ll be reading the
#CassReport
#TransRights
#LGBTQIA
+
PLEASE SIGN: Today is the anniversary
#MarkAshton
died of AIDs (11.02.87). A bright, talented campaigner, he co-founded Lesbians & Gays Support the Miners and was an amazing catalyst for improved
#LGBT
rights. I'm calling for a memorial in Portrush
I’m in a bland jumper and jeans. Zero badges. No rainbows. I look like I fell out of bed With my straight mate. Sat in a corner drinking lager watching
#LIVMUN
on the tv.
Leaving the bar, a whole table “bums against the wall lads.”
It’s 2022 lads. Wise up.
#EndHomophobia
@LakotaMan1
Mandatory reminder that if you’re Irish ☘️ (If you’re able) you should donate to help the Navajo, Hopi and Choctaw people recover from being devastated by coronavirus.
Ar scáth a chéile a mhaireann na daoine.
#GortaM
ór
This is the Bridge of Tears/Sorrows, Donegal. Family & friends would walk with people leaving Ireland to America and Canada, never to return. I don’t know how Irish ppl can become so detached from our history to become anti-immigrant
#Diaspora
#Famine
#GortaM
ór
#RefugeesWelcome
Ciarán Hinds was at the table beside me in a restaurant on Thursday. I didn’t realise it was him.
The bill came, they asked twice if service was included. It was. They asked did the staff get it? They do. He left a large tip as well.
Classy guy.
#BelfastMovie
I was on a flight from London to Belfast with four politicians from Sinn Fein, SDLP and the DUP.
The DUP politician was the only one not flying economy.
We are not in this together.
The effects of having no local government hit our most vulnerable.
The cuts begin…
Nothing is more important than peoples lives.
No child should go hungry.
Belfast City Hall in darkness as a protest to the £20 per week cut to universal credit. It is going to devastate so many families in Belfast.
#UniversalCredit
I’ve vivid memories of watching coverage of
#MoMowlam
going into Maze Prison to talk to terrorists. I didn’t understand it then, but it was an incredibly brave act of leadership which helped end killing.
Mo will not get the coverage she deserves in the next weeks but I ❤️ her.
Hi
@belfastcc
,
You’ll have seen (and heard) the preachers at the front of City Hall. They’re using amps and there are a lot of people there. It’s mostly the evils of homosexuality. I’d like a spot to talk about the other parts of the Bible. Friday afternoons would suit me.
Here
@townSQBelfast
, you would’ve found it hilarious a few weeks back when the woman in front of me, buying electric, in my corner shop started shaking and getting teary when her card was declined. Joy in others’ misery is horrible marketing.
#CostOfLivingCrisis
CW: GBV. In the corner of Belfast City Hall, there’s a randomly-placed lonely stone that I’ve never looked at. For 3 days, I’ve been trying, and failing, to take a decent picture. The flowers that were there yesterday have gone. Just want to share because she sounds amazing. 1/
My granny Copeland has just died.
I took the call from my dad in the street and I could suddenly smell welding. Our family trade. There’s nobody doing any metal work. All my family can weld (even I used to be able to) and it’s like she’s away to meet granda.
At 13, my great granda, Patrick, started working in Harland & Wolff. He carried rivets around the Titanic but, after they found out he was the “wrong” religion to be a welder, he was sacked. He started his own firm which eventually brought us Nuala with the Hoola. I ❤️ Nuala
.
@belfastcc
there are better ways to start your weekend than an amplified preacher’s voice filling Donegall Place with words like “homosexuality is a sin” and “homosexuals are repulsive” and that they sit in “righteous judgement” of us homosexuals.
My question is this… 1/2
I spoke to someone who knew Wilma Creith, one of the first local trans women to have surgery. He housed her when she was put out by her landlord and told how she had a difficult time working for Ulsterbus from school kids and men. But… 1/2
I’ve a friend, a unionist, who has likely voted for the DUP. She’s dying, days not weeks. These words mean nothing to her and nothing to me. Her testing and treatment were delayed and her family. But Jeff can swan around London with his expenses and no cares.
CAUSEWAY COAST AND GLENS: Proposal to consult with the family of LGBTQ rights campaigner Mark Ashton and campaign groups over a memorial in Portrush passes.
A proposed amendment from Cllr William McCandless not to do so was defeated by 19 votes to 15.
#localpolitics
Sharing half for me and half to help others: I’d phone calls from a family member last night asking me to be less gay. They told me how embarrassed and ashamed, as someone in their work found out they’d a gay relative and they don’t want to be associated with me. 1/?
Michaela McAreavey’s legacy lives on through the work of the Michaela Foundation. I’m not sharing a hate-filled video, but I’ve donated to the foundation and will share some of their tweets.
❤️
@michaelafound
💷 (if I you)
@TyroneGAALive
#Michaela
Slightly devastated that
@BurgerKing
Belfast has closed. The upstairs seating area was decorated in a way that has never been replicated before or since.
End of an era.
I knew it was only a matter of time when I saw Stephen Nolan’s blanket coverage.
Just got a call to say my sweet lovely friend has died by suicide.
Homophobia and transphobia make it hard for us to survive.
Please talk to
@TRPNI
or
@Here_NI
if you’ve suicidal thoughts.
Stonewall is 32 years old today, formally launched on the first anniversary of
#Section28
.
I am only finding out TODAY that Pam St Clements was one of the first founding members/trustees. I am so happy.
#StandForStonewall
#UppaStonewall
The Pride crossing in Derry has been deliberately damaged.
Very sad to see, in the city of Civil Rights and Derry Girls, queer rights get this treatment in 2023.
This crossing was an important public statement of acceptance of our diverse people.
One of my North Belfast friends grew up thinking his mum a bit incompetent at cooking. She’d say to him “will you bring that up to Mrs … and tell her I’ve made too much again and see if she can use it.” As an adult, he realised his mum fed an extra family for years.
@C_Fitz_
Got a call last night from a stalwart in North Belfast to say a neighbour had been to her door to tell her about a mum down the street with 4 kids & that she has nothing for them to open on Christmas morning.
Several *Irish* men explaining women’s rights to me on here.
Grand.
Those several men referring to me as “she” and “an angry old woman” because of my bio pic.
That’s… that’s Mary Robinson.
Hilarious.
Found someone incredibly vulnerable in
#Belfast
city centre just there. We phoned
@homelessbelfast
who arrived in minutes.
I can’t tell you the humanity & kindness they showed the person.
Please save these numbers: 078 9493 1047 (7am-2am) or 078 5124 6814 (2pm-2am)
Here is a fun game for this winter. The rules are simple
1. Make a cup of tea or other beverage.
2. Watch a DUP interview
3. Take a gulp every time you hear one of these:
@chloellene
I started a petition for a plaque for Mark Ashton, in Portrush, where he grew up. The NUM were one of the first to donate.
@ASLEFunion
branches from all over took decisions to donate. Each small group made a decision to support a gay man they’d never met.
They’ve just set up, but dozens are queuing for food from street pastors/charity. This is a failure of public policy and political leadership. (Photo edited to preserve anonymity). Get back to Stormont.
#CostOfLivingCrisis
My granny Sheila is really sick and the end is close. Faith has been important to her all through her life. If anyone is praying this evening, please include her as I think she’d like it.
#Prayers
30 years ago this week, Inez McCormick, unveiled a “controversial” statue in Great Victoria St, Belfast.
“Unknown Women Worker” was created by Cork sculptor Louise Walsh. It depicts the many often under-appreciated roles women play.
#LesbianLines
#Herstory
#Pride2023
#Cork
Dr Kathleen Lynn (left) was the Chief Medical Officer during the 1916 Rising. She met Madeline during the 1913 Lock Out (romance goals!) and the new National Children’s Hospital might be named after her. V fitting honour.
Christian hate preachers gather at Cornmarket each Saturday. Unmasked, they shout upsetting abuse. A group of queer young people had enough and they have protested by standing with flags and playing pop hits.
The next generation of queer activists are our inspiration.
Such a beautiful day
@OmaghPride
today with
@Mams4Trans
.
As someone who grew up with no positive queer role models in my life, it’s incredible to walk through a country town in an atmosphere of acceptance and joy.
#LGBTQIA
#Pride2024
I heard a historian once say that the
#Kindertransport
isn’t the victory over evil and expression of British caring we think: the children were alone because the UK wouldn’t accept their parents as refugees. It’s always stayed with me.
#RefugeesWelcome
#IrelandForAll
Sunak & Braverman want to make claiming asylum illegal. A disgusting ambition,
But let’s play it out? Someone wants to claim asylum here, Braverman says no, I’m removing you - OK, to where? Home country’s at war, no returns agreement in place with 3rd countries apart from Rwanda
It’s bitterly cold in
#Belfast
tonight but
@homelessbelfast
outreach are working. If you see someone sleeping rough and are concerned call 078 9493 1047 (7am-2am) or 078 5124 6814 (2pm-2am).
They are so kind and know most service users by name.
Some very small, but very lovely news about the Portrush for Mark Ashton Blue Plaque Campaign.
Can’t share it quite yet, but it is very lovely. Very special.
#MarkAshton
@PrideMovieUK
I got serious abuse a couple of weeks ago (stupid, mentally ill, not Irish enough and more) for saying that not everyone at 1916 was straight.
Absolutely loving this event
#UppaQueers
@DublinPride
Celebrate 40 years of
#DublinPride
with the GPO Museum on our Rebel
#Pride
Tour
As Pride week begins join us as at 2:30pm on Tuesday 20th June or 11am on Saturday 24th June for a guided tour to remember and celebrate the
#LGBTQ
+ rebels of the 1916 Rising and beyond.
#DublinPride
I periodically (every couple of years) have to visit this building. The purpose? To check I haven’t imagined someone mis-spelled “Belfast” in this banner.
#Belfast
#belast
Today is Mark Ashton’s birthday.
A committed workers’ and queer rights activist, I often wonder what he would have been doing today. He made a huge impact on many people and we continue to work for something which remembers him in Portrush.
#MarkAshton
@LGSMpride
Yesterday, a large number of people made Mark Ashton’s hometown of Portrush a little kinder and a little more accepting.
I was pleased to share my love and respect for Mark (and also
@LGSMpride
).
Our recent, brilliant queer history has not really been written down and 1/
An incredibly poignant vigil at Belfast City Hall tonight organised by the People’s Kitchen to raise awareness of the complex vulnerabilities of homeless people.
Overheard one lady say “everyone needs to be shown love.”
@pk_belfast
Imagine being a
#DUP
politician, sitting having a wee glass of M&S wine & doing your expenses.
THEN
Imagine sitting alone with your loved one on the kitchen/bathroom/bedroom floor who is having chest pains/FAST positive & watching their life just ebb away as no ambulances.
Thank you so much to
@FoylePrideFest
for the huge honour of an award, but to give me one that bears Mark’s name is just incredibly emotional: the Foyle Pride Mark Ashton Award for Outstanding Contribution to the LGBTQ+ Community.
#PrideRemembers
#MarkAshton
A very peculiar anonymous anti-trans account keeps trying to get me to engage in a “debate” over trans people. I’m not trans, but I don’t think it’s a debate.
Prompted by her, I’ve donated to
@stonewalluk
.
#TransAlly
He took the knife from Rene’s back and stabbed Eliza multiple times. Eliza died and, because of her actions, Rene survived.
Eliza was posthumously awarded the George Medal for her bravery.
#EndViolenceAgainstWomen
#EndGBV
#EndVAWG
3/
My point is that life is very tough for some LGBTQIA+ people. This is why we need continued education, why we need Prides and why we need visibility. I’m fine but I know I can get help. If you going through things like this
@TRPNI
@CaraFriendNI
@PipsCharity
@samaritans
can help
It was very special to be part of
@SongsforBelfast
today.
Belfast is beautiful. Our women, trade unionists, women’s sector, LGBTQIA+ sector are so vibrant and dedicated. There are kind and hardworking and are just brilliant.
It’s Mark Ashton’s birthday on 19th May and, even though I’ve no plaque for him, we’re going to be doing some celebrations. ***Question: what famous person would you like to see a message marking this important day?*** Tag them and I’ll ask... 🌈🎉
This is metres away from where Mark Ashton lived.
I hope everyone in Portrush is alright. This will be very upsetting for a lot of people in the area. Us queers are a tough lot and this won’t deter us.
Causeway Pride is happening in Portrush on 5 August.
#UppaQueers
In the 3 weeks after Paddy Jackson was acquitted of rape, I saw him four times - in the streets, at events etc. People were saying hello to him and happy to see him. He has had a fairly successful career following this. Cancel culture isn’t real and he’s not a role model.
“Now the song is nearly over
We may never find out what it means
Still there's a light I hold before me
You're the measure of my dreams"
I was in Soho a couple of weeks ago. A rainy night. I went to take a pic of Kirsty MacColl’s bench.
#ShaneMacGowan