Our Life Stories – London Irish LGBT Network

Pride: sore feet and cheekbones!

For Pride month, our members are sharing their stories, our committee member, Ed Magee, tells his story.

Committee Member Ed Magee (right) and friends at Pride.

Pride and what it means to me – sore feet and cheekbones!

By Ed Magee

I’ve only marched twice in Pride, once with Harrow and Brent council and once with Camden council but I’ve volunteered since 2012 with Pride.

Volunteering for Pride is a long day making it safe for everyone. It takes a huge number of volunteers and an immense about of planning behind the scenes all done by a core team of volunteers. You should see the training on how to manage the road crossing it’s a precision operation.

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Our Life Stories

Conleth’s Story: Proud

For Pride month, we asked our members if they would like to share their stories about their lives and what Pride means to them. The response has been amazing and we may continue these after Pride month has ended. If you would like to contribute your story, please send your story to londonirishlgbtnetwork@gmail.com

Thanks to Conleth’s for sharing his story.

Proud

By Conleth Kane

I will never forget my first non-uniform day at my secondary school – St Paul’s Junior High School in Lurgan back in 1997. It was an all-boys Catholic School in a working-class town in Lurgan in N. Ireland. I emerged from my bedroom wearing a Spice Girls T Shirt and my parents looked at me with fear all over their faces. They were always terrified on my behalf but I honestly didn’t give a s**t. I adored the Spice Girls. The band was the only display of diversity I had seen and they made it very clear that it was perfectly acceptable to be in a group scenario but be individual. I suppose that’s why I saw 60,000 other gay people at their 2019 reunion shows at Wembley Stadium. I guess they also identified with the very loud and clear message the girls generated.

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Our Life Stories

Lee’s Story: Pride is Fcuking Fun!

Thanks to Lee for sharing his story.

Pride is Fucking Fun

by Lee Brophy

I’m very fortunate to have parents who accepted me for my queerness no questions asked. One caveat, I had to come out to my dad twice because the first time he thought gay and bi were the same thing (if he only knew!)

It took me until I was 19 to come out as bisexual due to chronic shyness. I had been bullied for being fat by so many people that it completely destroyed my self esteem and expression. It took years of sarcasm, reverse psychology, and a really big mirror for me to undo the self sabotage. Now I separate the feedback into ‘useful’ and ‘that’s funny, I wish I thought of that’.

I don’t begrudge anyone who was horrible to me growing up. I am who I am today because of everything that has happened to me.

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Our Life Stories

Yvonne’s Story: Finding The Gold At The End of My Rainbow

For Pride month, we asked some of our members if they would like to write their story and tell us of their ‘Pride’. If you would like to get involved email: londonirishlgbtnetwork@gmail.com

Today, Yvonne tells her story

Finding The Gold At The End of My Rainbow

By Yvonne Devine

My story is the opposite of many…..I emigrated to London from Ireland in my 40s. I envied LGBTQ people who seemed to have left in their 20s and ended up in strong partnerships. I chose college and working and studying my way around Ireland (as well as other travel) resulting in me realising my feelings at 26 and not declaring them til 29 due to adverse conditions in my workplace of homophobic bullying by a Supervisor. I found out years later there was an Equality Tribunal that LGBTQ people could contact to complain.

I had already endured years of loneliness and isolation which led to low self-esteem and lack of confidence and had developed a coping mechanism of alcohol misuse. At least I hadn’t thrown myself in the river I thought, like the stories I heard on a frequent basis……but I sometimes wondered what would be my future.

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