HistoryHub
Connecting past and present
This workshop, rooted in the academic and activist history of LGBT movements in Ireland, explored the early years of activism, archival documentation, and the role of storytelling in shaping LGBT histories.
LGBT Activism in Ireland, 1973-2023: Looking Back, Going Forward is a UCD project which comprised of two workshops which were organised by Dr Mary McAuliffe (Director, UCD Gender Studies), in partnership with the National LGBT Federation (NXF), and funded by a Research Ireland New Foundations award.
The workshops – History of LGBT Activism in Ireland and Where We’re Going – Backlash, Solidarity, and Mobilising took place in UCD Humanities Institute in April 2025. Podcasts from the workshops are now available on History Hub.
Listen on Soundcloud
This workshop, rooted in the academic and activist history of LGBT movements in Ireland, explored the early years of activism, archival documentation, and the role of storytelling in shaping LGBT histories. The workshop brought together historians, activists, and researchers who have worked to document and shape Irish LGBT history from the 1970s to the present.
Panel 1 featured:
Mary Dorcey (Poet, writer and member of the Irish Sexual Liberation Movement and Irish Women United)
Ger Moane (Psychologist, writer, feminist and queer activist)
Ailbhe Smyth (Feminist & LGBT activist)
Tonie Walsh (Activist, historian, writer, Irish Queer Archive)
Patricia Prendiville (Activist and advocate formerly of ILGA-Europe).
Mary McAuliffe (Historian, Director, UCD Gender Studies)
Listen on Soundcloud
Panel 2 featured:
Páraic Kerrigan (UCD)
Sonja Tiernan (Irish Humanities Alliance)
Orla Egan (Cork LGBT Archive)
Sara Phillips (Irish Trans Archive)
Morgan Wait (Chair, UCD)
Listen on Soundcloud
Panel 3 featured:
Mary McAuliffe (Historian, Director, UCD Gender Studies)
Tonie Walsh (Irish Queer Archive)
Orla Egan (Cork LGBT Archive)
Sara Phillips (Irish Trans Archive)
Páraic Kerrigan (UCD).
Listen on Soundcloud
The podcast featured:
Mary Dorcey (Poet, writer and member of the Irish Sexual Liberation Movement and Irish Women United)
Ailbhe Smyth (Feminist & LGBT activist)
Tonie Walsh (Activist, historian, writer, Irish Queer Archive)
Mary McAuliffe (Historian, Director, UCD Gender Studies)
Listen on Apple | Spotify | Soundcloud
This workshop explored the contemporary landscape of LGBT rights in Ireland, addressing the current backlash against LGBT activism, strategies for cross-sectoral mobilisation, and the role of academia in supporting advocacy and policy change.
Panel 1 featured:
Sinéad Keane (BeLonG To Youth Services)
Paula Fagan (LGBT Ireland)
Ailbhe Smyth (Feminist & LGBT activist)
Scott Cuthbertson (The Rainbow Project)
The discussion was facilitated by Ruth Baldacchino (PhD Student, UCD Gender Studies).
Listen on Soundcloud
Panel 2 featured:
Tanya Ni Mhuirthile (Legal scholar, DCU)
Pradeep Mahadeshwar (visual artist & filmmaker)
Alice Linehan (GCN Editor)
Daire Dempsey (Transgender Equality Network Ireland)
Bulelani Mfaco – activist who works on Migration and Asylum issues
The facilitator was Molly Taylor (PhD Student, Newcastle University).
Panel 3 featured:
Chris Noone (University of Galway and NXF)
Morr O’Malley (TransHealth Action)
Paula Fagan (LGBT Ireland)
Scott Cuthbertson (The Rainbow Project)
The facilitator was Mary McAuliffe (Director, UCD Gender Studies).
Listen on Soundcloud
The podcast featured:
Chris Noone (University of Galway and NXF)
Pradeep Mahadeshwar (visual artist & filmmaker)
Morr O’Malley (TransHealth Action)
The facilitator was Mary McAuliffe (Director, UCD Gender Studies).
Listen on Soundcloud
Since 2011, researchers from a range of disciplines including History, Irish, English, Archaeology and Art History, have presented papers at Tudor and Stuart Ireland conferences. History Hub, in association with Real Smart Media, has produced more than 320 podcasts from these conferences.
UCD offers a variety of study options and entry pathways, ranging from full-time degrees to short-term courses for pure interest. Lifelong Learning offers all adult learners the opportunity to explore a subject of their choice without the pressure of an examination. Open Learning is a flexible way of studying history part-time at UCD. Explore your UCD History options for the coming year.
Holocaust Education Ireland’s Holocaust Memorial Lecture for 2025 was given by Prof. Anthony McElligott from University of Limerick. A podcast of his lecture – “Surviving Liberation: Jewish Camp Survivors 1945-1948” – is now available on History Hub.
In 1972, Harlan J Strauss, a young American PhD student, came to Ireland and interviewed veterans of the Irish independence struggle – men and women, at this point in their 70s and 80s, who shared their experiences, sometimes for the first time.
Harlan’s tapes offer often unparalleled insights into both the experiences and perceptions of revolutionaries reflecting back on their youth. Now, 50 years later, Conor and Harlan have teamed up to delve into these interviews and get an insight into the mind of an Irish revolutionary.
