Tag Archives: LGBT

CLARE Champion journalist, Owen Ryan, has scooped a major journalism award for an article on how Shannon’s Jamie Walsh embraced his transgenderism after years of depression and inner torment. “The Importance of being Jamie” outlined Jamie’s experience of being a young transgender person and the impact on his mental health. The article won the top award in Headline’s Mental Health Journalism Local Print category for a news report or feature, published in a regional outlet, that deals with mental health issues. The judges citation stated: “The judges felt that the Importance of Being Jamie was a beautiful and well-written piece. It gave a voice to Jamie, a young transgender person, to share his experiences of being trans and the impact on his mental health. He did so with great openness and integrity. It felt especially important that a piece on this topic appeared in a local paper, shining a much-needed light on what can be a very dark and lonely …

A new charity is to be established that aims to cater for the specific requirements of the Lesbian Gay Bisexual and Transgender (LGBT) community in rural parts of the county. Bronntanas will be steered by newly-married couple Fr Bernárd Lynch and Billy Desmond. They primarily live near Spanish Point and feel that the charity could help people to deal with their sexuality in an inclusive manner. “We’re starting up the charity to further the mental health needs of LGBT people, especially younger people. We want to help them to come to terms with who they are and how to deal with it. That is our goal,” Bernárd Lynch confirmed. The couple had asked their approximate 120 guests at their wedding, which was held at the Armada Hotel on Friday last, not to give them presents but to contribute to the charity. “We said if guests wanted to contribute voluntarily to this, they could. It’s for rural Clare. We’ll probably have …

A wide-ranging survey of civil society organisations published this Thursday indicates that while Budget 2015 may have offered some positive measures for various social groups, it does not go far enough to restore or protect basic rights downgraded over several years of austerity. Despite the increases in welfare rates and payments, organisations working in areas right across society – social welfare, minorities, health, children, LGBT, women, disabled persons, education and older people – saw either no change or a reduction in accessibility to rights from Budget 2015, according to FLAC (Free Legal Advice Centres). The survey was conducted by FLAC and its PILA project on some 39 organisations across all areas of society in the aftermath of Budget 2015. “These results show that groups do recognise that some efforts were bring made by Government, but it is interesting to note that there was no sense of elation or even cautious optimism across the 39 participating bodies. Most felt there was …