Members of the LGBT+ community feel less safe in Clare than they did five years ago, with an increase in homophobic commentary on social media forcing many people to hide their identity or leave their home county.
There was a marked increase in homophobic comments online ahead of this year’s Clare Pride Weekend, which took place at the end of September.
A number of these homophobic comments were made in relation to an article promoting Clare Pride which appeared on The Clare Champion website.
One comment read, “Please stop propagating the unatural (sic). Why not have an event for normal hetrosexual (sic) people as we seem to be becoming the minority”.
Another comment which read, “Oh dear God give us a break from that nonsence (sic)”, was liked 209 times on Facebook before the post was disabled.
According to Shannon woman, Karina Murray, who helped organise Clare Pride this year, homophobic behaviour in Clare has increased dramatically over the past five years.
“I wasn’t shocked by the comments. Since Covid-19, the online world has disappeared down a pit. There is a lot of misinformation being spread about the LGBT+ community. Facebook, Instagram and Twitter allow people to say things that they wouldn’t say to a person’s face. I would like to know if the people who were making the negative comments, would they be willing to say them to my face,” she told The Clare Champion.
Kilfenora woman, Orla Vaughan is a member of Quare Clare, an advocacy and social group for the LGBT+ community in Clare.
She says that members of the LGBT+ community in Clare have been spat on, shouted at and even “charged at” on the streets in their home county.
“I am so used to it but I shouldn’t have read the comments because it does upset me,” she said.
“I am tired of feeling this way.”
“I know that there are hardened advocates out there and these sorts of comments are like water off a duck’s back to them,” said Ms Vaughan.
“I don’t feel like I have been an activist long enough to feel the exhaustion that I already feel. You have to keep putting yourself out there, it’s exhausting.
“I am not good with the negativity and I know there are others who are better. I admire the young people so much, especially the Trans community, I think they are phenomenal people.
“But I know so many people who have been shouted at on the street or spat on or charged at. It’s not just a queer thing, it’s the same if your skin is different or if you are from the travelling community. If you don’t fit into the box that these people want you to fit into, then they think you are fair game.
“This is not about shutting people [who make homophobic comments] down, you get nowhere doing that. You have to have conversations with people. It’s a pain in the arse doing it, but you have to ask the question, ask them to explain why they are doing it. Maybe there are things they are worried about, maybe they had bad incidents in their life, I don’t know.
“What we have done to date [to tackle homophobia] has not worked. I don’t have all the answers, but we need to try a new approach and see how we get on with that.”
Ms Murray works as an event organiser with a special focus on the LGBT+ community. Through her work, she is in contact with LGBT+ communities across Ireland and she believes that the situation for people in rural Ireland is getting worse.
“In general, I know from working in the community that people feel that things have taken a step backwards since Covid. That is because of the onslaught of comments and false information on Twitter,” she said.
“There is so much misinformation coming from countries which are not as progressive as Ireland, like America. That is having an impact on the community here. It is unfortunate, but it is happening.”
Andrew Hamilton is a journalist, investigative reporter and blogger who has been working in the media in Ireland for the past 20 years. His areas of special interest include the environment, mental health and politics.