2 days Ago By Ethan Moser
Mary McAleese, who served as the President of Ireland from 1997 to 2011, delivered a powerful pro-LGBTQ+ speech at Christ Church Cathedral on the weekend of Dublin Pride . McAleese, a Catholic, spoke as part of the Choral Evensong celebration on Sunday, June 30. The former president has a history of fighting for LGBTQ+ equality.
Not only is McAleese mother to an openly gay son, but she was an early member of the Irish Gay Rights Movement, also known as the Campaign for Homosexual Law Reform. The reformation society was founded in Dublin in 1974 and was dedicated to decriminalising homosexuality in Ireland. At last weekend’s Evensong Pride event , Mary McAleese referenced the country’s former criminalisation of homosexuality, commenting, “In this overwhelmingly Christian country there can be no doubt that the racists, homophobes and misogynists will all have heard the words of the great commandment to love one another.
They have ignored them, or worse, edited them cynically.” McAleese went on to note that the country is still marred by anti-LGBTQ+ sentiment and violence; that it is not a thing of the past. While McAleese recognised the historical and contemporary challenges facing Ireland’s LGBTQ+ community, she told the congregation that she was largely hopeful about the future, noting the ways in which both Ireland and the church have changed over decades.
“That Ireland has changed and changed profoundly came home to me in a very special way just a few weeks ago,.
