Reeling in the Queers

PÁRAIC KERRIGAN is an author, researcher and Assistant Professor in the School of Information and Communication Studies at University College Dublin. He has published widely as an academic and critic. His first book LGBTQ Visibility, Media and Sexuality in Ireland was published by Routledge in 2021.

• ContentsIntroductionChapter 1: “The Two Mothers got Together and Sorted it Out”: Phil Moore, Parents Enquiry and Gay Law ReformChapter 2: Out of the Closet and into a Boyband: 4Guyz and the Pursuit of 1990s PopstardomChapter 3: “Bent Politicians”: Gay and Lesbian Candidates in 1980s Electoral PoliticsChapter 4: “The Dowager Queen of the Transvestites”: Judith Storm and Gender Diversity in Late Twentieth Century IrelandChapter 5: A Private Matter? Gay Soldiers in the Irish ArmyChapter 6: Pink Carnations and Pink Triangles: The Emergence of Pride in Ireland (1974-1982)Chapter 7: The AIDS Priest and His Ministry: The Story of Fr. Bernárd LynchChapter 8: Rock Hudson’s Irish Weekend and the Early Irish Gay SceneChapter 9: Defiance and Defence: The Gay Defence Committee, Police Harassment and the Murders of 1982Chapter 10: ‘Am I Qualified Enough Lesbian?' The Belfast Lesbian Line and Cross-Border Lesbian SolidarityChapter 11: Pride in Parenting: Toni Burgess and the Story of Lesbian and Gay Parenting RightsChapter 12: Out at Work? Louise Hannon, Transgender Rights and Employment EqualityChapter 13: Indecent and Most Obscene: Censorship and Suppression in Queer Irish CultureChapter 14: Beyond Convention: Alternative Miss Ireland's Trailblazing Odyssey (1987-2012)

‘Kerrigan’s prose is a medium to share and promote these moving stories. It… functions efficiently to draw a tender portrait of the quiet heroes, and acts of everyday heroism, that served to advance the rights and dignity of queer Ireland.’