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Documenting LGBTI+ life and activism in Ireland during the 1990s and 2000s
Many of us will remember jubilant scenes from Ireland in 2015 when it became the first country in the world to vote for same-sex marriage through a referendum.
However, Ireland's journey to this landmark moment was long. It was only as recently as 1993 that Ireland decriminalised homosexuality. Particularly through the 1980s and 1990s and 2000s, many activists and campaigns fought for equality.
A 2021 exhibition at the National Library of Ireland has explored this time in Irish society. Living with Pride: Photographs by Christopher Robson documents LGBTI+ life and activism in Ireland during the 1990s and 2000s, and tells the story of Christopher Robson, who captured – through his personal photography – much of Ireland's remarkable journey toward LGBTI+ equality.
Christopher Robson was a central figure in Irish LGBTI+ activism, helping found the Dublin Lesbian and Gay Men's Collectives, Gay Health Action – the first AIDS organisation in Ireland – and the Gay and Lesbian Equality Network (GLEN).
He played a key role in the decriminalisation of homosexuality, and was pivotal in the introduction of civil partnership and the enactment of State equality legislation. His photographic collection of around 2,000 slides, which capture the LGBTI+ experience at a time when prejudice, discrimination and inequality was commonplace, was donated to the Library in 2015 by Christopher's civil partner, Bill Foley.
Introducing the exhibition, Christopher Robson's civil partner, Bill Foley said: 'Christopher regarded his contribution to the drive towards full equality for Irish LGBTI+ people as among the proudest and most significant achievements of his life. Living with Pride shows our community at its best: joyful, defiant and united.'
Photographs in Living with Pride include LGBTI+ protests in Dublin, Paris and New York, as well as seminal moments in Ireland, including Pride parades and law reform in 1993.
The exhibition which was on display in Dublin in 2021 can also be viewed online, giving visitors a chance to learn more about a man who captured and contributed to Ireland's remarkable trajectory for LGBTI+ equality from decriminalisation and a softening of public attitude to the decisive public vote in the marriage equality referendum in 2015.
Living with Pride was co-curated by Bill Foley, Christopher's partner, and Carol Maddock and Nikki Ralston of the National Library of Ireland. The exhibition was accompanied by a vibrant and varied online events programme which can be enjoyed here.