After 40 years The Gay Project in Cork gets a permanent home. Here's what they do...

Declan Flynn, who died after a beating by a gang in Dublin in 1982, couldn’t have known the impact his death would have on Irish society.

When the perpetrators walked out of court with suspended sentences in 1983, something fundamental shifted.

“Cork played a leading role in all of that,” says Stephen Spillane, Chairperson of The Gay Project. 

We were founded a year later in 1984 - 40 years ago.

This was all before the decriminalisation of homosexuality in 1993.

“The accused in the case used the ‘gay panic’ defence, claiming they felt threatened because there was a gay man in the park. They got away with it. That created a groundswell of movement, but it had already started in Cork.

“The first national gay conference took place in Cork in 1981. 

Cork was also the first to have an LGBTQI+ float in the St Patrick’s Day Parade.

Now, 40 years later, there is another first to celebrate. The Gay Project is delighted to announce the successful purchase of a new community centre in Ballintemple, Cork, marking a significant milestone for the local LGBTI+ community.

The centre will serve as a dedicated, safe, and inclusive space for LGBTI+ individuals and allies. This is the first space they have owned.

“In the last number of years, we have moved a number of times,” says Stephen. “We were in The Other Place on South Main Street for 23 years. It really was the heart of our community. This feels like we’re getting back to that, but even better because we own it; we’re not renting. “

Following a fire in 2014, the Gay Project moved from South Main Street, initially to South Terrace and then to South Parish.

“You could say we’ve been transient. You are not always in charge of where you’re going to end up when you are renting. Everything is out of control.

“We are grateful to the HSE Cork South Community Work Department for the funding to make this possible. 

It gives us autonomy and the space to develop. Security. The opportunity to be a community space in the fullest sense.

This achievement reflects decades of dedication and vision from numerous stakeholders, including Arthur Leahy, a long-time advocate for an LGBTI+ community space.

Arthur’s advocacy began 43 years ago in those first meetings with the founders of the Cork Gay and Lesbian Community Development Project, as it was then called.

Arthur gives me a wonderful insight into that exciting time in Cork.

“We were the first overtly political group. There had been a lot of groups, but they were very internal; we were more outgoing. We set up in the Quay Coop over in Sullivan’s Quay. It’s hard to capture what it was like, now that so much has changed. We were quite a radical collective in the beginning.

“It was a very vibrant centre and put the fear of God into the establishment in the city. They were worried we would take over the state – a very exaggerated sense of our capabilities.

“The group had a very strong and coherent political identity. There was a great deal of heaviness in society at the time, down to a plethora of institutions – church, and police, and state. It was the first time that people were starting to challenge that.”

Owning a space means a great deal to Arthur. He sees it as a great achievement to celebrate, but it mindful of the sadness in his community’s past.

“Having a place that you can call your own has a strong effect on the identity of the group. It will have a huge effect on the viability of the project moving forward. We must too the impact of the HIV and AIDS crisis on our community. We were developing in the late ’70s and early ’80s, but the crisis put a block on that. I am one of the few people of that generation who’s still around. So many people emigrated then and died at an early age. There were several people who stayed and died, and others who came home to die.”

Arthur is heartened to see the great change in Irish society and the legalisation of gay marriage. In a symbolic moment, he was honoured to turn the key to the new building.

There is, indeed, a great deal to celebrate. Stephen runs through just a few of the services they offer to Cork’s LGBTQI+ community.

“We run a helpline and various social groups. One example is our gold group for men over 50. 

They may have missed things and have specific needs that need to be addressed. If they weren’t out in earlier in life, they may not have much of a social network, so they need help with that.

The organisation offers to a lot of sports groups too.

“We’ve got The Hell Hounds, our rugby group. The Panthers, our basketball group, a GAA group. Then there’s the Cork Rebels football team. The Front Runners are our walkers. We have a book club, a drag school. Queer Vibes is our social café. Then there’s the Up Cork youth group.”

By no means has their transience limited their scope, explains Stephen.

“We have approximately 800 people engaging with us every month. It’s a good diversity of ages because of things like the Gold Club, and recently we started a sewing project in which 50% of participants were over 50. 

There is a great mix of ages.

“When we do our Christmas parties, as we did last December in South Parish, we got entertainment from the graduates of our drag school. It’s great to get them on stage and performing, surrounded by other .”

Stephen knows how important a hub like the Gay Project is for people.

“I came out just under 20 years ago. The first place I went to was The Other Place. I was 18 or 19 years old, and I was lost. They were just starting the youth group at the time, and I was able to make friends. I was given an opportunity to be with other young people asking the same questions as me, about things that were important for me to know. It gave me the confidence and the ability to get involved and I’m still involved. I’m chair of the board; we so often come back to the start.”

It is still hard for people in his community, he explains, so the need for this type of centre is there.

“Yes, a lot is better but there are always systemic issues. You are always going to be battling some form of stigma, unfortunately. It is one of those things. Minorities will always have issues. When people think everything is fine, things get forgotten about. 

We still need to fight for access to health care, for example the waiting list for PRET – a HIV preventative drug – is over six months.

He is beyond excited to get moved in and set up in their own premises.

“Our solicitor rang in great excitement to say everything is finished. We have the keys. We will hope to move the offices when we get the place painted but we must build an accessible toilet and do some other upgrades before we can host people. There is no point in having a community centre if it is not accessible.”

In the coming weeks, the Gay Project will be launching a fundraising campaign to cover the costs of these necessary upgrades and help a portion of the mortgage, ensuring the long-term financial sustainability of the centre.

The organisation welcomes personal donations via its website https://donorbox.org/gay-project and will reach out to local businesses and community allies to seek their in securing the future of this essential space.

Further details about the building project and fundraising initiatives will be available soon on the Gay Project’s official website, www.gayproject.ie