'There are no adult supports in South Tipperary for the LGBTQ+ community,'
Speaking to Gerard Sweetman who is a member of Clonmel Pride, he explains what marriage equality means to him ten years after the historic vote took place, and what else needs to be done for equality in Ireland.
Gerard Sweetman is a member of Clonmel Pride who married his husband Stefano in 2018.
Gerard speaks to The Nationalist about what the same-sex marriage referendum being passed in 2015 meant for him and his relationship, and what else needs to be done when it comes to Ireland improving LGBTQ+ equality.
“We got engaged in 2012 at my thirtieth birthday party. With regards to the marriage referendum, we knew that we were not fully equal to other couples at that time.
“As a couple the only option we had in 2012 was a civil partnership. We had discussed it before marriage equality came about and when the vote came we discussed what we would do if we couldn’t get married.
“Before the results were counted, it was fantastic but also scary for me. I wasn’t sure how people had voted or what way it would go. We had to have that hard conversation if it was a no vote, what were we going to do, but luckily it wasn’t and we were married three years later.
“It was fantastic because it meant that the Irish community accepted us. One issue is when marriage equality came into law, people thought there was no hate, transphobia or homophobia in Ireland anymore. That’s sadly not the case.
“I’ve worked with LGBT Ireland and I’ve seen first hand the rise in hate crime. We also need our allies to stand up and talk about these things with us, and let people know that it’s not ok to be hateful towards people in the community.
“We need people to help stand up for those in our community, and especially those who identify as trans. There is a lot of hate at the minute for the trans community and we need people to come out and support them. If you see any homophobia or transphobia, please report it or stand up in a safe way.”
Clonmel Pride explains that one way Ireland can help victims of hate crimes is by introducing hate speech legislation that expressly mentions sexual orientation, gender identity, gender expression and sexual characteristics, following the government’s decision to drop increment provisions from the 2024 hate crime law.
“People just want to be themselves and I really ask people, please just be kind” concludes Gerard.
Another area where Ireland needs to do better is trans healthcare, Gerard says. “It’s practically non-existent” he says.
Clonmel Pride takes place on July 19 and Gerard explains what it symbolises.
“Pride is a celebration of where we’ve come in Ireland. It’s also a protest and it always will be a protest, until we have full equality for all in Ireland.
“That means better hate-crime legislation, a ban on conversion therapy, LGBT families are still not fully equal in Ireland and our trans community needs better healthcare.
“There’s also no adult supports in South Tipperary at the minute. There’s youth supports, and that’s great, but the only support for adults is in Waterford.
“With my work I realised the lack of support is a huge issue for people, especially them not being able to travel to Waterford to access these services.
“We know with public travel and transport, how bad that is anyway. All people need is somewhere where they can go and feel safe, be themselves, even if it’s just for that couple of hours.
“Coming back to pride, that’s what pride is about, it’s not just about one day, it’s about every day. I urge people to stand up and come out to support the community all day and everyday, 365 days a year.
“Clonmel pride is volunteer run, what I would ask is for people to come out on July 19 to support the community, whether it is just to cheer on from the sides. It takes a lot for them to go into town and stand up for what they believe in and be themselves on that day.
“It would be great if people could come out and cheer them on, and show that Clonmel supports the community, that we’re equal and safe here in Clonmel.” Clonmel Pride Pestival will take place in the town on July 19.