Podcast Summary

Podcast: New Books Network — Irish Studies

Episode: Páraic Kerrigan, "LGBTQ Visibility, Media and Sexuality in Ireland"
Host: Avril Earls
Guest: Dr. Páraic Kerrigan
Release Date: November 16, 2025

Episode Overview

This episode features a discussion with Dr. Páraic Kerrigan, Assistant Professor at University College Dublin, regarding his book, LGBTQ Visibility, Media and Sexuality in Ireland (Routledge, 2020). The conversation unpacks the shifting landscape of queer visibility on Irish television from the 1970s through the 2000s, exploring media representation, activism, production dynamics, and the broader sociopolitical context. Key topics include seminal moments in Irish queer media, how media activism intersected with legal and social change, and the turbulent road towards decriminalization and greater inclusion.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

Introduction and Kerrigan’s Research Approach

• Background: Páraic Kerrigan briefly recounts his academic focus: digital media studies, queer theory, and Irish queer culture ([02:09]).
• Methodological Shift: Kerrigan critiques the “positive vs. negative” visibility model in queer media studies and opts for a more nuanced “queer production studies” approach. This framework interrogates not just representation on-screen, but also the power, decision-making, and labor behind the scenes in media institutions ([02:59]).
  • “The power of images, particularly with minority groups such as the Irish queer community, cannot easily be divided into positive versus negative... I fostered a new... field within media studies... referred to as queer production studies.” –PK ([03:47])
  • This involved interviews with producers, writers, activists, and looking at the legal and industrial contexts shaping representation.

The Declan Flynn Murder as Foundational Moment

• Setting the Stage: The book opens with the 1982 murder of Declan Flynn, a pivotal moment in Irish queer history ([06:01]).
  • Kerrigan explains the case’s significance:
    • It exemplified the legal and societal vilification of queer people, as the perpetrators received suspended sentences.
    • It galvanized the Irish queer community into visible activism and “has become known as Ireland’s Stonewall.”
    • “This served as a moment that represented the ways in which Irish society vilified, abused... [and] the climate of criminality... under the hangover of the Victorian morality legislation.” –PK ([07:12])
    • It marked a shift where activism and media visibility became intertwined: the community began forming media networks to generate coverage that would both support internal solidarity and challenge the state.

Early Queer Visibility in Irish Media—“Respectively Gay”

• Before the 1980s:
  • The Irish Gay Rights Movement founded in 1974, drawing inspiration from global events like Stonewall ([11:32]).
  • Strategic approach: With television’s monopoly in the “era of scarcity,” activists sought televised and press exposure to counter prevailing stereotypes ([12:09]).
    • Edmund Lynch’s role as an RTE insider was key to securing appearances.
    • First TV appearance (1975, Last House): Senator David Norris is asked immediately, “Are homosexuals sick people?”—indicating the intensely pathologized framing ([14:37]).
    • Early on, media appearances aimed for “respectability politics,” emphasizing that gay people were just like their straight neighbors—proper, domestic, and non-threatening.
    • Yet, gay stories were confined to current affairs, not entertainment; efforts to include queer characters in soaps (like Glenroe) were dismissed ([17:30]).

The 1980s: Tug of War and the Emergence of Lesbians on Screen

• Increased Diversity, Persistent Misogyny:
  • Lesbians finally receive some media attention, most notably with Joni Crone’s 1980 Late Late Show appearance, but are often subject to sensationalism and misogynistic interrogation ([19:14]).
    • “Is your sexuality a result of an unwanted sexual encounter with a man? …Do you not grieve the fact that you will never be a mother?” –PK (paraphrasing media tropes) ([20:00])
  • Media uses queer guests to boost ratings, especially in times of programming drought, sometimes undermining activist aims ([22:40]):
    • “If it was a dry week, they’d say, well, there’s always good mileage in sex and sexuality... they would often use sexuality for the monetary gain of getting more audiences.” –PK ([21:25])
  • Visibility becomes a “tug of war” between activists seeking justice and institutions seeking profit.

Case Study: “50 Shades of Gay” (Late Late Show)

• Why That Chapter Title?
  • The title references both the show’s long-time host Gay Byrne and the many “shades” (complexities and inconsistencies) in how queerness was treated on the program ([27:09]).
  • By the late 1980s, activists had become media-savvy, employing PR tactics and planting friendly faces in the audience to counterbalance orchestrated hostile questioning during major televised debates:
    • “They cleverly sought media training... placed sympathetic people in the audience... played the Late Late show production culture at its own game.” –PK ([29:30])
  • This activism is credited with winning the hearts of viewers and even shifting key media figures' opinions.

Media Savvy, Storytelling, and the Irish Mammy

• The strategy of storytelling—coming out stories, especially those involving mothers (“the Irish mammy”)—is identified as a key discursive strategy for activism, seen both in 1980s TV and the 2015 marriage equality social media campaigns ([31:45]).
  • “The Irish mother…serves as a really important cultural role, and that’s the same for queer cultures... mothers coming out in support of their sons—like former President Mary McAleese... That is a really powerful thing.” –PK ([32:40])

The AIDS Crisis: Disruption and Community Response

• Mid-1980s AIDS Crisis:
  • The AIDS crisis splinters activist energy and provokes a shift from visibility towards community survival ([35:11]).
  • Minimal institutional support prompts the creation of self-run information/distribution networks like Gay Health Action ([36:26]).
    • Illegal status of condoms until 1985 compounds the crisis.
    • Community presses such as Out magazine emerge to disseminate reliable information, forging international links for up-to-date content ([38:00]).
    • Homegrown documentaries and media educate the public and memorialize those affected.
    • “We see the emergence of a queer counterpublic... while AIDS has disrupted the standard... it enables the emergence of a queer counterpublic and a queer network and media economy within the community itself.” –PK ([40:01])

Post-Decriminalization Representation and Its Limits

• After 1993:
  • Decriminalization leads to increased inclusion of queer characters in “entertainment” programming ([44:22]).
  • Yet, early portrayals rely on stereotypes and often avoid directness (e.g., “near kiss” instead of an actual kiss on Fair City).
    • “In the 90s, we see another shift... queers leave the realms of current affairs and they are let into the Emerald City of entertainment programming. …But we just leaned on what we knew from media and from previous broadcasts…so [we got] retrograde stereotypes.” –PK ([45:18])
  • Internal and institutional tentativeness prevails: actors playing gay characters appear on talk shows to reassure audiences of their alleged heterosexuality ([56:05]).
    • “He’s gay for pay. Think of the check, honey. And I just find that baffling…that completely speaks to that tug of war dynamic.” –PK ([56:40])

The Celtic Tiger and Globalization (Late 1990s–2000s)

• Boom Years Spur Change:
  • Ireland’s economic boom exposes viewers to global pop culture and competitive pressures, incentivizing local channels to increase queer visibility ([59:13]).
    • “Media significantly changing at the time, the media infrastructure has changed…We now have gone from the era of scarcity to the era of choice...and as a result, that puts huge pressure on RTE.” –PK ([60:07])
  • Dramas like The Clinic introduce new, stylish, cosmopolitan gay characters, mirroring international shows.
  • Visibility assumes a consumerist (“neoliberal”) quality, with gay characters often written as arbiters of taste or sidekicks ([61:34]).
  • The inclusion is more prominent, but can be “cosmetic,” at times severed from real activism or challenging content.

Why 1993? — The Decriminalization Tipping Point

• Why Was 1993 the Year?
  • The legislative change was the outcome of a protracted legal battle, ending with a successful appeal to the European Court of Human Rights (1988).
  • Political opportunity arose when Fianna Fáil formed a coalition with Labour, placing sympathetic figures in strategic positions ([67:22]).
  • Human connection played a role—activist Phil Moore’s personal appeal to Maura Geoghegan-Quinn, Minister for Justice, was pivotal.
    • “Phil Moore spoke... and just opened up the question, are you a mother? …and the rest is history.” –PK ([69:09])

Concluding Thoughts & Future Research

• Legacy and Ongoing Projects:
  • Next, Kerrigan is co-authoring a book with Maria Pramaggiore about the Hirschfeld Centre, a key activist and social hub for LGBTQ people in Dublin (1979-87), aiming to gather oral histories and further document Ireland’s queer memory ([71:28]).
  • The episode closes with a reminder that queer media activism in Ireland has always been locally specific but globally interconnected.

Notable Quotes & Timestamps

• “The power of images, particularly with minority groups... cannot easily be divided into positive versus negative... it's a much more complex and nuanced story.” —Páraic Kerrigan ([03:47])
• “The murder of Declan Flynn... served as an important cultural touchstone... this was the tinderbox that erupted in fire. And this is why I choose this as the moment—it was Ireland’s Stonewall.” —PK ([08:00])
• “Representation, even in our contemporary era... has a particularly powerful role in how minority groups can self-identify and relate to each other.” —PK ([03:20])
• “When I began this project... I wanted to look towards my queer lineage—because as queer people, the history isn’t embedded in our mainstream narratives.” —PK ([06:41])
• “If it was a dry week [on The Late Late Show]...there’s always good mileage in sex and sexuality... to get more money and funding from advertisers.” —PK ([21:25])
• “Queer visibility is a tug of war. Queer history... is not a simple linear narrative from progress to liberation.” —PK ([24:29])
• “The Irish mammy... serves as a really important cultural role, also in queer cultures... It’s a powerful force for shifting audience minds.” —PK ([32:40])
• “Gay Health Action was formed... fighting the AIDS crisis in Ireland through the dissemination of information... because the community is left to their own devices.” —PK ([36:36])
• “There needs to be more space... his identification on the show was only hung around these gay moments, not as a full character.” —PK on early gay soap portrayals ([48:18])
• “He’s gay for pay. Think of the check, honey... That completely speaks to that tug of war dynamic.” —PK ([56:40])
• “The Celtic Tiger... [brought] this global, cosmopolitan, sexy, and cool version of Ireland, and of queer identity, onto television screens.” —PK ([61:55])
• “Phil Moore... just opened up the question, are you a mother? And she said yes... and the rest, as they say, is history.” —PK on the breakthrough to decriminalization ([69:09])

Notable & Memorable Moments (with Timestamps)

• [06:01] — The murder of Declan Flynn as a catalyst for visibility.
• [14:37] — First TV question posed to a gay man: “Are homosexuals sick people?”
• [19:14] — Joni Crone’s appearance as the first openly lesbian guest on Irish TV.
• [29:30] — Description of activists outmaneuvering TV producers on the Late Late Show “soapbox debate.”
• [32:40] — The power of “the Irish mammy” in changing hearts and public opinion.
• [36:26] — Community’s grassroots response to AIDS and mainstream silence.
• [56:05] — Actor Peter Warnock quizzed on talk show about not being gay “for real,” exemplifying institutional discomfort.
• [61:34] — How the “Celtic Tiger” era spurred a move toward glamorous, cosmopolitan (if slightly superficial) queer TV characters.

Final Thoughts

This episode offers a nuanced, lively, and deeply informed exploration of how Irish LGBTQ visibility was shaped by—and in turn shaped—media, politics, and social culture from the 1970s through the era of marriage equality campaigning. Dr. Kerrigan’s analysis spotlights both the obstacles and the ingenuity of Irish queer activism, highlighting how both representation and media production are battlegrounds for social change.
Future research will turn to deepening the archive—particularly through oral histories of activist hubs such as Dublin’s Hirschfeld Centre.

For further reading:
LGBTQ Visibility, Media and Sexuality in Ireland by Páraic Kerrigan (Routledge, 2020)

Listen to the full episode for more personal stories, in-depth case studies, and analysis.