Dear Friends,

Let me start with my two core messages I wish to impart to you.

Firstly Love who you want to Love.

And Secondly be who want to be.

Life is too short to be only part of yourself and ultimately you only pass through here once.

And yes when I make these messages I say them as a heterosexual cis gender middle-aged white man, and I have been very lucky to love who I wanted and want to love and lucky to be who I want to be.

But I have also seen with my own eyes through meeting with constituents, going into the eye of neighbourhood life and listening to passionate Council colleagues that everyone should be able to love who they want and be who you want to be.

Why should one person not experience it because of bigotry by a few.

It is apparent the history of campaigning has been long and arduous, emotionally, mentally draining and has had hurtfilled days, but there have also been some really great days, where the sun did shine as Ireland moved forward with a massive societal jump.

This year in particular, 30 years on from the decriminalisation of homosexuality in Ireland, we can reflect on the hard-won victories that have made Ireland a more inclusive and equal society.

And it has been the saying of positive and supportive messages such as what I have opened with over and over again – putting these messages on repeat, which has brought us to this moment in time – in particular over the last 30 years the vast majority of walls of intolerance and battleships have been replaced with walls of empathy and partnerships.

But the job is far from being done.

We need to keep building empathy and partnership. Both are crucial. We need to keep communicating on why we need to keep building empathy and building partnership.

And yes there are trickles of intolerance and bigotry remaining with a small minority who speak in a type of emotional bullying as if they represent the majority viewpoint -` but let me reiterate today they do not.

And yes there are days when it feels like this country is going backwards, or stuck in the past, or advancing on certain issues at a snail’s pace.

But all of us here today are travelling forward together and the vast vast majority of Cork and Irish people are moving forward in a spirit of hope and collaboration.

And let me tell you this the 5 per cent of society, who remain as bigots and lack empathy, must never become the mainstream narrative.

We must never let intolerance win; we must never let our democracy be undermined. We must never let ideas of hope be undermined.

We need to keep building an inclusive and fair democracy.

If that means all of us keep fighting together for immediate future and beyond let’s do it – but let’s do it together.

And we need to not only keep building hope but creating practical roadmaps that carry out ideas of hope as well.

 For example, the importance of Pride is ongoing, not only as a celebration but as a way to reflect upon all of the progress that has been made in terms of LGBT+ rights.

Pride is a very important time of year. It gives the LGBT+ community and its supporters the opportunity to come together, build a sense of togetherness and celebrate Cork as a diverse, welcoming city and region.

It is a real joy to see the vibrancy and enthusiasm people bring to Cork LGBT+ Pride each year.

Pride also serves as a reminder that it is essential to continue working towards making Cork and Ireland a safer and more inclusive place. 

Pride offers a crucial opportunity to show solidarity with all LGBT+ people.

For many years now as well Cork City Council’s Community Section and Cork City Inter-Agency Group have also pursued supportive LGBTI+ inclusion projects and events, working with the strong vibrant LGBTI+ community in Cork.

These projects are crucial to be enhanced and supported.

I would like to thank the Cork LGBT+ Pride Festival team, volunteers, sponsors and partners, who all work to make this event possible.

So when I say of this can I wish everyone a happy and safe Pride,

And please love who you want to love and please be who you want to be.

Corcaigh abú.

Go raibh maith agaibh.