In 2021 the Cork LGBT Archive has received another grant from the Heritage Council – this will support the further development of the Digital Archive, the creation of an online photography exhibition, Cork Queeros, and the filming of a number of oral history interviews. This work will take place over the summer. Thanks to the funding from the Heritage Council, Patrick Egan and Mira Dean have joined the Cork LGBT Archive team on a temporary basis. Their contributions will see an increase in the materials digitised and added to the Digital Archive. Mira has also activated the Cork LGBT Archive Instagram account hoping to engage a wider audience with the archive. Follow us: www.instagram.com/corklgbtarchive These heritage grants are really important for the Cork LGBT Archive, in practical terms, and also symbolically, as a clear demonstration of the inclusion of a queer archival project within Irish heritage. However the Cork LGBT Archive still has no core funding and the work is done primarily on a voluntary basis. We need substantial funding to enable the employment of staff to continue and expand the amazing work done to date. So if anyone knows any rich queers who would like to invest in a cool heritage project, let us know!!!!
The Cork LGBT Archive gathers, preserves and shares information about the rich history of LGBT activism and community in Cork.
The Cork LGBT Archive collection is housed in the Cork Public Museum in Fitzgerald’s Park, with plans to create a permanent LGBT exhibition in the museum.
The Digital Archive can be found at www.corklgbtarchive.com
It has also been added to the Digital Repository of Ireland www.dri.ie and Europeana www.www.europeana.eu/en
CORK LGBT ARCHIVE
The Cork LGBT Archive won the inaugural DRI Community Archives Scheme in 2019.
Queer Republic of Cork book was published in 2016, tracing the history of the Cork LGBT community from 1970s to 1990s. www.onstream.ie/books/queer_republic.htm
The Cork LGBT Archive Exhibition has been on display in various venues in Cork, Belfast and Berlin.
By Orla Egan
The Cork LGBT Interactive Walking Tour was launched during Cork Pride 2020. Plaques have been placed throughout the city on buildings of significance to the Cork LGBT community – there are QR codes on the plaques which link to exhibitions on the Cork LGBT Digital Archive. Download the map and take the tour at your leisure. www.corklgbtarchive.com/items/ show/348
Professor John O’Halloran, Interim President of University College Cork presented the award to Orla Egan “in recognition of and in celebration of your contribution, through your research, advocacy and activism on LGBTI+ issues, to advancing progress towards greater equality in UCC and in Cork.”
This has been a year of acknowledgements and awards for the Cork LGBT Archive. The Cork LGBT Archive was one of six finalists in the Heritage Category for the Irish National Lottery Good Causes Awards 2021. This is an amazing acknowledgement and honour, especially when you consider the thousands of wonderful heritage projects operating throughout Ireland. It is also symbolic in terms of inclusion and the acknowledgment of LGBT history and heritage as being an important part of Irish Heritage. It raises the profile of the Cork LGBT Archive and enables more people to learn about the rich history of the Cork LGBT community.
The awards ceremony took place virtually and the speeches have been added to the Cork LGBT Archive www.corklgbtarchive.com/items/show/372
Over the years the Cork LGBT Archive has received a number of small grants from the Irish Heritage Council. These grants have been important in practical terms, enabling the purchase of essential equipment like acid free storage boxes and a new scanner. Cork City Council’s Heritage Office has also provided support, funding the publication of the Queer Republic of Cork book and the production of the archive exhibition banners. In 2016 the Cork LGBT Archive received a Hidden Heritage Award from the Heritage Council. The Cork LGBT Archive was shortlisted for the GALAS Digital Change Maker Award in 2020.
Orla Egan was interviewed by Dave Fanning about the Good Causes Award – you can listen to the interview on the Cork LGBT Archive www.corklgbtarchive.com/items/show/353
In March 2021 Orla Egan was awarded the UCC Athena Swan Equality Award.
www.corkpride.com
#CorkPride2021
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