As President of Ireland, may I say how delighted I am to extend my warmest regards to the LGBTQ+ community and all of its allies as Pride 2024 gets under way with what I hope will be even greater recognition, respect, solidarity and success. Pride is not just a celebration. It is a powerful symbol of solidarity, collectivity, identity and resilience, offering as it does an opportunity for people of all backgrounds to come together, recognizing that our differences enrich us rather than diminish us, unite us rather than divide us. In Ireland, we take great pride in our commitment to diversity and inclusion. In recent years, legal obstacles have been gradually removed, many support structures have been put in place, and awareness and realisation of LGBTQ+ rights have increased significantly. As President of Ireland, I renew my previous invitations for all of our citizens to support and build on these initiatives. While achieving significant milestones in advancing LGBTQ+ rights has meant that notable progress has been made here in Ireland, so much more can, and must, be done if we are to craft an Ireland in which there is real equality, a society that embraces peace, justice, solidarity and equality. The fullest participation in every aspect oflife in the public space must become an uncontested version of our own lives together. Pride is a powerful reminder of the ongoing need to safeguard hard-won achievements and for watchful resistance to new and emerging threats, discrimination and violence. A real republic is one where no-one is denied respect, where all can live authentically and creatively, regardless of sexual orientation, gender identity, or expression, without fear of discrimination, prejudice, humiliation, or threats of any kind because of their identity. The changes that will signify this full participation in our society are the basic conditions of equality and respect. It must be a concern for us all the many places around the world in which those who are lesbian, gay, bisexual or transgender continue to face widespread stigma, exclusion and discrimination, be victims of oppressive laws and ill-informed social attitudes, subjected to physical attacks and extreme violence, beaten, sexually assaulted, tortured and even killed. On such matters we must never be silent. A Message from the President
#CORKPRIDE2024 THANK YOU We’d like to say a huge thank you to all of our community
Cristina Ioana Tudoran, Jamie Moore, and all the team at Cloudera; Olivia Lucey and all the team at Solarwinds; Amy O’Shaughnessy and the team at Energia; Noelle Mulcahy, Danny Murray, and all the team at Teamwork; Jen Bowler and all the team at Vibe; Mary Healy, Sarah Cagney, and all at ANuMe Medical Clinic; Fiona Connolly and all the team at Bus Eireann; Ciaran Austin and all the team at NOSP; Mick Finn and the team at CETB; Eleanor Moore at the HSE; Jarred Arendse at Logitech; Donna O’Leary at KPMG; Rachel McKeon at Abtran; Marina Alves at Brown Thomas; Ruairi O’Connor, Sinead McDonald, Hannah Reel, and all the team at The River Lee; Sandra Murphy and all the team at Trigon Hotels; Will Woods and all the team at the Imperial Hotel; Diana Pyzio and all the team at Leonardo Hotels; Cllr John Maher, Cllr Oliver Moran, Cllr Kieran McCarthy, Cllr Des Cahill, Cllr Colette Finn, Cllr Fiona Kerins, Cllr Mick Nugent, Cllr Kenneth Collins, Cllr Orla O’Leary; Cathy Buckley; Mike Boyle and the team at BCE Consultants; Murt Whelan and the team at Murt Whelan Sound; Shane Healy and the team at Healy Sound and Lighting; Paddy Ahern at Herlihy Consulting. Huge thanks also to the Cork Pride Board of Directors; Clive Davis, Denise Boyle, Damien O’Halloran, Sam Lake and Darren Fitzgerald, the Cork Pride Committee Members: Letycha Le’Synn, Mia Gold, Ronan Kenny, Aoife Dilworth, Mary White, Evan Murphy-Keogh, Alana Daly Mulligan and Hannah Lane, and the teams of volunteers who generously give of their time, experience, and expertise to bring you the Cork LGBT+ Pride Festival annually, working alongside Cork Pride Business Development Manager Kery Mullaly, Cork Pride Magazine Editor & Community Liaison Dee Finn, Cork Pride Accounts Administrator Maeve Conroy, and Cork Pride MC Paul Ryder - Cork Pride simply couldn’t happen without you all!
partners, loyal sponsors and advertisers – but most especially to each and every one of you, our fabulous LGBT+ community - you have helped build the Cork LGBT+ Pride Festival into what it is today! We’d also like to thank President Michael D. Higgins; An Taoiseach Simon Harris; Lord Mayor of Cork Cllr Dan Boyle; Denise Coleman and all the team An Garda Siochana Anglesea Street; Dave Browne and all the team at Port of Cork; All the team at Cork City Council; All the team at Cork County Council; Karen O Donoghue, Lisa Sweeney, Sandra Carey and all the team at the Irish Examiner and Echo; Isabel Keane and all the team at Cork’s 96FM; Justin Cronin, Kieran Rigby, and the team at Coolgrey; Daragh Murphy at Hairy Baby; Peter O’Toole; Maurice Supple; Peter Pietrzak; Alma Brosnan; Daragh Kelly; Claudine at Claudine Leonard Design; All the team at LINC; All the team at the Gay Project; All the team at the Sexual Health Centre; Don O’Neill; Sharon Cronin and all the team at PepsiCo; Benny McCabe and all the team at Cork Heritage Pubs; Niall Donnelly, Seán Ó Donnabháin, and all the team at Gilead; Mícheál Barry, Sara Bronnenkant and all the team at Apple; Kieran Kennedy, Gary Byrne, Brian Cody, David Grainger, and all the team at Bord Gais; Clodagh Graham and all the team at Stryker; Eilín Ní Chróinín and all the team at J&J; Lucille Tordella, Joanne Byrne, and all the team at Qualcomm; Philip Greene, Esther Yu Sun, and all the team at Permanent TSB; Siobhan Murphy, Annette Hegarty, Louise Dorgan and all the team at Pfizer; June McCarthy, Kevin Egan-Higgins, and all the team at Musgrave; Micheal McDonnell, Jessica Anthony, and all the team at Merck; David O’Meara, Ezara Ahern, Carla McKeagney and the team at Lilly Kinsale; Julie-Anne Poland, Marie Butler, Paul O’Sullivan, and all the team at Alcon; Dean Kinsella and all the team at BioMarin; Luke Hoare Greene, Padraig Purcell, and all the team at AbbVie; Chryssa Dislis and all the team at Johnson Controls; JP McCarthy and all the team at Amazon; Kartik Sharma, Ailbhe Dowling, Ailbhe O’Callaghan, and all the team at EY; Rachel O Riordan Sofiya Snegir, and all the team at GE Healthcare; Erica Lester, Megan O’Connor, and all the team at Clearstream; Don Crowley and all the team at MTU; Dr Avril Hutch and all the team at UCC; Sean Murphy Phelan, Charlotte Keating,
Pride is a time to honour and recall too the brave individuals who have paved the way for progress and to amplify the voices of those who continue to advocate for change. Mar Uachtaran na hEireann, may I express my sincere gratitude to all those who have tirelessly fought, and continue to fight, for LGBTQ+ rights, whose dedication to creating a society where everyone can live authentically and without fear of judgment or discrimination has played such a crucial role in the pursuit of a more fulfilling, harmonious, just, and inclusive society. May I wish all those marking Pride 2024 the very best as you celebrate and embrace this wonderful festival of equality, diversity, respect, and love. Treaslaim libh is gach beannacht la is d’on todhcha. Beir beannacht.
Michael D. Higgins Uachtaran na hEireann President of Ireland
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