In April 2025, the NXF, in collaboration with Dr Mary McAuliffe and Ruth Baldacchino of UCD Gender Studies, hosted two workshops at UCD accompanied by companion podcasts entitled LGBT Activism in Ireland, 1973–2023: Looking Back, Going Forward. The project was funded by the Irish Research Council’s New Foundations scheme.

This workshop, rooted in the academic and activist history of LGBT movements in Ireland, explored the early years of activism, archival documentation, and the role of storytelling in shaping LGBT histories. It brought together historians, activists, and researchers who have worked to document and shape Irish LGBT history from the 1970s to the present.

Speakers included Mary Dorcey (Poet, writer, activist), Ger Moane (feminist activist and writer), Ailbhe Smyth (Feminist & LGBT activist, academic), Tonie Walsh (Irish Queer Archive), Patricia Prendiville (activist, advocate, formerly of ILGA-Europe). Historians who participated included Sonja Tiernan, Páraic Kerrigan, Mary McAuliffe, activist archivist Orla Egan and trans archive co-ordinator Sara Phillips.

The companion podcast features Mary Dorcy, Tonie Walsh, Ailbhe Smyth, and Ger Moane.

This workshop explored the contemporary landscape of LGBT rights in Ireland, addressing the current backlash against LGBT activism, strategies for cross-sectoral mobilisation, and the role of academia in supporting advocacy and policy change. This workshop was framed by UCD Gender Studies commitment to feminist, intersectional, and community-led approaches to activism.

Speakers included Sinéad Keane (BeLonG To Youth Services), Paula Fagan (LGBT Ireland), Ollie Bell (ShoutOut), Scott Cuthbertson (The Rainbow Project), Tanya Ni Mhuirthile (DCU), Pradeep Mahadeshwar, Alice Linehan (GCN Editor), Daire Dempsey (TENI), Bulelani Mfaco (the Hope and Courage Collective), Chris Noone (NXF Board Member) and Morr O’Malley (Trans Healthcare Action).

The companion podcast features Pradeep Mahadeshwar, Morr O’Malley, and Chris Noone.