Thousands of people took part in the annual Trans and Intersex Pride march in Dublin City Centre on Saturday.
The march began at the Garden of Remembrance on Parnell Square and snaked its way across the city to Dáil Éireann on Kildare Street in warm, bright sunshine.
While a number of people taking part in the march reported small pockets of heckling from bystanders, all of them stressed these were isolated events. A spokesman for the Garda said it had not been made aware of any incidents.
Caitríona Spears Cahill (19) from Blanchardstown in Dublin said they came out as non-binary when they were 16, but that this was their first time taking part in a trans pride march.
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“Today has been one of the most wonderful days I have ever had,” they said. “I have loved seeing people and talking to people. I have introduced piles of my friends to each other. The majority of people have been so kind.
“We got a bit of heckling. I haven’t necessarily always reacted very well to the heckling, but I did ask one man if he would like to join in. We aren’t trying to hurt anyone or do anything wrong. We aren’t confused. We are just existing.”
They said the current atmosphere for trans people in Ireland is “very hostile” and that it is “very difficult to be queer” in the current climate.
“So many people are angry at you,” they said. “I was being called a dyke on the bus before I looked like this, when I was 13 or 14. It has definitely got worse in my short experience of being transgender.
“I’m frightened about where things are going. It’s heartbreaking because you look around and these are good people – kind people – who care about each other and look after each other. The backlash is horrible to see. It really breaks my heart.”
Noah Halpin (32) from Dublin said he had spoken to people on the march from Dundalk, Cork, Kerry, Galway, Laois, and Offaly.
“They have all come together because this is important,” he said. “Trans people today are where gay men were in the seventies, and that’s the way we’re being treated.
“When we were coming through O’Connell Street and around College Green, it was all amazing. I’m not a sports person but there is GAA on today and all the Galway fans were clapping us on. There was no objection. It was actually a really, really nice march.
“Trans people are under attack at the moment. We are being called groomers, paedophiles – you name it.
“Really, we are like everyone else. We are very boring. We take our bins out. We do our laundry. We pick up our kids from school. We are just people. I work. I rent. I have friends. We are not a threat to anyone, and anyone who says we are is just fearmongering.”
Veteran campaigner Izzy Kamikaze (60) said much of the harassment towards trans people currently is because the media has overplayed the size and influence of some of the hostile groups.
“It’s extremely irresponsible,” she said, adding that while she had not experienced any abuse on the march, the trouble normally materialises afterwards.
“Two weeks ago I was at Dublin Pride and I was verbally abused and threatened by a man at the Luas stop afterwards,” she said. “Nobody comes up to us when we are in crowds like this. It is when we are in twos and threes or on our own.”
Oisín Redmond (26) from Drumcondra said they had experienced a “tiny bit of heckling” and that “it’s very easy” to allow the hostility they experience generally to “get to you”. However, they added the majority of people were “very supportive”.
They said a number of tourists had been cheering the march along as well as recording it on phones and other devices.
Réaltán Derrig and Sadhbh Reddington, both 21 years old, came to Dublin on the train from Mayo for the march.
“The atmosphere in recent time has been very scary to see,” Réaltán said. “I have felt scared. But then coming here and seeing so many people standing up has really reinvigorated me. Looking around seeing all the diverse types of people here is making me feel more comfortable in myself.”
Sadhbh added: “The important message is no matter how much people try to hold us down, it is never going to work. Even if one kid or person somewhere sees this and gets the courage to come out and live their true lives and be their true selves, that’s enough for me.”
