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A new LGBTQ+ community group is building a presence in Newry after forming in the summer of 2023. Newry LGBTQ+ Women’s Group are on a mission to give visibility to the vibrant LGBTQ+ community here and spread some queer joy back across the city. Although fully women-led and centred, they hope to open up more LGBTQ+ wide events in the future and be a positive force to bring the community together.
One of the founders, Daria Ní Fhaoláin, explained to Newry.ie how the group was formed. "I met a couple of women at Pride in Belfast last summer with 'Happy Pride from Newry' placards. They wanted to do more for Newry's gay community so at the end of August we created a private Facebook Community group and started organising some social meet-ups.”
"From then on the group has grown and surpassed expectations. We've had meet-ups in local pubs, with about 20 members joining us in the Bridge Bar for St Patrick's Day. We've gone bowling and off to various gigs and LGBTQ+ women's events in Belfast and Dublin. With enough passionate people there wanting to do more, we formed a committee in January and got official. At the moment, we run a weekly games night on Wednesdays, having a neutral location, so that people who might not feel confident going somewhere public feel happy to join us. It's always a fun night with board games and tea, helping to break the ice for any new people."
Since moving to Newry in 2017 Daria has reflected on LGBTQ+ social opportunities in the city. Looking back, she explained "Newry Pride was brilliant and very, very big at that time and there were those social opportunities there, but I think the general feeling amongst people in the group is that visibility has waned in the last few years. There are limited LGBTQ+ focused events for us to go and connect with each other and feel less isolated."
Daria adds "We have created a bit of a social calendar. For instance, Grace Petrie was playing in Belfast recently and a few of us went up to that. She is a proudly gay, protest folk singer and guest of The Guilty Feminist for a few years, a brilliant gig."
"Girl in Red, Girli, Fletcher and Pillow Queens are playing in Dublin this summer so we'll be at those and anyone in Newry who might want to go to events like these, but don’t have people to go with is more than welcome to join us."
"We would also aspire to run more social nights out in Newry itself. It's a bit sad that we're leaving Newry to find LGBTQ+ events, so we want to create something a bit more homegrown here, so people feel like they can be themselves where they live." she said.
With LGBTQ+ hostility rife in many parts of the world Daria feels it is important to counteract that. "I think everyone is aware of a bit of global regression and further scrutiny on LGBTQ + people lately. I don't think we're at the point where we can say 'Happy Days, we're done, we've achieved equality over here'. Obviously marriage equality has come in, but there are still a lot of issues. Positive representation is still important."
She added "If you look around in Newry in the last few years, there isn't that much representation. There's a lot of voices out there that are creating stigma and backlash against the community and I think it's very important that we have a voice to counteract that, to do what we can to dispel some of that negativity, and show that we're everyday Newry people going about our lives, with a lot to bring to the table. We are everyone around you and that should be seen."
On the importance of trying to change things Daria said "I think there's a general feeling of frustration and almost despair, but this can all be funnelled into positive energy, because it's all very well being down about it, very understandable - but what are you going to do wallowing. I would rather do something to drive change, and that's the vibe of our committee. We'd rather do something, to make this little bit of the world better and a bit more open and make people feel wanted, loved and involved and as part of our community here. It's about taking that negative energy and putting it into something that can make a difference."
Top of the to-do list this year is trying to get some form of Newry Pride back on the go. "That's the big aspiration at the moment and we have been applying for funding to try and achieve it. If that's successful, we'll definitely be looking for more people to get involved on a Pride Committee. We may need as much help as possible to make this wonderful." Daria added.
The group would be very interested in hearing from anyone who wants to get involved. They can be contacted by email at newrylgbtwomen@gmail.com or Instagram at LGBTQ Women's Group Newry or join in on their Facebook group at www.facebook.com LGBTQ Women's Group Newry.
