Rainbow Crossings: Gay Irish Migrants and LGBT Politics in 1980s London
This article explores the involvement of Irish activists in the LGBT civil rights movement in 1980s London. At its core is a reconsideration of Mark Ashton, the charismatic figurehead of Lesbians and Gays Support the Miners (LGSM) as portrayed in the 2014 film Pride. Despite Ashton’s Northern Irish...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Firenze University Press
2020-06-01
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| Series: | Studi Irlandesi |
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| Online Access: | https://oajournals.fupress.net/index.php/bsfm-sijis/article/view/11754 |
| _version_ | 1828297664252346368 |
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| author | Daryl Leeworthy |
| author_facet | Daryl Leeworthy |
| author_sort | Daryl Leeworthy |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | This article explores the involvement of Irish activists in the LGBT civil rights movement in 1980s London. At its core is a reconsideration of Mark Ashton, the charismatic figurehead of Lesbians and Gays Support the Miners (LGSM) as portrayed in the 2014 film Pride. Despite Ashton’s Northern Irish background, very little attention has been paid to his Irishness: scholarship has tended to focus on the 1984-1985 British miners’ strike instead. Here, I set Ashton alongside two other activists – Paud Hegarty, the manager of the Gay’s the Word Bookshop, and the playwright Colm Ó Clúbhán – to suggest that the role of migrants in gay life and grassroots politics in London in the 1980s was not a coincidence but rather suggestive of the transnational character of the LGBT civil rights movement. |
| first_indexed | 2024-04-13T12:29:21Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-e5e936f246364e94a7bcb0fe7fa5df1d |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2239-3978 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-04-13T12:29:21Z |
| publishDate | 2020-06-01 |
| publisher | Firenze University Press |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Studi Irlandesi |
| spelling | doaj.art-e5e936f246364e94a7bcb0fe7fa5df1d2022-12-22T02:46:54ZengFirenze University PressStudi Irlandesi2239-39782020-06-011010Rainbow Crossings: Gay Irish Migrants and LGBT Politics in 1980s LondonDaryl Leeworthy0Swansea UniversityThis article explores the involvement of Irish activists in the LGBT civil rights movement in 1980s London. At its core is a reconsideration of Mark Ashton, the charismatic figurehead of Lesbians and Gays Support the Miners (LGSM) as portrayed in the 2014 film Pride. Despite Ashton’s Northern Irish background, very little attention has been paid to his Irishness: scholarship has tended to focus on the 1984-1985 British miners’ strike instead. Here, I set Ashton alongside two other activists – Paud Hegarty, the manager of the Gay’s the Word Bookshop, and the playwright Colm Ó Clúbhán – to suggest that the role of migrants in gay life and grassroots politics in London in the 1980s was not a coincidence but rather suggestive of the transnational character of the LGBT civil rights movement.https://oajournals.fupress.net/index.php/bsfm-sijis/article/view/11754IrelandLGBTLondonMigrationPolitcs1980s |
| spellingShingle | Daryl Leeworthy Rainbow Crossings: Gay Irish Migrants and LGBT Politics in 1980s London Studi Irlandesi Ireland LGBT London Migration Politcs 1980s |
| title | Rainbow Crossings: Gay Irish Migrants and LGBT Politics in 1980s London |
| title_full | Rainbow Crossings: Gay Irish Migrants and LGBT Politics in 1980s London |
| title_fullStr | Rainbow Crossings: Gay Irish Migrants and LGBT Politics in 1980s London |
| title_full_unstemmed | Rainbow Crossings: Gay Irish Migrants and LGBT Politics in 1980s London |
| title_short | Rainbow Crossings: Gay Irish Migrants and LGBT Politics in 1980s London |
| title_sort | rainbow crossings gay irish migrants and lgbt politics in 1980s london |
| topic | Ireland LGBT London Migration Politcs 1980s |
| url | https://oajournals.fupress.net/index.php/bsfm-sijis/article/view/11754 |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT darylleeworthy rainbowcrossingsgayirishmigrantsandlgbtpoliticsin1980slondon |