“I’ve had players over the years who were single and read books and so others [other players] said they must be gay…I think being openly gay would be something very difficult to live with in football… …You can get drunk and beat up your wife and that’s quite acceptable, but if someone were to say ‘I’m gay’, it’s considered awful. It’s ridiculous.” – Alan Smith (Football Manager) In 2010 the … Read More
Anti-gay moral crusader destroyed by mistress
Here in rabble HQ we’re not ones for salacious tabloid tittle tattle (well not all of us) but we love a bit of hypocrisy from time to time. Conservative MP Bob Blackman (with a surname like that we can only imagine the raised eyebrows as his name was announced at Tory dinners) supports the reinstatement of Thatcher’s Section 28 – outlawing gay ‘propaganda’. Quoting the usual slew of creepy clichés … Read More
Disco Liberation: Flikkers and The Hirschfield Centre
Rashers Tierney takes a trip down memory lane and hears how a little known community centre and disco not only laid the groundwork for an opening up of Irish sexual attitudes but also dragged our clubbing sensibilities out of the dancehalls.
Gimme Shelter: An Interview With An Asylum Seeker
Sitting in an armchair by the window of the Outhouse library, Capel Street, Patrick is sharing his story of seeking asylum in Ireland with Peg Leeson. Well-spoken and confident there are moments during the conversation when he looks down and fidgets with his fingers or hugs his knees, subtle indicators that his journey was not an easy one.