The Irish Fight for Transgender Rights

By Editor-in-Chief Claire Watson

This summer saw a hostile environment brew in the midst of our heatwaves. It has always been there, like the hot blood pumping beneath our skin, only some of us are more aware of it than others. In physical attacks, blood spills out on Skehard Road, Grand Parade, on the doorsteps of our homes, and in places left unreported. According to a report conducted by the European Union Agency for Fundamental Rights In 2014, Ireland came second in the highest recording of hate-motivated violence against transgender individuals. 

Presently, amendments to the Criminal Justice (Incitement to Violence or Hatred and Hate Offences) Bill 2022 sits before the Seanad. As of 21 June it is in the committee stage. Amendments include the inclusion and specification of LGBTQIA+ identities. Transgender individuals within Ireland have long been ignored by Irish law, and this marginalisation of our people has allowed bigotry to grow into the force that the far-right Ireland First party has spilled across Cork.

On 2 September Ireland First took once more to the doorstep of our library. A counter-protest was organised, with transgender activists waiting on Grand Parade from 9 am, and staying until 5.30 pm. Cork’s citizens took to the library adorned in face coverings and pride flags, as well as banners calling for “Trans Liberation,” to quote one directly. One described the counter-protest as “hopeful [...] The atmosphere was wonderful, there was a real feeling of solidarity and standing up against racism and transphobia and intimidation of workers.” 

Members of this far-right group have upgraded from harassing local workers, to assaulting members of the public. Members of the party claim to be protesting for the safety of children, as their green t-shirts state, but have stormed children’s reading events in order to shout hatred at library staff. The far-right group that is fighting for family rights brings an avalanche of hostility wherever they go. 

I spoke to workers from across Cork, who have asked to remain anonymous for their safety, about their experiences with Ireland First.

One worker explained, “it started off with the anti-refugees protest. [...] One of the members started to talk to a customer about the left and how they were all paid NGOs and terrorists. At that moment I intervened and asked if he could stop and leave his politics outside. [...] He then started shouting racist comments about the refugees, immigrants, and the left. [...] He refused to leave.” 

“At an anti-trans protest [...] a trans woman walked by, and they started shouting at her. They followed her, cornered her, and surrounded her against the wall of the library. Two members of the public barged through the group and stood in front to protect her.”

I happened to be in this workplace one morning when members of Ireland First came into this workplace. I witnessed them shout at and corner the workers, as they claimed they had stolen a party member’s phone. A worker asked the members to step outside, while another member called the gardaí. “They disbanded and started searching around. Thankfully [members of another business] came over and protected us. They were watching them and making sure they didn’t come back in.” 

Another worker stated that “It’s been a really stressful and uncertain time for all of us. When we arrive at work in the morning, we don’t know whether these protestors are going to show up and harass us that day, for something that we have no control over. [...] Now there are some people coming in who have absorbed misinformation from the original protestors and are repeating it at us.

“I personally had an experience with that kind of situation, in part just because someone gave out to me for something that was nothing to do with me personally, and that I could do nothing about, but also because of what they said. [...]

“The overarching issue is the further pain and discrimination that these protests inflict upon the trans community. I hope that the Cork trans community knows we stand in solidarity with them.”

An edited and incorrectly captioned video of Ireland First storming a children’s event in Tralee library was shared on US conspiracy theory site InfoWars. Ross Lahive, who has been leading these anti-trans protests, is a former employee of Epoch Times, an American newspaper that publishes pro-Trump sentiments and conspiracy theories such as Spygate and QAnon. 

While we might always have access to the truth, discerning facts from fiction becomes increasingly difficult. In the unreality of the internet, and in the vastness of its voices, it is difficult to know which you can trust. This leads many individuals to reject all voices in favour of their own. These people build communities, and in doing so, build their own truths as a force of rejection. In this isolation, a hatred for the outside world begins. Conspiracy theorists are the extreme of what misinformation leads to, but in them we see how individuals reject change. If we peel back the conspiracy theories and examine the ideologies that guide them, we find nothing but fear. 

A popular fear-tactic used to turn public opinion against transgender people, is spreading the lie that transgender women are men pretending to be women in order to deceive and overpower them. The image that is built by the right-wing media is of a transgender woman sneaking into female toilets to assault or spy-on cisgender women. However, this fear mongering takes on a more devious, and subtle form, as more industries, sports, and vocations are banning transgender women. 

In August 2022 the Irish Rugby Football Union banned transgender women from competing in contact sport, transgender men must provide consent forms and carry out a risk assessment. March 2023 saw transgender women barred from world track and field events. The monitoring of testosterone levels will mean that women, both cisgender and transgender, who produce higher levels of testosterone will be banned from competing. In August 2023 the International Chess Federation banned transgender women from competing and has removed titles from previous transgender winners. 

All these bans claim to be carried out in order to protect cisgender women. As former Minister for Justice Michael McDowell wrote in the Irish Times, “This is not a relic of outdated ideology but is based on an obvious truth – that men are physically more likely to win than women in sports”. Even the very foundation of Trans Exclusionary Radical Feminism is built on the blatantly misogynistic idea that people who are assigned male at birth (AMAB) are biologically better than people assigned female at birth (AFAB). 

Following the Trans Writer’s Union, students across Ireland have agreed to boycott the national newspaper the Irish Times for its publication of transphobic speech and ideology, as well as a lack of representation of transgender experiences. The Union of Students Ireland (USI) voted in favour of boycotting the newspaper and enacted a nationwide boycott of the paper among University students.

This summer, Cork city saw its second transgender pride parade. Thousands gathered to celebrate Trans+ Pride, including our very own Student Union and LGBTQ+ Society, ourselves at the University Express as well as activist groups from across the country such as Mammies for Trans Pride. As we painted our banners at the Student Union’s common room, we prepared ourselves for a day of hostility and fighting and readied ourselves to protect one another. But as we turned around Singer’s Corner, and saw that Grand Parade was covered from length to length in pastel blues, pinks and white, we knew that the day would be one of celebration, and not suffering. Feminist group Rósa, which have led pro-trans marches across the country in solidarity with the community, led chants as we paraded through the city. Speakers from across Ireland came together to speak out against transphobia. The event ended on a joyous note, as local artist Kiera Barabra performed “Rainbow Connections” to finish off the event. 

Transgender people deserve protection as well as respect. Activists forming a human chain to allow people to safely enter and exit the library show the strength and effectiveness of banding together. Transphobia is not a new trend. The mistreatment that transgender individuals have faced under the Irish legal and healthcare systems is not news. The anti-trans hatred we see on our streets is not fresh. It simply cannot be ignored any longer.