Taking Pride in Team Limerick

Limerick is a city with a deep-rooted sporting heritage, and one with a vibrant LGBT community. Last year, Limerick emerged as one of the three finalists vying for the chance to host the 2018 Gay Games alongside Paris and London. So it’s no surprise that a new club is about to be launched to meet the growing demand for LGBT sports in the city. Kathy Masterson talks to Cillian Flynn to find out more about Team Limerick.

LAST summer, Limerick launched a bid to host the 2018 Gay Games, an event that could have potentially generated €80 million for the local economy, and showcased the city’s sports facilities and the best of Ireland’s LGBT (Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender) sporting talent.

The city on the Shannon took on the might of London, Rio de Janeiro, Paris and Amsterdam.

Limerick narrowly lost out to Paris, but reaching the final three was still a major coup for the Limerick 2018 Gay Games Organising Committee, and was testament to the commitment of the city’s LGBT sporting community.

The Committee plans to make another bid to host the Gay Games in 2022 or 2026 but, in the meantime, it is focusing on developing LGBT sports opportunities in Limerick with the launch of the new ‘Team Limerick’ club.

“It’s the new name for the group that produced the Gay Games bid. It’s a multi-sport LGBT group; we’re newly-formed at the minute and we’re looking for members to join. The idea is that from the needs of the members we’ll look at what sports we do,” explained coordinator Cillian Flynn, who was also a member of the Limerick 2018 committee.

“Some people want to get involved in certain events and meet other people but they don’t necessarily want to do it in a bar setting or anything like that so in terms of meeting people, getting out there, getting active, keeping fit – doing all that through a sports group is a fun way of doing it. We’re also now part of a newly-formed national LGBT sports group called Prism, which has come out on the back of the bid as well.”

So why the need for a club geared specifically towards LGBT people?

“I think it is important in terms of identity. Growing up you play GAA or soccer for your local town, you play for your local club or your community. So this is about LGBT people representing their community,” said Cillian.

“I know a lot about the LBGT community always comes back to the word pride, but it’s about taking pride in your community. It stops people feeling isolated and thinking ‘I’m on my own, I’m the only person going through this’. It’s camaraderie, it’s team-building, it’s making friends, but not in the alcohol-based setting of a pub or a club.”

Cillian believes that Team Limerick can also play an important role in highlighting the fact that LGBT people’s interests range much further than pride parades and throwing a good party.

He says: “During Limerick Pride, the question of the rainbow flag outside the garda station was raised, and that was about supporting a community that’s visible in the city and in the Mid West, so we’re adding another strand to that. It’s not just about the party lifestyle and ‘the pink pound’ and all of that that’s associated with the LGBT community. That’s stereotyping an already marginalised and stereotyped group.”

“Part of it is education, showing people that it’s not the stereotypical gay lifestyle that would be portrayed in programmes, the promiscuous side of things and all of that. LGBT people are in the community, they pay their taxes, they do the nine to five, they settle down in relationships, the same as everyone else.”

Sadly, homophobia in sport is still an issue for many LGBT people, both at amateur and professional levels. Cillian hopes that Team Limerick will provide an outlet for LGBT people who may have experienced homophobic bullying, or who may not yet feel comfortable playing with a ‘mainstream’ sports club.

“Not everyone questioning their identity and their sexuality as young people would have felt comfortable coming out. There’s always the dressing room banter and stuff like that going on. In the Mid West thankfully homophobia is not as prominent, but there would be one or two people who would have experienced it.

“In terms of transexual identity, a lot of trans people say they wouldn’t feel comfortable going to communal changing rooms while they’re mid-transition. A lot of it comes down to education, working with the sports clubs. I think when Limerick went forward with the bid it did help raise awareness of LGBT issues in terms of sport.”

Cillian believes that there is still “a lot more to be done” in terms of changing attitudes towards LGBT people involved in sport.

Referring to comments made on Newstalk FM earlier this year by rugby pundit and former Irish international Neil Francis, who suggested that the majority of homosexual people “have no interest in any kind of sport”, Cillian remarked:“He has since apologised, but it didn’t really help the situation.

“Anything to spark the conversation is good, but it would have been nice if we’d had a better introduction to the discussion on LGBT sport. We disagree with his comments but we welcome the fact that the conversation has started again.”

Cillian believes that the fact that a number of well-known personalities have come out in recent years is a positive move, as seeing high-profile people playing sport professionally while being open about their sexuality could provide some support and inspiration for other gay athletes.

“The age-old thing was as sports stars were coming out; it was always in and around their retirement. Now the tables are turning but I suppose there’s still a lot more to be done on that. However, it has become a lot more open for athletes. There has been Robbie Rogers (LA Galaxy winger) in the US who came out and retired, but then decided ‘I don’t need to retire to do this’ and came back playing football.

“You’ve Tom Daly, who inspired a lot of people when he came out last December. There’s Gareth Thomas as well, the Welsh rugby player. Even closer to home there’s Donal Óg Cusack and his brother Conor. He’s done some fantastic work in terms of championing anti-homophobic bullying, and he’s worked closely with Belong To, the national youth LGBT organisation.”

On a local level, it is hoped that Team Limerick will play its part in the fight against homophobia, and in opening up attitudes towards the involvement of LGBT people in the sporting world.

But aside from that, the club promises to provide a fun, inclusive, accepting environment for anyone in Limerick to make friends, get fit, and play their favourite sports.

“If people want to get involved in sport but don’t feel ready to join a mainstream club, we’d say to them: ‘Come along, make some friends, get to play your sport’.

“But it’s not just for LGBT people, it’s an LGBT sports club but it’s open to everyone, it’s open to supporters and allies, it’s open to anyone that wants to come along and be involved,” concluded Cillian.

For more information about Team Limerick, go to www.teamlimerick.com or email hello@teamlimerick.

A Voice for the LGBT Community

ALONG with Team Limerick and Limerick Pride, another organisation that provides support, advice and social activities for LGBT teens and adults in the Mid West is GOSHH (Gender Orientation Sexual Health HIV), formerly named the Red Ribbon Project.

GOSHH runs a range of services such as workshops and group and one-to-one support, activities, sexual health advice, and support for parents and families of LGBT people in Limerick, Clare and North Tipperary.

Cillian Flynn, who is also administrator and volunteer coordinator at GOSHH explained: “It’s about providing a more integrated person-centred organisation all under the one roof. As a community it’s important to have a space where issues in terms of the LGBT community are discussed, like positive promotion of sexual health, or support for people newly-diagnosed or living with HIV. It’s also important to have that space where it’s prominent, it’s visible and it’s keeping the conversation going.”

According to Cillian, the support groups are vital for LGBT young people to help them become comfortable with their sexual or gender identity.

“Part of it is realising that they’re not on their own. Part of it is that they can come along to a group and they can be themselves. They can bring their friends; they can come along and enjoy themselves.

“We do workshops and social activities, so it’s about educating and also having a laugh and being around people like yourself. It’s about social settings, it’s about meeting people and making friends, but not in a bar setting.,” he said.

Providing support and information for the parents, families and friends of LGBT people is another important aspect of GOSHH’s work.

“When someone comes out it’s not just themselves, there’s family, there’s friends, there’s parents, who are all coming to terms with it. We do a family group as well and we have a group once a month in Clare Youth Service in Ennis for parents of LGBT people.

“The parents’ group is doing fantastically. Of all the groups it’s one of the longest we have running. It’s just a space where you’re not on your own; people realise ‘I’m not the only person going through this’”.

The Red Ribbon Project relaunched as GOSHH in July of this year, and has moved to a fully-accessible ground floor premises on Davis Street.

Cillian revealed that demand for the organisation’s services has been high since the relaunch.

“We’re coming into a busy time in the next six to eight months in terms of LGBT rights with the marriage equality referendum. That’s something that we’ll be advocating strongly. The next step on that will be our voter registration campaign,” he added.

Cillian says that one of GOSHH’s roles is to act as “a community voice” for LGBT people in the Mid West.

“It’s there representing people who want to stand up and speak, or for those who aren’t ready to stand up and speak, we’re a voice for them.”

For more information about any of the services available at GOSHH, go to www.goshh.ie, or email [email protected].