Queer As Fliuch

Bill Foley was one of the founding members of Gay Health Action Ireland, which was set up in 1985 in response to the AIDS crisis. Through his work, he and his colleagues were pivotal in helping, supporting and ultimately, saving a lot of lives. He is also a longtime activist and has a reputation for being a serious disco groover in his time. Enjoy our chinwag with one of Walkinstown's finest.Produced and researched by Emer McGinnity.

Emma Bidwell is a Cork trans masculine feminist dyke who teaches gender and sexualities on the Women’s Studies MA in UCC. They were born in 1969 in South London but finished childhood as a harassed queer teenager on the Isle of Skye.Having moved to Cork shortly after that, Emma could often be found in Loafers bar and was one of the organisers of the Cork Women’s Fun Weekend. They were also known as Shit Pit Bidwell at Women’s Camp, but we'll let them tell that story...Enjoy this episode, filled with hilarity and heart.

The Hirschfeld Biograph was a cinema housed within the Hirschfeld Centre, which was opened in Temple Bar in March 1979 by the National Gay Federation. The Biograph, with a max capacity of 55, operated every second Monday and had two screenings. It eventually became a roaring success.The success of the Biograph was down to the efforts of one man, John McEvoy, who ran the Hirschfeld Biograph throughout its almost seven-year history. John brought a great level of commitment and professionalism to the running of the Biograph. We sit down with John to recount those years, and the story behind his beloved Biograph.Resources and articles from John on the Hirschfeld Biograph are available here.

On this episode of Queer As Fliuch, we sit down with activist, writer and the Captain of the Cork LGBT Archive ship, Orla Egan.Orla was born and reared in Cork City, and has been involved in the LGBT community since the 1980s. She has some brilliant stories to share.You can buy Orla's book "The Diary Of An Activist" (illustrated by Megan Luddy O'Leary) here, and you can find out more about (and support) the Cork LGBT Archive here.This podcast is Produced and Researched by Emer McGinnity, and hosted by Acast.

For our first episode of Season 2, we talk to Dr. Patrick McDonagh. Patrick is a historian and an author whose work is incredibly important to Irish Queer history. He wrote "Gay and Lesbian Activism in the Republic of Ireland, 1973-93", which is a brilliant read and comes thoroughly recommended. Enjoy!

This week, we are graced with Declan Buckley's presence. Declan is best known for his drag persona, Shirley Temple Bar, and for being the face of Telly Bingo for the last 20 years. He is charming, hilarious and insightful. Enjoy!Researched/Produced by Emer McGinnity.