Pride 2011: Marriage Is...

marriage is - menFor 2011's Pride Festivals we wanted to celebrate all the success of the past 12 months: 73% support for marriage equality in the polls, a commitment in the Programme for Government to look at 'the provision of same sex marriage' and the launch of a ground-breaking report on children in Ireland with lesbian and gay parents. Civil Partnerships had begun in March, and so it was time to gear ourselves up to make marriage equality a reality in Ireland.

Our theme for Pride 2011 was "Marriage Is..." We had t-shirts and posters (featuring these super-cute images by Mojographics!) with a blank space at the bottom that supporters were able to fill in with their messages of what marriage means to them. Many people said marriage is love, or family, or basic human rights, or equality.

In Pride festivals up and down the country, our message was heard loud and clear. We want everyone to understand that marriage matters to same sex couples for the same reasons it matters to everyone else.marriage is - women

Of course it's important to celebrate important milestones like Civil Partnership that was achieved in 2010 and 2011, but Pride 2011 was also our chance to highlight that we're not there yet. We need to keep pushing for equality for same sex couples, for our families and for our children. We need to send a message to anyone watching or listening that equality is something worth fighting for.

Pride 2011Who We Are - ME Pride
Cork Pride 1Pride 4 - Workers Solidarity
Pride 3 - Workers SolidarityPride 2 - Limerick LGBT