Queeritage

In this episode Joe Walsh is talking with Harry McAllister who has been the Queen of Belfast's drag scene since the 1970s as his infamous alter ego Mizz Mae. Harry remembers performing at some iconic venues such as The Royal Avenue Hotel, The Crow's Nest and The Orpheus. Harry talks about making his own dresses for drag performances and having to get changed in public toilets on the way to gigs. If you enjoy this episode you might consider subscribing to help us build our listener base x

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During pride week 2024 we held an open call for podcast guests and luckily Councillor John Blair MLA for South Antrim called in to 2 Royal Avenue and was happy to share his experiences of being the first openly gay politician in Northern Ireland. CC BY 4.0 Licence

In this episode Martina Hanna who was the chair of HereNI talks about her long career and campaigning for equality for the LGBTQIA+ community and the LGBT+Strategy that never was and why it's important to pursue it now! Martina is joined by Monica Fitzpatrick who was the author of the LGBT+ strategy titled Pride not prejudice and sheds some insight into the background of the strategy which in 2024 has still never been implemented

In this episode we are chatting with the infamous Tina McComb, Tina was at the first Belfast pride meetings when they realised they didn't have a Pride flag anywhere in the North of Ireland and she had to use her contacts from her campaigning. This is only one of the many stories Tina brings to us in this fabulous episode of Queeritage. CC BY 4.0 Licence

In this episode Fionntan Warren talks to Vince Creelan about his time in the PSNI, they discuss attitudes of the police at the time, Darren Bradshaw's murder and the formation of the Gay Police Association.

If you are affected by any of the issues raised in this episode you can contact [email protected] or [email protected] to speak to someone about services available. CC BY 4.0 Licence

Leo Lardie is a trans man living and working in Belfast, he talks about his journey to transition in Northern Ireland through a broken medical system and how things have worked out. Leo is the sexual health officer with The Rainbow Project and a proud advocate for Trans people. Leo's colourful account of his experiences is touching, funny and hopeful. The title was taken from a comment Leo makes in the podcast about how Trans people are expected to be the spokesperson for the entire Trans "community" We hope you enjoy this episode. CC BY 4.0 Licence

In this episode we speak with the fabulous Robert May, Robert was a DJ and entertainer on the Belfast Gay scene through the late 80s and 90s, Robert takes us on a colourful trip down memory lane to relive the hay days of early pride parades, the crows nest and Parliament and lots more. CC BY 4.0 Licence

in this episode Sally Bridge and Catherine Covert take us on a journey through 1990s Belfast, coming out with children and the strong women who fought for services and equality. CC BY 4.0 Licence

subscribe for upcoming episodes, we are capturing the oral history of our fabulous LGBT+ community through the stories brought to us in this series. If you or someone you know would like to record their story with us please get in touch by email [email protected] CC BY 4.0 Licence