In 1980s conservative Ireland, when the state was under the wrath of the Catholic Church, gay rights activist David Norris challenged a criminal law forbidding sodomy. His case failed in the High Court and was shot down in the Supreme Court. Determined, Norris took his case to the European Court of Human Rights in Strasbourg. At every step of his legal battle, the Irish state fought back. Though he eventually succeeded, even the Irish judge sitting on the Strasbourg court found against him. David Norris discusses his decade-long litigation which resulted in the de-criminalisation of homosexuality and what it is like for an individual to sue the state.

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