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 Oh
Jessie be strong, Just hold on
B*Witched are next to join the
list of Irish bands to support the Gay scene, unfortunatly its in London again
and not Dublin. The fab foursome are to play the ever popular G.A.Y club in the
astoria nightclub this Saturday night. Click Here
for more info on GAY and Here
for more info on B*Witched
The
Sixth Alternative Miss Ireland - Live on Location
It was horrible timing, the sixth Alternative Miss Ireland was on at the same
time as Dublins biggest ever fireworks display, luckily we caught a small bit of
the fireworks on the way and there was definitly a lot more sparkle and flare in
the Olympia than there was down at the fireworks display.
The show started at 8.30 to a packed out crowd, I had just enough time to grab
my complimentary Smirnoffs (yum) and fight my way thru the crowd to get a good
spot.
The show was started with a little tune from our host 'Panti' and an
introduction to her two assistants 'the dying for it sisters'.
There were 13 contestants in total:-
Miss(es) T.L.Semen
Miss @
Miss Siobhan Broadway
Miss Genetically Modified 2000
Miss Lolita Benten
Miss Elizabeth H'ardon
Miss DiDi Charvet and Miss Surley Bassey
Miss Chloe
Miss Demeanor
Miss Elizabeth Taylor-Trash
Miss Clare McClone
Miss Anita LLoyd Webber aka Stephanie Gately
Miss Revvlon
The contestants were judged on Poise, personality and
originality through the various guises of day-wear, swim-wear and evening wear.
Each section was punctuated with a performance from a previous 'Alternative Miss
Ireland' winner (Tampy Lilette, Shirley Temple Bar, Vada bon Reve).
Some of the acts border on the bizzare, Miss @ for example was a woman trapped
inside a television set with flashing images, something along the lines of a pot
noodle ad. Miss Elizabeth Taylor-Trash was an oversized diva that made Vanessa
Feltz look like Namoi Campbell. Miss Genetically Modified 2000 brought along her
pet snake, and smeared fake blood all over her white fure coat (Marilon Manson
had better watch out!!)
There was tough competition but I think the three strongest
candidates reached the top three (altho not in my prefered order)
The winners were
3rd place:- Miss Clare McClone - She was
absolutly brilliant, very funny and great ad lib, wonderful costume (her dress
was a table complete with fruit and candles) Clare also had
a great video which played alongside her act.
2nd Place:- Miss Revvlon - According to the
judges it was a very close 2nd place and I have to agree, Miss Revvlon was the
scariest, tallest, best designed drag queen of them all
I dont think we've seen the last of her!!
1st Place:- Miss Siobhan Broadway - Siobhan
delighted the crowd with her well prepared acts and smart costumes. She had an
ace up her sleeve, her evening Wear costume when reversed, transformed into a
row of dancing minstrals. Expect to see Siobhan at a bingo hall near you!!
Saint
Patricks Day - New York City 2000
Thanks to Margot for the review
The protest was large -- larger than it has been at least in
the past couple of years. Somewhere around 68 protestors (of whom I think 12
were Irish citizens, part of a much larger contingent of Irish women and men who
came specifically to take part in the protest) were arrested when they stepped
onto 5th Avenue (at around 5th and 59th st.) and attempted to march down 5th
Avenue.
The plan this year was not to march IN the parade, but to
march before the parade, in the opposite direction from that in which the parade
was going. If they had been allowed to march unimpeded, they would have been out
of the way before the Ancient Order of Hib's-authorized parade arrived. But the
NYPD set up barricades to prevent them from going forward, and the protesters
sat down in the street, coralled in a tight formation. In the meantime, the rest
of the protestors (I don't know, maybe there were about 200 of us in all?)
circulated on the sidewalk, chanting "Queers March in Dublin/Queers March
in Cork/Why Can't Queers/March in New York?!" and "We're Queer, We're
Green, and Guiliani's Mean!", and displaying a large number of great signs,
some of them with images of famous Irish queers. I will say for myself that the
sight of marchers being coralled in a cul de sac by cops in riot gear was eerily
reminiscent of the events of Bloody Sunday.
Anyway, the protesters were left coralled in this tight space
for what seemed like a fairly long time to me -- half an hour? -- and then
rapidly loaded onto a bus. The NYPD kept them for a long time -- longer than
usual. There was a post-protest celebration planned, but when supporters
gathered that evening and found that the protesters were not yet released, they
went en masse to the courthouse to express their support for those still in
custody. This, at least, is what I heard when I arrived, typically, after
everyone had already gone off. The next morning I got the address of the
courthouse from the ILGO hotline and headed over there myself and some people
were still in custody. For folks from Ireland, especially, who hadn't had any
sleep the night BEFORE the night after the protest, a night in cramped,
unsanitary (to say the least), freezing cold cells with various forms of
harassment and game-playing going on was virtually torture. But the protesters
did get fabulous -- indeed, heroic -- legal and other support. Resultantly,
everyone WAS gotten through the system, however painfully. Above all, the
demonstration and the arrests were extremely powerful statements.
I know that I will certainly never forget how it felt to see
friends who I know for a fact have devoted their whole lives to making Ireland a
better place for Irish people -- women, queer people, poor people -- dragged out
of a public street by armed goons in order to clear the way for phalanxes of US
military personnel, the first participants in the Ancient Order's surreal
display of THEIR warped idea of Irish/Irish-American cultural and spiritual
identity. It was, honestly, more sickening than I could have imagined. I think
that all of us who took part at any level could only come away with a renewed
determination to fight against the forces that distort and deform our lives,
individually and collectively.
Secret
gay lives of Irish married men
According to a new study married men who have tried to hide
their homosexuality make up the majority of the clientele of Dublin's male
prostitutes, estimated to number as many as 600. There is a certain type of
nice, middle-class Irish boy that specialises in easing the stress of a certain
type of nice, middle-class Irish husband and father. The stigma of homosexuality
still has such a grip on Irish men that many who are homosexual live a charade
of a life. They marry, have children, follow careers, play golf and do all the
things that Irish men are supposed to do, all the while living on a kind of
emotional autopilot. Click Here
for more on this story.
Gay
Hiking club Hike away on Patricks day
Those who find the
parade a little slow moving should consider joining the Gay Hiking Club, this
weekend they are planning a trip away to the Galtee Mountains, Co. Tipperary.
The emphasis on the weekend is to balance a couple of proper hikes with a
relaxed, friendly, informal weekend away. Click here
for more information.
WestLife
try out GAY Life
Popular Irish boyband are to play a gay nightclub in London,
GAY has always been famous for pulling in the biggest satrs and this weekend
(18th March) is no exception. Perhaps the boys in Westlife will consider
following in Geri Halliwell's footsteps and play a gay venue here sometime soon.
Click here for more info.
Patricks
Weekend Holiday planner
Get out your diaries and start planning your weekend because
looking at this lot theres a salmagundi of things to do, of course for the
boring stuff check out http://www.stpatricksday.ie
march 16th - F.F2 -
"Cailín Gaelic show" which roughly translates to fruit
factory 2 - "Irish Girls Show"
Dundalk OutComers ball, Westcourt Hotel, ph:- 042-983-8443
for info
march 17th -
Stonewallz - Paddy's Night Spectacular
The Dock - £5 entrance all day
The George - Trad with a twist, doors open at 2pm
march 19th -
Playground - Patrick's weekend
special
Alternative Miss Ireland - see below for more info.
The George - Special Cairde bingo, doors open at 4, bingo
at 5
Poser
Poster
Click here to view the
poster for 'Alternative Miss Ireland', the contest is heavily advertised in
magazines and on street posters. Tickets are £10 for standing and £15 for
seated, all proceeds go to cairde.
Ginger
to spice it up in Dublin
Everyones favorite ex spice girl, Geri Halliwell is rumoured to be playing
the George for their 2nd birthday (since their relaunch), Geri is no stranger to
the gay scene, having played GAY in london several times before, she is without
doubt, the biggest act to play the George so far, after OTT of course.
Fruit
Factory gets a makeover
Popular Thursday night club is to relaunch under the new logo F.F.2 this
Thursday (March 9th) it will take place in the Earl of Kildare hotel, already
home to Sundays 'Playground' and Tuesdays 'Tag and Shag' night. All pints are
£2.00 with vodka and red bull only £2.50. Admission is £5.00, there are
consessions for those with the special fruit factory keyrings. Regular
favorites will still be at the club such as the tuti-fruity boys, the beauty
parlour and Annie Ball's fortune telling stand.
Proposal
to include gay couples on housing lists
The Department of Justice is examining a bylaw proposed by Cork County
Council which could have far-reaching implications for local housing
authorities throughout the State.
The proposal seeks to establish that those in committed relationships
should be entitled under local legislation to a place on the housing list,
whether they are heterosexual or gay or lesbian couples living together.
"Legal marriage is not an option for tens of thousands of Irish
couples," said Cllr Kelly. "Should we continue to treat them as
second-class citizens? This by-law is about equality. It is not about special
rights for some, it's about equal rights for all." Click here
for more on this story.
Love
and the Russian Birthday
Popular Belfast bar and nightclub 'The Kremlin' celebrates its first birthday
this month. The russian styled venue is brining back their opening night star
'Sandra' to give a hand with the celebrations, which begin tonight. Phone
+44(0)289-080 9700 for more info or visit their website www.kremlin-belfast.com
Bingo
as Gaeilge
I've probably spelt Gaeilge wrong? It doesnt look right, anyways a good
chance to brush up on your Irish skills is to watch Léargas, RTE1's Irish
language program. This weeks edition (March 7th) will visit Bingo in the George
and will also feature Shirley speaking a cupla focail.
Stop
the lights
Those who have always wanted to go out dressed up as traffic lights but were
too afraid can now rejoice. This Sunday (March 5th) The Playground are holding a
traffic light night. The idea is to wear white
if you are a 'Virgin', blue
if you're looking for love, Red
if you are in a relationship and yellow
if you are into group sex. The guys at 'The Playground' must be a bit
colourblind, have you ever come across a blue traffic light? Anywho, it sounds
like good fun, I hope I can find my white trousers in time.
Hillary dresses
in green and skips around New York
Mrs Clinton has announced that she will march in a St Patrick's parade
this Sunday in the Queens area of New York which will allow gay and lesbian
groups to participate with their banners. The parade has been widely portrayed
as a gay and lesbian alternative to the main parade in Manhattan. Click Here
for more information.
Tickets onsale now for biggest gay night of the year
Size Wise it's the biggest gay indoor event of the year. This time around
the 'Alternative Miss Ireland' Contest is taking a few risks hiring out the
Olympia Theatre but its sure to sell tickets by the bucket load. Previous
winners were Shirley Temple Bar and Vada Bon Reve, come along to see the star
of next year being born on the 19th of march (Doors open 7pm, with the show
starting at 8pm) Tickets cost £15 for seating and £10 for standing, proceeds
go to Cairde.
Irish
Clubs on Tour to UK
Popular Nightclubs 'The Playground' and 'Fruit Factory' are
heading off on tour to Brighton for St. Patricks weekend. Cost is £200
(including insurance) The gang hit the skys on 17th March, the offer includes
all flights and 2 nights B&B in the new Amsterdam Hotel. For more info see
'Pat' Or 'Mack' at either of the club nights (Thursday or Sunday in Earl of
Kildare hotel).
Young
FG urges right to marry for homosexuals
Delegates at the Young Fine Gael national conference in Dublin
passed a motion calling for the introduction of a "legal marriage" for
same-sex partners. Ms Lucinda Creighton (Trinity College) said: "The
inequality that exists in this country towards same-sex couples must be
challenged. The Government must introduce a civil contract to recognise the
inheritance, insurance and taxation rights of same-sex and unmarried
couples." Click Here
for the full story.
Cork opens door to gay couples
CORK county council is considering recognising gay partnerships, giving
homosexual couples higher priority on housing lists and the right to purchase joint graves. Gay people would also be given recognition as
next-of-kin in county hospitals. Click Here
for the full story.
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