On my last visit to Birmingham the rainbow flag seemed to be everywhere, and the historic Gay Village, with its bars, shops and cafes, is hugely visible, centred largely on Hurst Street. Dublin Pride runs 22-28 June, with the main parade on 25 June – stay at the centrally located Temple Bar Inn (doubles from £159). This spirit filters down into Dublin’s many LGBTQ-friendly establishments: two personal favourites are friendly brunch spot Social Fabric Café in Stoneybatter, one of the city’s most interesting neighbourhoods, and Street 66 bar, a useful cocktail spot before a night at iconic LGBTQ+ institution The George.Īlso southside is gay-owned Gutter Bookshop (named after the famous Oscar Wilde quote), and the weekly “big gay disco” Sunday Social at Farrier & Draper or cross the river for the Outhouse LGBTQ+ community resource cafe on Capel Street and PantiBar, owned by drag queen, activist and performer Panti Bliss. Two years later, Leo Varadkar was elected taoiseach, becoming the world’s fourth openly gay head of government. In 2015 Ireland became the first country to legalise same-sex marriage by popular vote.
Photograph: Alexander Hafemann/Getty Images The Ha’penny Bridge over the River Liffey dates from 1816.
