It’s the tenth anniversary of the marriage referendum in Ireland on May 22. The first country to legalise same-sex marriage by popular vote, Ireland has transformed itself from a conservative stronghold to a liberal state. This transformation could not have occurred without the important contributions of activists like Mary Dorcey, one of Ireland’s most significant LGBTQ writers.

Dorcey began her political activism in the 1970s, having returned to Ireland after living in France and England. Having met other queer people abroad, Dorcey was struck by the repression that characterised Irish life: “The word ‘homosexual’ was not spoken or written in Ireland before the 1970s. The word ‘gay’ didn’t exist.”

Determined to break through the silence, Dorcey became a founding member of various activist groups, including the Sexual Liberation Movement at Trinity College Dublin.

One of Dorcey’s most prominent displays of early activism occurred at the Women’s Week conference at University College Dublin, where she substituted for an absentee speaker. Frustrated by the erasure of homosexuality from Irish life, Dorcey took the stage, quoting the American feminist slogan “if feminism is the theory, lesbianism is the practice”.

A headline appeared on the front page of the Irish Times the following day. It read: “Self-confessed lesbian denounces heterosexuality as sadomasochism.” While the headline caused ruptures at home, Dorcey remained an........

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