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Tim Cook tells Ireland students: Being gay is one of the greatest gifts God gave me

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13 November 2015
by David Hudson

Visit to Ireland coincided with Apple announcing a major expansion of its operations in the country; new Cork campus will provide an additional 1,000 jobs

 

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Tim Cook poses for a selfie with students at Trinity College in Dublin


 
To coincide with Apple announcing a major expansion of its operations in the Republic of Ireland, its Chief Executive, Tim Cook visited Trinity College Dublin on Wednesday and addressed students.
‘Apple is proud to call Ireland home,’ the Irish Independent reports Cook as saying at a packed event organised by the Philosophical Society. Cook was awarded the society’s Gold Medal, making him an honorary patron.
‘We don’t see ourselves as just a company that is in Ireland, we see ourselves rooted here.
‘This country has championed the cause of LGBT people around the world.
‘It has also been a leader in the fight for human rights and has stood up for freedom of expression on the internet. Ireland shares our values of tolerance, diversity and equal rights both inside and outside the workplace.’
Cook publicly came out as gay in November 2014, and he told students about his own experiences as standing up as an LGBT person.
‘I saw kids being bullied at school and people being fired at work because they were gay.
‘I came to the conclusion that I needed to do something. There would be no donation that could match standing up and saying that I am proud to be gay and that it is one of the greatest gifts that God gave me.
‘I think we need more people who will do that. It’s the single most important thing that they can do.’
He emphasized the importance of diversity and said that, ‘the best companies of the future will be diverse.’
Tim Cook addresses the Trinity Philosophical Society
Apple is the largest private employer in Cork, and its expansion there will create a further 1,000 jobs in the region by mid 2017.
This will bring the total number of Apple employees in Cork to approximately 6,000; around a quarter of its European staff.
Some commentators have suggested that Apple’s commitment to Ireland may not be purely down to its stance on diversity.
The company’s announcement that it was expanding its base in Cork comes while EU regulators investigate whether the Irish government’s tax deal with Apple side-stepped international tax rules.
Ireland has been accused of allowing Apple – the biggest company in the world – to keep tens of billions of pounds worth of profits in return for maintaining jobs in the country.
A ruling is expected after Christmas.
However, during his Ireland visit, Cook re-asserted his commitment to the country regardless of the EU ruling and expressed confidence that the investigation would find that no ‘special’ deals had been struck.
In an interview with national broadcaster RTÉ, he was asked if Apple might scale back its operations in the country if the EU decision led to the company having to pay more tax.
‘You can tell by our announcement today, we’re all in,’ he replied. ‘If there is an adverse ruling, we’re going to appeal, Ireland is going to appeal and we’re going to support them because there was no special deal, no special arrangement.
‘I can’t say for sure what they’ll come back with but what I do know for sure is if the evidence is viewed on a fair basis, I believe strongly that it will be found that there is nothing wrong done.’
 

The National Union of Students (NUS), Lesbian and Gay Liberation Campaign Conference 1988

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(Out-take Update Vol. 2, No, 2 (03.09.1988))
CAUCUSES
The National Union of Students (NUS), Lesbian and Gay Liberation Campaign held its conference in the QUB (the Queens’ University, Belfast) Students’ Union building this year.  That may seem an odd way of putting things, but that is what happened.  “In Belfast” is the wrong phrase.
Locals were not informed about the event until a few days prior to its happening.  Participants had to sleep, eat, and live in one of the city’s least amenable building for living, eating, and especially, sleeping.  Some escapees remarked on how peaceful and pleasant the town seemed.
The Conference itself was not especially interesting to outsiders.  Some time ago a Lesbian Caucus was set up, with guaranteed places on the Campaign Committee.  This led, in the national ballot, to an over-all lesbian majority on the Committee.  This has disconcerted some men, (though they are probably somewhat embarrassed by the feeling), for sexist reasons.  They are uncomfortable with women being in charge.
Others appeared to have very vague ideas about what a caucus was.  They perceived it as a ghetto for women.  One (rather handsome Indian-looking) man let a scabby cat out of the bag.  He said something to the effect “Why isn’t there weighted representation for, say, members of the Revolutionary Communist Party?” (!)  In other words, some of the men did not like the largely businesslike, rhetoric-free politics of the present Committee.
Locals pointed out that the Caucus was quite legitimately viewed as a power-base.  If that view was not acceptable there were a number of alternatives.  One was a return to free-for-al elections.  Another was to split the Campaign along gender lines.  A third, the preferred option, was the status quo ante.
Another somewhat controversial point was the question of the Irish language.  It was suggested that Campaign (and all NUS) documents should be translated into Gaelic.  As few people in Northern Ireland speak Gaelic on a day to day basis locals felt it would be more trouble than it was worth.
A rational solution to this problem created by good Brit intentions was to donate any monies set aside to the promotion of the Irish language directly to Gaeilscoileanna (Irish language schools).  They were legitimate and pacific enterprises.