Sex, Love, and Everyday Life: A History of Northern Ireland before Gay Liberation
Protest and Pride: Unearthing Northern Ireland’s Hidden Queer Past – In the shadowed corners of history, beneath the layers of repression and silence, lies a vibrant, defiant queer world in Northern Ireland—long before the activists, the marches, and the pride banners. It’s a story of clandestine courage, of characters who dared to love and live openly in a society obsessed with shame and suppression.
From the ‘female husband’ working Belfast’s docks in the 1880s—an early rebel defying gender norms—to the first lesbian activist of the 1960s, Belfast’s queer history pulses with resilience. Scandals like the Victorian male brothel discovered in the docks, or the circulation of Jazz Age novels that celebrated forbidden desires, reveal a city alive with subversion. These stories challenge the lie that Northern Ireland’s past was only about conflict and repression. It was also about secret societies of lovers, clandestine meetings in alleyways, and whispered confidences over the counter in bookshops selling forbidden titles.
The police raids and newspaper revelations in the mid-20th century sought to crush these whispers, but they only amplified the underground roar. Men who cruised Queen Square or the entries, who exchanged glances and love letters—many paid dearly for their truth. Prison cells, family shame, exile—yet their stories persisted, woven into the fabric of Belfast’s hidden history.
But this history is not just one of shame and suffering. Diaries and letters from men like David Robinson and the sailors who brought queer culture ashore reveal a city brimming with life, desire, and daring. Women like Margaret Dobbs and Rose Young defied conventions, their “romantic friendships” a silent protest against the suffocating silence enforced by society.
Today, we must remember these stories—not as relics of the past, but as proof of an enduring struggle. We demand acknowledgement of those who dared to love in secret, who fought against the walls of repression—who, in their silence, roared resistance. The sodomy campaign was never just about criminality; it was about stripping us of our humanity, our right to love freely.
Let this be the call to awaken our collective memory. To protest, to say boldly: the queer past of Northern Ireland was never just darkness. It was a spark—waiting, still waiting—to ignite the future of pride and liberation.
This was a wonderful, enlightening and entertaining talk by Dr Tom Holme, Queen’s University, held in the Linen Hall Library on Tuesday, 23rd July 2025 at 1 PM. 
Links: