By Alice Linehan
Clonmel Pride is back in 2025 with another fabulous celebration of love and inclusivity. With a lineup of amazing events scheduled on Saturday, July 19, Tipperary will be awash with rainbow colours to mark the occasion.
The free festival is open to all, with a range of activities to suit every taste. The festivities start with a Clonmel Pride Parkrun takeover at 9:30am, for those who want an early and energetic start to the day. Participants are encouraged to wear their brightest colours and walk, jog or run the 5km route in a fun and friendly environment.
The remainder of the day promises everything from the vibrant parade to inspiring talks and fantastic performances. But if you simply can鈥檛 wait until then, there is a pre-Pride event you can check out.
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On Saturday, July 5, activist, curator of the Irish Queer Archive and GCN Co-Founder Tonie Walsh will host a discussion about Vincent Hanley and LGBTQ+ rights.
As a young gay man, Vincent was emblematic of a newly emboldened generation of LGBTQ+ people that left an indelible mark on a society grappling with change and modernity. With his passing on April 18, 1987, aged just 33, he was Ireland鈥檚 first celebrity to die of AIDS related complications.
However, he deserves to be defined for more than just his death. Vincent鈥檚 life and times, especially the 1980s, will spark the evening鈥檚 discussion, exploring the AlDS pandemic and its casualties with all the necessary candour, empathy and critical thinking that it demands.
Tonie will be joined by professor in Media Studies at UCD and Reeling in the Queers author Dr P谩raic Kerrigan, as well as National LGBT Federation Chairperson and former Big Brother contestant Anna Nolan. Together, they will seek to honour Vincent鈥檚 legacy, while also endeavouring to make sense of the extraordinary change in Irish society in the intervening years.
If that weren鈥檛 enough, there will also be live music from Garage Inc. Book tickets here.
To stay up to date with Clonmel Pride, check the group out on social media.