On behalf of the International Dublin Gay Theatre Festival, we are delighted to be in the presence of the Lord Mayor in her home, the Mansion House. As first citizen, the Lord Mayor honours us today in recognising that Dublin is a city where diversity can be celebrated and valued. For years, the status of gay people as full citizens has been demeaned, criminalised, and lacking equality of access and opportunity. Gay people were not legalised just over a decade ago - they were merely decriminalised. The work of valueing the status of all the citizens of Dublin and Ireland equally, has just begun – and theatre is an appropriate medium in which to pursue this goal. As Harry Eyres, Arts Critic of the Financial Times put it just last weekend ‘Nothing can demonstrate and question what it means to be human in quite the way theatre does, because theatres medium is living, breathing, speaking humanity itself’.

This is the month of the celebration of the 90th anniversary of the 1916 Rising – an event which had at its core equality for all citizens. One of the Proclamation’s signatories, as historians have debated, was probably gay, as was Roger Casement. As a Republic we still have kept some of the cherished traditions of the Regime we then sought to overthrow. In Victorian times young people in love had to ask, a sometimes tyrannical parent, for permission to marry the person they loved. In Victorian times, there was always the hope that ‘Papa’ would say yes. In the new Republic ninety years on, only about 10% of its citizens now have to seek permission to marry. In this Republic we are certain of the answer – it remains an unequivocal NO.

In the Good Friday Agreement, our society voted for a guarantee of an equivalence of rights - North and South - for all citizens. There is now great urgency not to be complacent and to cherry pick these guaranteed human rights, but to ensure for example, equality of partnership rights with those in Northern Ireland – otherwise we may undermine the values espoused under the Good Friday Agreement and stoke the fires of mistrust that have blemished our Island for too long.

When citizens are perceived as being different, then society can utilise this difference to discriminate. When such difference is deliberately structured, what chances have the discriminated? Well there is a chance…for the brave. One must take on those who insist on the stereotype and exploit the fear of difference. One must present the ‘feared’ culture with confidence, professionalism and skill.

Theatre enriches a civilized society. It is a forum where life can be portrayed and understood from its many diverse perspectives. It is a forum that informs and allows you to make up your own mind.

Gay people have worked in theatre for centuries - many driven by its potential to realise change and to validate difference. Most had to express themselves in a very ‘heterosexualised’ environment. Their plays were written about family, life, love and marriage. They played husbands, wives, fathers, mothers and lovers. They inspired, enlightened and entertained. They communicated and were validated by the approval of the audience.

Society too can give validation by offering the supports granted to the mainstream, to those who operate, to the same standards, outside, what is perceived to be, the mainstream. The role of national arts and cultural funding bodies is crucial if citizenship, diversity, freedom to express and communicate and human rights are to be embedded in the core of a society – especially one which seeks to follow the values and human rights so eloquently and fairly set out in the Proclamation - that to cherish and treat all its citizens equally. The only principle should be the merit principle – the bedrock of equal opportunity.

We have looked to national arts and cultural funding bodies to assist us in fulfilling our citizenship and our valid cultural expression to no avail. In this, the anniversary month of 1916, I am very pleased however to acknowledge the only partnership we got from the arts and cultural institutions operating in Ireland and that is the generous support received from the British Council. This is not surprising, as it was the British Council who helped establish the international reputation of the Edwards and Mac Liammoir Productions by funding its European tours before World War Two. It is a nice link to note.

The only other recognition and encouragement we got was from our own city. The diversity policies of Dublin Tourism through Failte Ireland and Dublin City Council have real meaning. As citizens of Dublin, we are hugely in your debt. Jack Gilligan through the Arts office was first to come on board in 2004 and again last year.

This year saw a major revamp of the arts funding structures of Dublin City Council under the Arts Committee chaired by Cllr Brian Gillen. We applied, were assessed on our merits, and Dublin City Council gave us a small but significant grant which we now publicly acknowledge. It has helped us fund the accommodation costs of the many actors from all around the world that we are bringing to Dublin - many for the first time. Well over 120 actors are travelling to Dublin and its thanks to the international hotel group Travelodge that we can accommodate them.

Lord Mayor, your concept of citizenship and that of your colleagues on the Council and its officials is appropriate and appreciated. Your time and hospitality today is a further encouragement to us all. The additional help in having 50 of our international festival banners, which depict our inspiration and a great son of Dublin, Oscar Wilde, fly on the Quayside for two weeks is further evidence of our visibility and of the immense contribution gay people in the past have made to the arts. It is also a fitting tribute to Oscar Wilde. I am pleased to unveil our new corporate image designed by Will St Leger, featuring Oscar and thank again to the City Council and acknowledge funds from Failte Ireland, through Dublin Tourism, which made this possible.

Our task today, in this artistic visibility endeavour is not only to honour Wilde, Hilton Edwards, Michael Mac Liammoir and others, but to create a channel where new artistic endeavour can thrive, inspire and enlighten.

I am very pleased to announce today details of the biggest international gay related theatrical event ever to be held in the world. The festival is certainly unique in Europe and this year 19 of the 20 plays presented will never have been seen before in Ireland. This is a radical, exciting, entertaining and innovative programme of theatre that places Dublin firmly at the centre of international gay theatre.

Twenty two productions or events by companies from three continents, from the USA, UK, Canada, Israel and South Africa who will join Irish companies in presenting the most extensive programme of gay related theatre ever staged. Our criteria for participation are sufficiently and deliberately broad to include and encourage mainstream audiences.

We look at works by gay authors, that have a gay character, theme or relevance. We present issues of gender identity, masculinity and feminism to name a few. Topics covered range from gay parenting, gay priests in the Catholic Church, sexuality and the media, on the margins of society like homelessness, mental illness, prostitution and transgenderism and the criminal justice system on sentencing impacts on gay related hate crime.

We also have a sense of fun with a Eurovision feast of camp and the first ever live gay soap opera. Prestigious theatres like the Project, Smock Alley, Andrew’s Lane, The Teacher’s Club and Liberty Hall mix with innovative venues like Filmbase, The George, the Front Lounge, Yello, Temple Bar Music Centre and the Cobalt Café to bring a wealth of drama, music and comedy to Irish and International audiences. We have low priced tickets from 8 to 15 euros, professional productions, free theatre, and an impressive gathering of international academics including Professor Alan Sinfield, in Oscar’s Alma Mater, Trinity College, curated by Dr Eibhear Walshe, to explore ‘what is gay theatre’.

The Festival is inclusive, accessible and great value. Men, women, regardless of their sexual orientation are taking part. Young people are. Older people are. The audience is local, national and international. Difference enriches us. With this third festival we seek to build bridges between Irish and international theatre practitioners and locally between gay people and mainstream audiences. Our ‘catchcry’ has been don’t just attend because it is gay theatre - attend because it is good theatre.

The Festival is also a beacon in the much pressurised area of voluntary activity. In the 1980s there were 57 voluntary musical societies active in the Dublin area. There are less than five and possibly only one left between the canals today. Celtic Tiger Ireland has put volunteerism and community under serious pressure. In contrast, this Festival though staffed by professionals, is entirely voluntary, due to the absence of any substantial financial support enjoyed by many other events of a similar scope or standard.

The Festival, through its website is linked to a series of prestigious international production companies and arts organisations promoting Dublin as an international centre for gay theatre. Foreign media have shown great interest in this project from across Europe. Support is also forthcoming from Arts Councils in the UK, from the Governor of Illinois Arts Fund and other Arts Councils in the USA, Israel and South Africa. I am delighted to welcome their Excellencies the Ambassadors from Israel and South Africa and thank their respective embassies in Dublin for the assistance given to the participating companies. We now need your support. As the Lord Mayor has to chair the City Council meeting shortly I will present the full details of the programme for 2006 at 6pm.

This is an incredibly ambitious and challenging programme. The Festival will have an office for three weeks in The Temple Bar Cultural Information Centre, Essex Street from the end of April and we are very grateful for the support offered to us by the Dublin Fringe Festival. Thank you also to Fire Restaurant here in the Mansion House for the food. The wine – depending on your palate – is living testimony to the true nature of our financial resources.

Thank you Lord Mayor for your hospitality and your presence. You have made a significant difference to the status of our event. I would like to acknowledge the contribution of our two patrons Senator David Norris and playwright Emma Donoghue who are not in the country today and can’t be with us. I am very grateful to the many production companies, writers, directors, actors and technicians who have not been enticed to Dublin by the mythical ‘pot of gold at the end of the rainbow’ but by a desire to make a difference and to be heard amongst the myriad of valid voices that make up the arts in Ireland.

I am deeply grateful and inspired by our seven company members, most particularly the twelve Executive Committee volunteers who have worked tirelessly for a year on this event. They are being joined by many young people who want to support and gain valuable technical and performance experience working with international production companies.

To our advertisers, the gay press, venues, especially Capital Bars and Absolut Vodka - a major thank you. Please spread the word that our efforts to make Dublin a unique centre for international gay theatre are working. Last year we boosted our audiences by 306%. We set a challenge for 2006 that 40% of the programme would be international – almost 80% is. It is a daunting task ahead and with your help you can help us be open, be entertaining, and be part of the society we belong to, by supporting the production companies, by enjoying so many premieres of new works, or even by signing up as friends and supporters tonight. Copies of the brochure will be available after 6pm and regular updates will appear on www.gaytheatre.ie. gcn.ie, queerid.com and in the festival edition of Scene City.

This Festival is for anyone who wants to see, or be part of a modern, pluralist and accessible event. We endeavour not only add to the already rich cultural arts landscape in Ireland, but hopefully we will entertain and help more people realise that difference enriches and fulfils a democratic society. A truly functioning democracy is one where all citizens realise their human right and responsibility to participate openly, freely and generously. Thank you.