I Am An Alien

AS A YOUNG BOY, I was taken away from Ireland on December 31st 1989, never to return.

Going back after such a long time is a constant source of wistfulness, and fear; that it won't be the place of my childhood, and it won't be 1989, as it always is in my mind's eye. And that I'd be as foriegn there as I am anywhere I've lived since.

Not only foreign, but gay too. A report by the Gay and Lesbian Equality Network has found that one in four LGBT people in Ireland have been violently attacked, and 80% verbally assaulted. One fifth have tried to take their own lives. One third had heard teachers make homophobic comments, and a staggering 8% had been denigrated by a teacher.

Ireland is a country steeped in religion; nearly 90% of the population is Catholic, and homosexuality and religion are never good bedfellows. When I read news like this, I remember why I'm here, and not there.

Elsewhere: Was Jesus Gay?