Farmer PJ Watson: ‘I’m lucky my employer is very LGBTQ+ positive’

Fifty years after its first ever Pride parade, Dublin will host its biggest festival to date this weekend, as the streets of the capital transform into a cascade of colour for the annual celebration of all things LGBTQ+. Earlier this month, a much younger festival, Inishowen Pride, brought the community of Buncrana together over the June bank holiday weekend to celebrate inclusion and identity on a stage many thought unimaginable only a few short years ago.

The north Donegal town has come a long way with a five-day festival event supporting and promoting all aspects of Pride, from workshops for youth inclusion to a colourful, family- friendly parade.

Supported by charitable donations and funding from Donegal County Council, the event reflects the growing acceptance of LGBTQ+ people throughout the North West region.

Communities in Waterford and Westport also celebrated Pride parades at the start of June with other events planned in Drogheda and Portlaoise over the coming weeks and months.

However, not everyone enjoys this celebration of identity. For many living in rural Ireland, coming out and owning their identities is still a work in progress. Padraig Rice, Policy and Research Manager with LGBT Ireland says a huge proportion of calls that the charity receives to its helpline are from people living in rural Ireland. “We know from the calls to our helpline that there is a lot of isolation in rural areas, particularly among older people who feel very disconnected,” he says.

“There is historic under-resourcing of LGBT organisations in many parts of the country but things are slowly improving.”

Sense of identity

One man who has found acceptance in both the farming community and his work life is PJ Watson, a horse breeder from Co Roscommon.

PJ, who works as an After Care Officer for the homeless charity Focus Ireland in Athlone, says he has been very privileged on his journey as a gay man.

“I work part-time as a farmer and I’m lucky in my day job as my employer is very LGBTQ+ positive. I have a lovely sense of identity in both my professional and personal life,” he says.

“I’m very privileged to have the outlet of an accepting workplace and I am very conscious of the fact that other people in the agricultural industry don’t necessarily have this. But it’s my background that is my strongest suit in that my parents – Dad is a farmer and Mam a retired district nurse – have always been massively supportive of me. They were before their time in many ways and helped me to develop a strong sense of self from an early age.”

PJ also credits the sociable side of his farming work as being a big help in meeting people around the country. “The equine sector is very progressive and very social, with regular events all over the country making it a great way to meet people, be it at eventing or show jumping. I’m not sure the suckler/beef industries would have the same social outlets for farmers.”

Rural Pride network

For many LGBTQ+ people living in small towns and villages across the country, making that decision to come out is the hardest step to take.

“It’s not that long ago when gay men and women had little option but to leave Ireland to be accepted, particularly those who came from farming backgrounds,” PJ says. “There were no opportunities for people to meet and of course, that has changed, but it still remains challenging.

“The cost-of-living crisis has made it a lot harder for people to meet others within the LGBTQ+ community. Most of the main social events are in the bigger cities and the cost of a hotel in the likes of Dublin or any of the larger towns means a night away is not within many people’s reach.

“The pandemic has also had a lasting effect in that people isolated themselves and now find it hard to get back out there. The numbers attending social events organised by the likes of Out West, which supports the community in the west of Ireland are dwindling, which is sad to see.”

Padraig Rice agrees that more needs to be done to support rural communities to provide safe spaces for LGBTQ+ people. “There is a growing network of Pride organisations throughout the country that our charity supports with resources to help get them up and running,” he says.

“There is also a growing network of education and training available in family support centres around the country and that is making a difference.”

Farming network

Padraig says that the 2015 Marriage Equality Referendum was a major step forward. “The passing of the referendum was a seismic moment as it instigated a national conversation about sexuality that was happening around kitchen tables. The increased visibility brought about a change in understanding and it actually forced some of us to tell our stories because it was the only way we were going to get our civil rights. This was a sea change from a time where people who were gay had to leave rural Ireland and seek communities and connections away from their homes,” says PJ.

Much progress has been made over the past nine years, but those advocating for and supporting LGBTQ+ people believe more needs to be done by government to follow through on the commitments it has given in the first ever National LGBTQ+ Inclusion Strategy, launched in 2019.

One of these commitments outlined the need for government to engage with existing networks within the farming sector to promote inclusion and combat rural isolation for members of the LGBTQ+ community. “No progress has been made on this action, and when we have queried it, we have been told it has been delayed by Covid,” says Padraig.

“We are heading in the right direction with more and more rural communities coming together to support their LGBTQ+ friends and neighbours.

“But more needs to be done and that can only happen with more funding which can better resource the work already being done throughout the country, particularly in rural areas.”

For more information, see gov.ie/en/consultation/eca88-consultations-for-the-national-lgbti-inclusion-strategy

A growing number of Rural Pride events have been held in recent years, including parades and festivals in Carlow, Clonmel, Navan and Westport. Events in Clare are held in September, when Quare Clare hosts its annual Pride event in Ennis.

Throughout the month of June, workshops have been held to give people the chance to contribute to the next National LGBTI+ Strategy being developed by The Department of Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth.

Meanwhile, an online workshop will be held via Zoom on Tuesday, 2 July and written submissions are also being accepted by the Department until Friday, 5 July.

The LGBT Ireland Helpline, freephone 1800 929 539, is open from Monday to Thursday, 6.30pm to 10pm and Friday, from 4pm to 10pm. A weekend service is also available from 4pm to 6pm. Out of hours support can be reached at the Samaritans, freephone 116 123 24/7, 365 days a year.