Mullingar Pride thank people of town who supported their event

Daniel Boyne, chairperson of Mullingar Pride, expressed his thanks to the people of the town who supported their event on Saturday. “It means so much to me and the committee, and the wider LGBTQ community of the town,” he said.

“What I’d say to those who feel the need to suppress us and push us back and hide our existence, is that we’re here, we exist, we’re real people, we’re flesh and blood just like they are.

“And they will not stop us. We’re going to celebrate who we are, we’re going to celebrate everything about ourselves and we’re going to have fun.”

Daniel was speaking during the public part of the Mullingar Pride festival on Saturday. Part of the car park in Blackhall was sectioned off for the event, and there were stage performances by Elevate School of Dance, Kathryn Nea and others.

There were chalks and colours for the kids to make art, bubbles to play with and stalls selling arts and crafts.

The Pride Parade was at 3.30pm, and it took the colour of they day on a short tour around the town centre, where it received a positive response, though there was a small protest at Dominick Square.

After the parade the Blackhall compound was confined to ticket holders as the Werk! Fest was starting and people partied the rest of the night.