Written by Orla Egan
In the early to mid-1970s there were no formal lesbian and gay organisations or social centres in Cork.
There were informal social networks, mostly centring around parties and gatherings, particularly in the homes of some of the wealthier gay men. These parties were open only to those ‘in-the-know’ and in the ‘in-crowd’.
Public toilets and parks provided loci for casual clandestine sexual encounters between men.
Cork lesbians and gay men would sometimes travel to Dublin to socialise in the emerging lesbian and gay scene there.
Many Cork lesbians and gay men emigrated to cities such as London, where they could find a larger and more open lesbian community.