OUTing the Past Festival taking place in Museum of Free Derry this weekend

The international LGBTQI+ festival celebrates queer history and shows the elements that have previously been hidden.

Maeve McLaughlin, from the Bloody Sunday Trust Committee, said: “The Museum of Free Derry has been partnering with Outing the Past over the past number of years. It’s only right given Derry’s history about standing up for rights and equality that both the Bloody Sunday Trust and the Museum of Free Derry would be a partner for these types of conversations.

“The first event of the day is a talk with the historian Brian Lacy on Ireland’s queer history. Then Sara Canning is looking at queering the women’s movement before Dr Jeff Evans looks at republican support for the queer movement.

“We’ve looked at the archive material from the initial Bloody Sunday marches where LBGT+ organisations were present. What started out as a demand for civil rights around housing and jobs is now a much bigger debate.”

The festival will take place in the Museum of Free Derry from 12pm and also on the Museum’s Youtube page. Free tickets are available at Eventbrite.com. For more information, follow @MuseumFreeDerry on Twitter.