ABSTRACT
This chapter explores the origins of the Irish gay civil rights movement in 1974 and elucidates how queer visibility was envisaged not only for its liberatory goals but as a means of social recognition. Using the only three texts pertaining to queer visibility from the period of 1974–1980, the core of the chapter argues that these early examples fostered mainstreaming strategies and confessional modes, which were central political and representational strategies of the Irish gay civil rights movement. The media activism of the early movements revealed the ways in which queer visibility had to be negotiated between varying groups and the Irish public service broadcaster RTÉ. Subsequently, the chapter argues that queer alliances with key figureheads within RTÉ were central in gaining access to the broadcaster’s production structures and systems, enabling early gay movements to lobby for programming on gay issues.
