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First ever Irish gay activist invited to White House for St Patrick's Day celebrations

Groundbreaking trip highlights changed times and attitudes says activist

CAHIR O'DOHERTY,

Irish Voice Reporter

Published Wednesday, March 13, 2013, 7:29 AM

Updated Wednesday, March 13, 2013, 9:35 AM

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Michael Barron, the director of BeLonG To

Photo by Kilkenny People

Michael Barron, the director of BeLonG To, Ireland’s national service and advocacy organization for LGBT young people, has been invited to the White House for a series of meeting with senior administration officials marking St. Patrick’s Day.

The unprecedented invitation comes in recognition of BeLonG To’s groundbreaking work nationally and internationally to combat bullying in schools and to support LGBT young people facing harassment and discrimination.

Barron, who was named Person of the Year at the 2013 National Gay and Lesbian Awards (GALAS) last month, has achieved international prominence for successfully advocating for significant national policy changes in the areas of education, suicide prevention, and drug and alcohol use.

“It came as a surprise, which is nice,” Barron told the Irish Voice. “BeLonG To has been working in the whole area of combating homophobic and transphobic bullying and supporting LGBT young people for 10 years, and more recently some of that work has been international. We helped UNESCO write their first ever international guide to tackle anti-gay bullying, and that was our first contact with the U.S. government on the issue.”

LGBT issues, thanks to a directive from former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, are a foreign policy objective of the Obama administration. In Paris last year, to talk about his organization’s goals, Barron shared the stage with under secretary for education Russlynn Ali, creating a connection between Barron and the U.S. government.

Then last September the American Embassy in Dublin asked Barron to attend an International Visiting Leaders Program in the U.S. organized by the State Department.

“Our work at BeLonG To has also been recognized by the European Commission and the UN Human Rights Commission and the combination of all of those and our good relations with the U.S. Embassy have led to our invite,” Barron explains.

Bullying, according to a recent study, is an epidemic in U.S. schools. One in six American school children report being bullied verbally, physically and online, two to three times a month or more, many for more than a year.

In Ireland the organization’s work has been complicated by the Catholic ethos of most second level schools, which can take a hostile response to the organization’s advocacy.

“We’ve been at it for 10 years and it’s been a tough battle,” Barron explains. “It hasn’t been an easy task.

“There’s a very strong influence of the Catholic Church in Irish education, which does act as a barrier to creating schools that are LGBT friendly. We’ve made great progress nonetheless.”

This year BeLonG To worked with the Irish Department of Education to produce a national anti-bullying action plan. The plan states that bullying is based on prejudice, and it has created an action plan with a lot of resources behind it to combat bullying wherever it appears.

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STEVENSTAR | Mar 21, 2013, 02:35 PM EDT

@@ancavker | Mar 21, 2013, 09:15 AM EDT I NEVER CALLED PEOPLE IN ENGLAND PLASTIC PADDIES I CALLED AMERICANS PLASTIC PADDIES.. BECAUSE PEOPLE OF IRISH DECENT IN ENGLAND DO NOT BEHAVE LIKE AMERICANS WHO ARE OBSESSIVE ABOUT IRELAND.. MY GRANS SISTER MOVED TO ENGLAND 60 YEARS AGO... ALL HER FAMILY WERE BORN IN ENGLAND THEY ARE ALL ENGLISH.. I SEE THEM AS ENGLISH PEOPLE, THEY SEE THEMSELVES AS ENGLISH PEOPLE .. WE ALL GET ALONG GREAT .. BUT AMERICANS ITS A DIFFERENT STORY... THOSE AMERICANS WITH IRISH ANCESTARY ARE OBSESSIVE AND OTT ABOUT IT AND ACTUALLY THINK THEY ARE MORE IRISH THEN WE IRISH OURSELVES... IF YOU COULD STOP ALL THAT GREEN RIVERS AND OVER THE TOP 'DRAMATICS' SHAMROCKS, LEPRAUCHAUNS, AND BE GORRA ISNT IT A FINE DAY CARRY ON ...THEN YO JUST MIGHT ACTAULLY GET RESPECT FROM REAL IRISH PEOPLE LIKE MYSELF..

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ancavker | Mar 21, 2013, 09:23 AM EDT

Eirmach: Irish tribalism in our ancestors? WHat other group in the U.S. has assimilated more than the Irish? The Irish were the only group that was largely English speaking when they came here. And compare where they were in the U.S. in 1850 to where they were only 50 years later? So they hung on to their religion, and the music and stories and there is something wrong with that? According to some peopl I know who have studied in depth the Irish-American experience in the U.S. they preserved the music and the story telling etc. because of the loss of the language.Yes there are bigots in the Irish-American community but they in my opinion are far outnumbered by those who are not bigots.

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ancavker | Mar 21, 2013, 09:15 AM EDT

STEVEN: If Irish people in Ireland can have a respect with English and American culture, why can't Irish-Americans have a respect and love of Irish culture? The Irish are so contradictory it is simply astounding. I am in Ireland every year, I see the obsession with Man U and other English football teams, and this English entertainer etc. And people sayt well you know this player's people are from Cork and Dublin, and so and so's great Aunt Kathleen (as you would say) was from Mayo and that is why we like this football team or that entertainer, and on and on it goes. Yet at the same time you call these 2nd 3rd 4th generation Irish people living in England Plastic Paddies.

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ancavker | Mar 21, 2013, 09:07 AM EDT

eirmach: If you are familiar with the groups, than you knwo where they are. In one of my Wife's groups she had and African-Americans student and an Asian student. And I know a young women of Hispanic descent who is a fluent Irish speaker. I also never said that there was not any bigotry among Irish/Irish-Americans; I myself have never seen it. And Irish-Americans have not cornered the market on bigotry, it exists in all groups. There are good and bad in all.

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STEVENSTAR | Mar 21, 2013, 06:28 AM EDT

anglo-norman | Mar 20, 2013, 08:32 PM EDT >>>AS I SAID THERE IS NO SUCH THING AN IRISH AMERICAN THEY ARE AMERICAN PEOPLE WITH SOME IRISH DECENT !!! I FIND IT AN INSULT TO TRY AND DILUTE MY IRISHNESS BY CALLING THEM PEOPLE IRISH AMERICAN JUST BECAUSE AUNTY KATHLEENS GREAT UNCLES SISTER LEFT DUBLIN 186 YEARS AGO TO GET A JOB IN NEW YORK!!! ..............NOW SUDDENLY ANYONE AND EVERYONE THAT HAPPENED TO BE RELATED TO GREAT AUNTY KATHLEEN IS GOING AROUND CALLING THEMSELVES IRISH AMERICANS.. DO YOU PEOPLE NOT REALISE HOW SILLY THAT SOUNDS TO US OVER HERE IN IRELAND HAHA!! WHEN THEY ELECTED OBAMA FIRST I SAID TO SOMEONE 'WATCH' HE'LL BE IRISH NOW TOO AND SUDDENLY HE WAS ...IT JUST GOES ON AND ON AND ON AND ALL THE TIME OVER HERE THE ONES WORKING IN THE TOURIST INDUSTRY ARE RUBBING THEIR HANDS IN THE HOPE OF TOURIST $$$ BUT BEHIND YOUR BACKS ARE LAUGHING AT YOU !! :) I SEE IT EVERY DAY !!PLEASE BE PROUD TO BE AMERICAN AND STOP ALL THIS OULD CLAP TRAP !!

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anglo-norman | Mar 20, 2013, 08:32 PM EDT

I have the deepest respect for Irish-Americans. A people who pulled themselves up by the bootstraps to the top of American Society. From the early settlers from Ulster to the people from the bogs of Cork they assimalited into American Culture proudly. RESPECT

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Smyrnian | Mar 20, 2013, 07:23 PM EDT

Stevenstar - You talk freely about stereotypes in other people. Do you think you might have some yourself??

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STEVENSTAR | Mar 20, 2013, 06:32 PM EDT

eiriamach | Mar 20, 2013, 10:53 AM EDT >>>>>. SORRY IM AN IRISHMAN I DO NOT ACCEPT THE TERM IRISH-AMERICAN. WE CALL THESE PEOPLE AMERICAN PEOPLE WITH IRISH RELATIVES AND ARE AMERICAN CITIZENS IF THEY WERE BORN IN AMERICA.. JUST LIKE I WAS BORN IN IRELAND TO IRISH PARENTS AND HAVE AN IRISH PASSPORT.. PLEASE STOP WITH ALL THIS GOBBLE DEE GOOK ....IVE BEEN TO AMERICA MANY A TIME ... ITS WHERE I HAVE FORMED MY OPINIONS OF THESE PEOPLE COMING UPTO ME AS IF THEY KNOW ME... WHEN THEY HEAR MY IRISH ACCENT .. ITS ANNOYING AND ITS OBSESSIVE BEHAVIOR.....THESE PEOPLE ARE 3RD 4TH GENERATIONS REMOVED FROM US... MY GRAN WAS ENGLISH BUT MY WHOLE FAMILY ARE IRISH WE DONT GO AROUND WAVING UNIONS JACKS AND AT THE SAME TIME RESPECT ENGLISH PEOPLE / CULTURE ETC BUT DONT MAKE A COMPLETE SHOW OF OURSELVES OVER IT !!!......NOT ONLY THAT THESE AMERICANS HAVE ALL THESE SILLY STEREOTYPES OF IRELAND AND US IRISH THE GET OFF HOLLYWOOD MOVIES AND I THINK ITS VERY INSULTING... IM A WELL TRAVELLED MAN MYSELF AND I HAVE BEEN ALL OVER WORLD AND I HAVE NEVER COME ACROSS ANY OTHER COUNTRY OR PEOPLE THAT GO ON LIKE THIS... IT MAKES ME CRINGE..

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eiriamach | Mar 20, 2013, 01:26 PM EDT

Thanks, jack, for saying that we need to break with that part of our past. It is about embracing Irish culture, old and new, and not obsessing about sexuality or ethnicity or nationality or politics. . . .

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JackFknTwist | Mar 20, 2013, 01:03 PM EDT

None of us underestimate the incredible cultural links between Ireland and the USA......music, sport and the arts are among the most vibrant. But we all need to get rid of the old bigotry of the Ancient Order of Hibernians......we need to embrace all our sons and daughters gay and lesbian.....black and white....Irish-Americans have too long tolerated the bigotry and sectarianism of segregation and prejudice amoun our community. No bigot is welcome in the Irish-American community.....

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eiriamach | Mar 20, 2013, 12:16 PM EDT

ancavker, I'd like to know where in the NY tri-state area you have found an Irish language group that includes "African-Americans, Hispanics, Asians, and I am sure Gays and Lesbians" and in which the members do not have to put up with Irish-American bigots. Name it, please. Thank you. You should not assume that I'm unfamiliar with groups in that area.

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ancavker | Mar 20, 2013, 12:01 PM EDT

eiramach: What a bunch of gobbly gook. Perhaps if you were more familiar with the Irish/Irish-American cultural scene you would be aware of all the people that are involved in it, who have absolutley no connection with Ireland or the Irish, but are simply drawn to the beauty of the culture. The language, the music, the dancing and all the rest. And those people include African-Americans, Hispanics, Asians, and I am sure Gays and Lesbians. Sadly I struggle with the language, but my wife (a fluent speaker) has taught many over the years who have no Irish connections at all. And more than a few are now fuly fluent in the language. I could go on and on and list for you examples of fiddle players, dancers, pipers, whistle player, and on and on who love and appreciate the Irish culture. And we welcome them all. We will keepour cultural traditions alive while still being very much American. And any who wish to join us are more than welcome!! We are a part of the fabric that makes up all of the diversity of the New York tri-state area.

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eiriamach | Mar 20, 2013, 10:53 AM EDT

STEVENSTAR, I agree with only one of your complaints about Americans. Homophobia is an Irish-American problem, not only for the reason that JackTwist gave. It also results from Irish-American tribalism -- a perverse form of loyalty that thrives in groups like ancavker writes about: "[Irish] language classes held in many places for those who wish to learn." Too often, the price of learning is tolerating the bigotry of some who join for endorsement of their inherited prejudices -- homophobia, racism, and misogyny. That's the dark side of preserving Irish culture in America. Irish tribal conservatism emerged in the USA in our immigrant ancestors' reaction to the rejections they endured. For generations, descendants have preserved their ancestors' fear of cultural difference alongside their determination to succeed with their own Irish culture intact. Irish Americans keep "difference" making a difference every day in our multicultural society. They think they'll lose their Irishness if they accept culturally different Americans--gays, independent women, Spanish language speakers, dark-skinned co-workers. It's the same warped thinking that WoundedKnee pushes at you obsessively--that if you accept immigrants to Ireland, you'll lose your Irishness. You should recognize that appeal to tribalism. It's in your own Irish history, in the survival of sectarianism in the Six Counties, and in the prejudices of still many Irish Catholics, both here and in Ireland.

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JackFknTwist | Mar 20, 2013, 09:17 AM EDT

First, please stop using capitals....they are annoying and difficult to read. Second,I'm happy to se that the Irish Gay Movement is getting such high profile recognition for its work in anti bullying activism....the "Stand Up" movement against homophobic bullying needs to be supported everywhere, USA & Ireland. Kids in schools are so vulnerable to this kind of peer bullying , it is vital that it be recognised and stopped. The Catholic Church with its formulations that gays are "inherently defective" (per Ratzinger) contributes to the vile stigmatization of gay youth and everyone else who is gay.Shame on the Catholics; that is the greatest putrid stench at the heart of Irish Society....the bigotry of the Catholic Church. But the younger generation has now changed all of that. The old prejudice of the Catholic priests has been exposed for what it is. Ireland supports not only full gay marriage equality but rejoices in the Gay Theatre Festival, the Gay Film week, Gay Pride and multiple gay activities and venues. Don't get hung up on the Leprechaun Suits, or the over enthusiastic celebrating of St.Patrick's Day, our culture is stronger than ever, our traditional music is stronger than ever....just come to Dingle and see for yourself.

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ancavker | Mar 20, 2013, 09:13 AM EDT

STEVEN: So you admit it is Ok for Irish people to steal English culture, and to value it more than Irish culture. Well finally we got that cleared up. And not only do they steal English and AMerican culture, they value it more than their own. You forget STEVEN, I am Irish born, and go home every year, sometimes twice a year.So I am foar more in touch with what goes on in Ireland than you are with what goes on in America. Because in addtion to the clowns running around in green suits. We have amazing Irish born and Irish-American traditional musicians over here. We have Irish dancing schools, we have a huge interest in the Irish language, and there are language classes held in many places for those who wish to learn. In addition there is Gaelic Football and hurling.Our universities have Irish program studies. We do much over here to preseve the culture you accuse us of stealing. So keep following your Man U, and your BBC, and Kate and the rest of the royal family. We over here will keep and preserve and strenghten, and add to our Irish culture.

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