For the first time ever, Ireland’s oldest and world-famous Lisdoonvarna Matchmaking Festival will include a weekend dedicated to matchmaking for gays and lesbians. Dubbed ‘The Outing,’ the weekend will feature matchmaking events, concerts and more all hosted by drag-queen Panti.

In the old days religious organizations could fire gay staff without a word of explanation. But suddenly things are changing.

Archbishop Timothy M. Dolan has publicly stated that the Catholic Church should be more welcoming to gay men and women – despite his opposition to same-sex marriages.

New York City Council Speaker Christine Quinn was on MSNBC’s ‘Hardball with Chris Matthews’ on Tuesday night responding to Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia’s comments regarding homosexuality.

Ireland could act as a model European state for lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and intersex rights if it chose to according to a top international human rights activist.

A Catholic priest who denied a lesbian communion during her mother’s funeral mass has left the Archdiocese of Washington after he was suspended for his actions earlier this year.

A Catholic priest who denied communion to a lesbian attending her mother’s funeral, has been placed on leave.

Barbara Johnson says Father Marcel Guarnizo denied her holy communion at her mother’s funeral, in Maryland, because she is a lesbian.
 
Johnson (51) told CNN news “"I approached [Father Marcel Guarnizo of Gaithersburg's Saint John Neumann Catholic Church] to receive communion, and at that moment, he placed his hand over the bowl containing the Eucharist and looked into my eyes and said, 'I cannot give you Communion because you live with a woman, and in the eyes of the church, that is a sin.'"
 
She also said that Marcel left the altar while she was delivering her Mother’s eulogy.
 
Although she has reached out to the priest he is yet to apologize.
 
The Archdiocese of Washington responded to CNN with this statement:
 
“In matters of faith and morals, the Church has the responsibility of teaching and of bringing the light of the Gospel message to the circumstances of our day. When questions arise about whether or not an individual should present themselves for communion, it is not the policy of the Archdiocese of Washington to publicly reprimand the person. Any issues regarding the suitability of an individual to receive communion should be addressed by the priest with that person in a private, pastoral setting.
 
“The archdiocese is looking into the incident at a funeral Mass that was celebrated by Fr. Marcel Guarnizo and will handle this as a personnel issue.”
 
However for Johnson and her family this is not enough.

The parents of 40-year-old Michelle Rounds have spoken out about the shock they felt when they learned their daughter is dating Rosie O’Donnell.

The father of an Irish nurse who was recently released from an Australian jail, pending a retrial on rape charges, has spoken out about his daughter’s conviction and retrial.

Read more: ‘Glee’s’ Ryan Murphy pulls out of Will Smith “Annie” remake

Patricia Cullen, a senior Irish diplomat at the United Nations in New York, has had a $28,000 lesbian discrimination award overturned by Ireland’s Labor Court.

The US musical comedy show – which saw cast member Chris Colfer, who plays openly-gay Kurt Hummel, receive a Golden Globe award on Sunday (16.01.11) – will compete against ‘Modern Family’ ‘Greek’, ‘Nurse Jackie’ and ‘United States of Tara’ in the Outstanding Comedy Series category.

An Australian woman, and her Irish partner, in Brisbane, have conceived quintuplets without the use of fertility treatment. This occurs only once in every 60 million pregnancies.
 
Melissa Keever, 27, was inseminated with sperm from a U.S. sperm donor. Their doctors have said that the babies currently have strong heart beats and are above average size of quintuplets of their age.
 
"It took me a long time to get my head around what was happening," Keevers said, during an interview with Women’s Day magazine. "But now I've come to terms with it, I'm excited."
 
"During the scan the doctor asked us if we wanted the news, but as he looked pale, we were worried something was wrong.
 
"He then told us he'd found five gestational sacs meaning, if all went well, we'd have five babies. We can't repeat what we said next."
 
Keever (27) and her partner, Rosemary Nolan (21) already have one child, who was conceived using the same donor’s sperm. They chose this donor because he had good teeth, eyesight, a high IQ and he had signed a waiver guaranteeing anonymity.
 
The couples family, both in Australia and Ireland, are very supportive.
 
Nolan said “People don't know whether to congratulate us or commiserate…But we think it's a miracle, and couldn't be happier."
 
"We know that it's a risk, and we had the option to terminate one or more, but how can you choose?
 
"Nature decided to give us these babies so nature can decide for us," she added.
 
Paul Nolan, Rosemary’s father, from Waterford, said that the family was shocked when they heard the news.
 
He said “They already have one child and they decided to have another, and little did they know they would end up with five. Our biggest concern right now is for the health of mum and the babies, and that they make it through the full term without any complications.”
 
The woman’s obstetrician Doctor Glen Gardner said that the babies had a greater chance of survival as they were all in individual sacs. “They are at lower risk if they have their own little unit for themselves…However, the sheer number of babies in this case makes the risk very much higher in this pregnancy."
 
Doctor’s in Sydney have estimated that they will deliver the babies at about 30 weeks, at the end of December. The couple have already estimated that they will need 70 nappies and they will have to import a special six-seater pram from the U.S. to bring them for a walk.