Dr Richard O’Leary, a former Chair of Changing Attitude Ireland, and a former QUB academic, is giving a talk entitled “The Faithful Underground – 40 Years of Christian and Gay Witness in Northern Ireland” on Wednesday 10 February at 7.30pm in Queen’s University’s School of Politics, Room 01/005, 22 University Square, Belfast.

Richard said about the talk:

It recalls four decades of pioneering activism by Christian individuals and organisations, gay and straight, who I describe as the faithful underground. Our story begins in 1976 with the setting up of the Northern Ireland Council for Religion and Homosexuality and continues through to 2016 and Faith in Marriage Equality.  We hear how the faithful underground have endured marginalisation and discrimination and have challenged homophobic behaviour, especially from the leadership of the Churches in Ireland. The talk is largely based on eye-witness accounts, LGBT archives and Church documents. This hidden history serves as a reminder that the call for LGBT inclusion in the Churches is not a recent one but part of a decades long, courageous struggle for inclusion and equality.