Hello hello from week six! Time really is flying. There are only two weeks left of this experience. It feels totally unreal. I’ve done and experienced so much. Last weekend was extremely busy. It was Pride weekend in Dublin so there was so much to do.
Friday, I went with my coworkers to the Dyke March, which was organized by one of my coworkers, Alice. We ended our work day early and just sat around and talked while we waited to head over to the march. It was nice to just talk with my coworkers without us all trying to complete work-related tasks at the same time. We talked a lot about classism in Ireland, which was interesting. We then walked over to the march. Alice was worried about how many people would come, but there was a great turnout! There were so many people. I loved seeing everyone’s outfits and it felt really nice to see all these people come together in support of one another.
This was the first protest I’d ever participated in and it felt really great. I was able to hear about what issues Irish people and specifically queer Irish people care about and focus on. My coworkers and I originally went with less of a work focus, but we decided to try and document the march and were running around trying to get photos and videos. We even livestreamed the speeches at the end of the march. I left the march feeling empowered and like I was part of something, a feeling that only increased as the weekend went on.
Saturday was actual Pride and it was honestly really amazing. One of the other GCN interns, Tavishi, is also on UCD’s campus so we met at the bus stop together and made our way to the Pride parade. We got there super early and I was able to get a donut from this place called Rolling Donut that I’d seen on TikTok a lot. It was Pride-themed and pretty yummy. We then waited around for our coworkers and once they arrived we began to assemble for the parade. I got to meet some of my coworkers’ partners, spouses, and parents which was really cool.
When the parade began, this strong feeling of community and belonging washed over me. Seeing how many people were in the parade and seeing how many people were watching was just amazing. The manager for GCN, Stefano, told me that Pride in Dublin is actually bigger than St Patrick’s Day. Being with all these people who are unapologetically queer like me or who are supporting of the LGBTQ+ community was really powerful, especially with all the attacks against queer people in the current state of the world. The group behind GCN in the parade was playing music and hyping up the crowd, which was really nice. I also got to help hold the GCN banner!
The parade route ended us right by the Pride Village, which was in Merrion Square Park. This is fittingly where the Oscar Wilde statue is! The Pride Village was full of different organizations advertising themselves, people performing and talking on stage, and food. Again, there were so many people! I hung around there for a little bit before meeting up with my friend Kai. We wandered around a bit trying to decide where to go for lunch. We ended up deciding to get Nando’s (the third time for both of us) and it was delicious. From there, we began our walk to the Mother Pride Block Party. The Block Party is this huge event on the grounds of the National Museum of Ireland in Collins Barracks and Mother is a queer nightclub that has close connections with GCN, so we got free tickets and a plus one! The Block Party was really fun. There was music, concessions, and a fairground ride. I also helped run the GCN merchandise stand for a couple of hours. It was very busy, but it was nice to be helpful.
My work week was also very nice and productive. I got a lot done and also got trained in something new. All the interns got trained in Queerstory, which is a social media campaign GCN is doing where they share a blurb about some type of milestone in queer history for each day. So it’s something nice to work on after I finish an article or two.
I feel like I’ve learned a lot not only from my direct experience but also from observing the way the team and members of the team function and work. Prior to coming to Dublin, I’d say my leadership style was more of a guiding and supportive role than a direct, bold leader. I didn’t have a problem with that, per se, but I did sometimes feel like that wasn’t enough or contribute much. Since being with GCN, however, I’ve learned to value that style of leadership so much more. There are leaders in GCN in title, but with how collaborative everything is and how open they are about decisions and plans, no one has a specific style of being the “head leader”. It is very supportive and open, which is much more my style. So being with GCN has allowed me to gain a new perspective and frame for my own skills.