Coming out as Trans in your own Hometown. — When the Pride festival whisked me out of the coma my daily routines had put me in, I found myself more than ready to nail my colors to the mast. It was high bloody time, too, this comfortable landing on two high heels. It occurred to me I would just have to forgive myself all the wasted years of my not being Fiona. How can one live one’s best life when you haven’t a clue who or what you are…

When you’re dealing with the old grievances, remember to build a bridge. — Pride week is coming to Cork city today, the 23rd of July 2022. It’s a month behind the rest of the world but last is by no means least. Dublin has always been the country’s favored daughter. Festooned in corkscrew ringlets and her Sunday best, she’s allowed to go play and compete with the other big girls on the world stage in a williwaw of rainbow flags and euphoric techno heartbeats. The world’s media gathers around like shutterbugs at…

Our best frenemies are Ourselves. — The sun has been blowtorching the town all weekend. There isn’t a tatter of shadow to be found in the place, no matter what time I leave the bunker. The harbor looks as lush as a Greek port. The sea is alive with an Aegean glitter and Haulbowline Island flirts with the headland in a heat shimmer of lust. …

Where I am at, this week of Pride — Trans woman’s photo used online to spread baseless theory about Texas shooter. Latina Trans woman, one of 22 people this year to be fatally shot in America because of who she was. State lawmakers proposing a record 238 bills that would limit the rights of LGBTQ+ Americans this year alone. If ever the Pride movement was needed in America, it is surely now. Opening my trusty Fuchsia colored laptop to check the news is like opening a wound. …

Finbarr by day and Fiona by night — “9 and a half stone?” Jesus basque wearing Christ! Doctor Ger shot me a clinical look of concern. “What’s wrong with that?”, he asked, not giving off the fatherly vibes I’d come to expect of him. “I’ve never weighed so much in my life”, I blurted, hugging my midriff, cursing the recent renaissance in my eating habits. “That’s the…

An anatomy of Disenchantment. — The guy at the coffee machine was cute. We had a newbie it seemed. A timid quiver in his hand made the cappuccino froth buck in its cup as he served it to the person before me. Being something of an authority when it comes to anxious trembling, the only thing I inherited from my Mother, I’d have…

After the spate of hate crimes that have plundered through Ireland like the Four Horsemen, our togetherness beneath the rainbow was a buffet for the soul — Friday night is alright for talking. It’s also perfectly alright for dusting off one’s tail feather and being fabulous. For one exquisite evening I was Belle of the Ball again. I was blasted free from the ghetto of myself and appeared all shiny, new and retooled. I was suddenly ready for another stab at life. It…

The world has resumed its hostility towards LGBTQ+ people. — Warning: the following story contains details of anti-LGBTQ violence readers may find highly disturbing. The Easter holiday was a washout this year here in Ireland. Not a resurrection in sight but a spate of ugly murders that gave Golgotha a run for its money. This random strangeness took place in County Sligo, the land of Yeats and seaweed baths. …

I got a Transsexual feeling/it’s hard to be true to the one who’s really you. Jayne County — A stone to the head. That’s how I’ll get my appointment with God. I’ll be walking along, swinging my handbag, and all of a sudden, a rush of stars and blood. Down I’ll go like a collapsed souffle. What a way to go. It has a ring of the Auld Testament to it. All you…