{"id":62309,"date":"2025-10-05T14:40:22","date_gmt":"2025-10-05T14:40:22","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/62309\/"},"modified":"2025-10-05T14:40:22","modified_gmt":"2025-10-05T14:40:22","slug":"the-galas-2025-honours-irelands-lgbtq-champions-with-fantastic-awards-ceremony-gcn","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/62309\/","title":{"rendered":"The GALAS 2025 honours Ireland\u2019s LGBTQ+ champions with fantastic awards ceremony \u2022 GCN"},"content":{"rendered":"

The GALAS, Ireland\u2019s annual awards ceremony honouring the LGBTQ+ community<\/a>, hosted its 2025 edition on Saturday, October 4. Organised by the National LGBTQ+ Federation (NXF) and GCN, the event boasted 15 categories as well as two special Lifetime Achievement recognitions, celebrating outstanding accomplishments in areas like activism, arts, allyship, sports, journalism, business and more.<\/p>\n

The ceremony was housed in the fabulous Dublin Royal Convention Centre at the Radisson Blu Hotel, and proceedings were led by the hilarious I\u2019m Grand Mam duo, PJ Kirby and Kevin Twomey. Together, they expertly guided attendees through the night, presenting each award recipient with their trophy to thunderous applause.<\/p>\n

\"PJ<\/p>\n

During the event, the hosts were joined on stage by some fabulous performers, including Gl\u00f3ria LGBT+ Choir, Elaine Mai and MayKay, while Mother DJ Glamo provided dancefloor hits once the ceremony concluded. The event saw the rainbow community show up in style to celebrate their queer comrades and allies, serving looks encompassing stiletto boots, power suits and everything in between.<\/p>\n

Perhaps the biggest honour of the night, Person of the Year, was awarded to Paula Fagan. Earlier this year, she stepped down as CEO of LGBT Ireland after 12 years of service, leaving behind an incredible legacy of progressing rights and inclusion for LGBTQ+ people across the country.<\/p>\n

Two Lifetime Achievement awards were also presented as part of The GALAS 2025. The first went to outgoing President Michael D. Higgins for his commitment to working towards an Ireland where everyone can live authentically and freely. The other went to the late Siobh\u00e1n O\u2019Dowd, who was a founder of LINC (now LINQ Ireland) and a tireless activist in Cork\u2019s LGBTQ+ community. The accolade was accepted by her wife, Tina.<\/p>\n

\"Dublin<\/p>\n

After the ceremony, Chair of the National LGBTQ+ Federation (NXF), Anna Nolan, said, \u201cAs Chair of the NXF, it\u2019s always incredibly exciting to host The GALAS alongside GCN. It\u2019s an honour to bring the LGBTQ+ community and our allies together for a wonderful celebration of their achievements over the last year, and I\u2019d like to extend a huge congratulations to all of the nominees and award recipients. Their vital work has contributed to making Ireland and the world a more inclusive and welcoming place for all. Thank you also to our sponsors and supporters, without whom this annual event would not be possible.\u201d<\/p>\n

GCN\u2019s Managing Editor Stefano Pappalardo added, \u201cWe are delighted to host the 12th edition of The GALAS in partnership with the NXF. It\u2019s always such a joy and a privilege to celebrate and acknowledge the incredible achievements of individuals, community organisations, and companies who continue to make Ireland and the world a better place for our community. A big thank you to our sponsors, supporters, our friends at Catapult, the shortlisting organisations, and everyone who makes this wonderful event possible. We are especially grateful, as The GALAS also serve as a vital fundraiser for GCN, ensuring we can continue our mission as Ireland\u2019s national LGBTQ+ media. Huge congrats to all the winners and those shortlisted, we hope you had a fantastic night!\u201d<\/p>\n

The full list of nominees<\/a> and award recipients of The GALAS Awards 2025 is as follows:<\/p>\n

Community Organisation (Volunteer Staff)
Letterkenny Pride
LGBT+ Restorative Justice Campaign
Mayo Pride
Trans & Intersex Pride Dublin (Award recipient)<\/p>\n

Community Organisation (Paid Staff)
Belong To
GOSHH (Gender, Orientation, Sexual Health, HIV) (Award recipient)
LINQ Ireland
Outhouse LGBTQ+ Centre<\/p>\n

\"Dublin<\/p>\n

Volunteer of the Year
Gemma Cooney (Award recipient)
Jude Copeland
Mark Armstrong
Richie Fagan<\/p>\n

Event of the Year
Dublin Dyke March 2025
GAZE International LGBTQIA Film Festival 2024
Queer Sheds \/ Faoin Tuath 2025
Roscommon Pride 2024 (Award recipient)<\/p>\n

Joe Drennan LGBTQ+ Young Trailblazer
Eoin Murphy
Fiachra Kennedy
Jenny Maguire (Award recipient)
Lavender Jane Gartlan<\/p>\n

Emerging Journalist
Azmia Riaz
Christine O\u2019Mahony
Conor O\u2019Carroll (Award recipient)
Mia Poland<\/p>\n

Sports
Fionn Collins
Frontrunners & Briskwalkers Cork (Award recipient)
James Curry
Pink Ladies+ Hockey Club<\/p>\n

\"Sports<\/p>\n

Noel Walsh HIV Activism
Bill Foley (Award recipient)
Dr Erin Nugent
Poz Vibe Tribe
Rebecca Tallon de Havilland<\/p>\n

LGBTQ+ Ally
Comhaltas na Mac L\u00e9inn, Ollscoil na Gaillimhe
Dr Claire O\u2019Connell
Jeanne McDonagh
Mammies for Trans Rights (Award recipient)<\/p>\n

Outstanding Company (50+ Employees)
Catapult (Award recipient)
Children\u2019s Health Ireland
Crosscare
eBay<\/p>\n

Outstanding Small Business (Less than 50 Employees)
Adonis Flower Designers (Award recipient)
Bombshell\u2019s Pole
Entheos Ireland
Insight Matters<\/p>\n

\"Emerging<\/p>\n

LGBTQ+ Employee Resource Group
Aer Lingus Proud Flies
EY Unity Network
INTO LGBT+ Teachers\u2019 Group (Award recipient)
Pride@Accenture<\/p>\n

Arts & Entertainment
Dublin Gay Men\u2019s Chorus
Gear\u00f3id Farrelly & Stephen Vincent
Nazl\u0131 Y\u0131ld\u0131r\u0131m (Award recipient)
The Wild Geeze<\/p>\n

International Activist
Joya Sikder
Vikt\u00f3ria Radv\u00e1nyi (Award recipient)<\/p>\n

\"Person<\/p>\n

Person of the Year
Dave Thomas
Jenny Maguire
Lynda Sheridan
Paula Fagan (Award recipient)<\/p>\n

Lifetime Achievement
Michael D Higgins
Siobh\u00e1n O\u2019Dowd<\/p>\n

Set up in 2009, The GALAS is organised by the National LGBTQ+ Federation (NXF) and GCN. It serves as GCN\u2019s largest fundraising event, allowing it to continue its legacy as Ireland\u2019s free, independent LGBTQ+ media.<\/p>\n

The GALAS 2025 would not have been possible without the support of all organisers, contributors, attendees and sponsors. A special thank you goes to our platinum sponsors Catapult, Coimisi\u00fan na Me\u00e1n, Dublin Bus, Dublin City Council and Sky; our sponsors Accenture, An Post, Belong To, Broadlake, Community Foundation Ireland, EY, KPMG, Mother and MoveHome; and our supporters Adult Autism & ADHD, Amnesty International, Creative Technology, Credit Union, Diageo, Drag & Draw, Dublin LGBTQ+ Pride, Front Line Defenders, Glorious Ceremonies, Irish Council for Civil Liberties, Nassau Clinic, National LGBTQ+ Federation and We The People.<\/p>\n

\u00a9 2025 GCN (Gay Community News). All rights reserved.<\/p>\n

Support GCN<\/p>\n

GCN is a free, vital resource for Ireland\u2019s LGBTQ+ community since 1988.<\/p>\n

GCN is a trading name of National LGBT Federation CLG, a registered charity – Charity Number: 20034580<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\nGCN relies on the generous support of the community and allies to sustain the crucial work that we do. Producing GCN is costly, and, in an industry which has been hugely impacted by rising costs, we need your support to help sustain and grow this vital resource.<\/p>\n

\nSupporting GCN for as little as \u20ac1.99 per month<\/a> will help us continue our work as Ireland\u2019s free, independent LGBTQ+ media.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The GALAS, Ireland\u2019s annual awards ceremony honouring the LGBTQ+ community, hosted its 2025 edition on Saturday, October 4.…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":62310,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[24955,61,60,43061,43,43062],"class_list":["post-62309","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-ireland","tag-event","tag-ie","tag-ireland","tag-lgbtq-awards","tag-news","tag-the-galas"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/62309","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=62309"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/62309\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/62310"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=62309"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=62309"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=62309"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}