Farming with pride

“When I was 14, I never thought I would be a) gay in Roscommon b) walking down the street in Roscommon town as a gay man, and I certainly never thought there would be a Pride celebration, so to imagine that is happening 30 years later, society wise, we have come a long, long way, baby as the song says. It’s great to see that.”

The words of suckler farmer Will Keane, who says he couldn’t be “prouder” to be chosen as Grand Marshal for Roscommon’s first ever Pride March on Saturday 24 August at 2pm.

The inaugural event, which kicks off at The Quad in Roscommon town, invites all LGBTQIA+ people, allies and supporters to come along to a weekend of celebration, fun and community spirit.

“This hasn’t been the nicest year for farming. I’ve spent most of the year watching the grass not grow, so in a way I’m happy with this distraction involving a multitude of drag queens and colourful costumes,” laughs Will, who farms near Knockcroghery in the south of the county.

The LGBTQIA+ activist says he is really encouraged that this public celebration of diversity was the idea of local young people.

“It came from an idea that a Foróige group had in Roscommon town, and it has grown from that. It’s brilliant to see it’s coming from the younger generation,” he adds.

Journey

It was quite a different journey for Will, who came out when he went to college in Dublin, but not to his parents.

“I was never out to my father; that was a decision I consciously made because there was a 50-year age gap between myself and my father."

An only child, he admits hiding part of yourself is very hard, but he believed he was doing it for the right reasons at the time.

“It was difficult, but my father was from a different generation or really a different generation again, and the last thing I wanted to do was disappoint him.”

After his parents passed away, Will, who was previously a project manager with IBM and worked in the BBC, decided to return home with his partner Pauric and take over the family farm.

“I was apprehensive about how we would be treated, but it wasn’t very long until I discovered we weren’t the only gays in the village, and it wasn’t very long until I discovered that it doesn’t really matter,” he says of coming back to Roscommon in 2015.

Within a few weeks, he was asked to lead the marriage equality movement in Roscommon, which was a “baptism of fire” in terms of his activism and visibility.

Unfortunately, Roscommon/South Leitrim has the unenviable title of the only constituency to reject marriage equality; however, its approval nationally has ultimately led to Ireland becoming a more accepting place.

“I think we are in a changed Ireland now. There was a wave of positivity that washed over Ireland in 2015, and continues to do so with regards to all of the grounds of equality, to be perfectly honest,” remarks Will, who is heavily involved in his local community and has never faced any adversity from the public.

He is the current PRO of St Dominic’s GAA club.

In terms of the farming community, Will explains that he recently got to meet LGBTQIA+ farmers across the country on foot of a survey completed by Breda Larkin from the An Talamh Beo group for an EU conference. Based in Ballinasloe, Breda is a farmer and cabaret performer.

“It was lovely to meet them firstly, but it was also lovely to have that WhatsApp group that you can dip into every once in a while and have chats about farming or chats about LGBTQIA+ issues, and they have all been invited to Roscommon Pride,” he says.

“I think there has been a societal change whether within farming or not, to be perfectly honest. If I’m 14 now,I don’t have a statistic, but you are more likely to be out and be proud and be a farmer or be whatever you want to be.

“I feel so encouraged by young people who know themselves now. Who I have some heart for is older people in our population who may be farmers and may be gay and who will never come out.”

He encourages the latter group to come along, watch or sit in a café when the event is taking place to be included in some sense.

Community participation

“I was involved with Dublin Pride for a number of years, and what made it apart from the floats and the drag queens and everything else, was the encouragement from the side of the streets.

“I genuinely hope that the businesses and pubs in Roscommon will do something; it doesn’t have to be big, to show they are okay. A little rainbow flag in the window or a rainbow flag on uniforms just to show they are gay okay."

He is full of praise for Foróige, specifically Joanne O’Reilly and Karina Murray, for “making this possible” and the dedicated team of volunteers from Roscommon who are from the LGBTQIA+ community or allies for creating a “really incredible festival." He hopes it becomes an annual event.

On a smaller scale, the local farmer would love to see a LGBTQIA+ social group in Roscommon that brings like-minded people together all year round.

For more information go to www.roscommonpride.ie