An exhibition documenting the relationship between Irish republicanism and the LGBTQ community is set to open in Belfast on July 22. The display at Áras Uí Chonghaile on the Falls Road results from a partnership between OUTing the Past, the Bloody Sunday Trust (Museum of Free Derry), and the host venue.

The project originated at the 2018 OUTing the Past International Festival of LGBT+ History. Research over five years has created a growing public archival collection indicating that republicans were involved in advancing gay life in Northern Ireland. The exhibition highlights that a gay republican prisoner wrote in 1991 that gay men and lesbian women had been part of the national liberation struggle as long as any other section of the community.

Jeff Evans, a research fellow at Liverpool John Moores University who has worked on the project from the start, said the exhibition does not claim to be a complete history but offers a developing collection of materials. He added that studying often overlooked groups provides a more nuanced understanding of the past. Organisers note the exhibition can only display a small fraction of the material gathered, with further research planned.