What would make this a perfect St Patrick’s Day for us here in the U.S. is the news from Universal Pictures that they are finally going to release one of (our) most eagerly anticipated documentaries of all time The Queen of Ireland : the story of the country’s most famous drag queen Panti Bliss.
You must have been living under a (straight) rock somewhere if you have never heard of Panti or even caught sight of her Noble Call Speech in Dublin which is unquestionably one of the most powerful heart-thumping pieces of oration of gay rights that you are ever likely to hear. Click here for a recap.
Panti is even more passionate about our community than she is about her sparkly sequin frocks, and was one of the main forces behind the vote in Ireland that finally made same-sex marriage legal there at last.
She is fierce and she is funny, but most of all she articulates what so many of us feel but simply do not have her wit, eloquence, drive and her unselfish passion. It therefore seems so totally wrong that Universal selfishly deny us the right to see this glorious profile of one of the most important and best loved LGBT figures of this generation. So we plead with them, make this a true Irish celebration today and let us see The Queen of Ireland.
Labels: 2016, culture, Ireland, Panti Bliss
