Causeway Pride

@causewaypride.bsky.social

576 Followers 305 Following

August 1st 2026

Our team is taking some time to recover after yesterday In the coming days we will share photos and messages from this years evwnts But for now we'd like to thank everyone involved and everyone who attended this year
Saturday August 1st 12.30 PM Stalls open at Town Hall 1.30PM Act of Rememberance 1.35PM Speeches 2.00PM Parade 3.00PM Enterainment From Splat 8.00PM After Party (sold out)
Following last night’s tragedy in Berlin, we invite everyone to join us in an act of remembrance at 1:30pm on Saturday, 1 August, at the Amphitheatre in Portrush, before our event begins. We will stand together in silence, in solidarity, and in remembrance of those whose lives were lost. There is no distance between our communities when one of us is attacked. Still Here. Still Proud.
Image, black background Pride flag Text reads "yes, we still need pride"
Causeway Pride stands in solidarity with our LGBTQIA+ siblings in Berlin following the devastating attack today. Our hearts are with everyone injured, everyone who witnessed this violence, and the family, friends and loved ones of the person who lost their life. We know what it means to gather in the streets and feel both the joy of our community and the weight of everything we have had to fight against. We know that Pride is never just a party. It is our visibility. Our resistance. Our refusal to disappear. To our siblings in Berlin: we are thinking of you, grieving with you and standing with you
Causeway Pride and Mams 4 Trans NI are appalled by Féile an Phobail's decision to provide a platform to Sex Matters, an organisation that has consistently campaigned against the rights, dignity and inclusion of trans people. This is not simply a difference of opinion. It is a decision to amplify a group whose work has contributed to making life harder for one of the most marginalised communities in our society. Féile an Phobail was built on principles of equality, solidarity and giving a voice to those who have been excluded. Those values matter. They are the reason so many people have supported and respected Féile over the years. That is why this decision is so profoundly disappointing. Every invitation is a choice. Every platform sends a message about whose voices deserve to be amplified. At a time when trans people are facing relentless political attacks, rising hate and repeated attempts to strip away their rights, choosing to host an organisation dedicated to opposing those rights sends a message that cannot be ignored. There is nothing progressive about legitimising discrimination. There is nothing community-minded about platforming an organisation whose campaigning has left countless trans people feeling less safe, less welcome and less human. And there is nothing brave about punching down on a community already under attack. We are therefore calling on Féile an Phobail to immediately cancel this event. If it proceeds, we will organise a peaceful protest outside the venue in solidarity with our trans community. We invite allies, trade unionists, community organisations and everyone who believes in equality to stand with us and send a clear message that trans people belong in our communities, and that attempts to legitimise campaigns against their rights will never go unchallenged. Solidarity is not something you claim when it is convenient. It is something you demonstrate when those with the least power are under attack. We urge Féile an P…
Image showing people walking in causeway pride
Causeway Pride and Mams 4 Trans NI are deeply disappointed by the decision to prevent Northern Ireland Civil Service staff from participating in Pride events in an official capacity. Pride is a celebration of equality, visibility and community. It is not a political endorsement, nor does the participation of one civil servant in any way diminish the rights, beliefs or freedoms of another who chooses not to take part. Inclusion is not a zero-sum game. This decision sends a troubling message to LGBTQIA+ staff: that their identities and communities must be kept at arm's length in order to appear "neutral". Neutrality should never mean invisibility. It also raises an important question of consistency. If civil servants are expected to avoid participating in Pride in an official capacity, does the same principle apply to events organised by religious communities or other identity-based groups? If not, LGBTQIA+ staff are being held to a different standard.
**Pride organisations across Northern Ireland have come together in solidarity to make an important decision.** Following last year’s position, we will again not be accepting applications from parties within the Northern Ireland Executive to participate in 2026 Pride Festivals across Northern Ireland. Individuals may participate in a personal capacity; however, the display of party branding, political endorsements, or representation of any political party that forms the Northern Ireland Executive is not permitted. This reflects the continued failure to deliver the rights, healthcare, protections, and dignity that trans people in Northern Ireland urgently need and deserve. Pride is more than celebration it is protest. It is rooted in action, not words. As organisers, we have a responsibility to protect these spaces and ensure they represent genuine, meaningful support for our communities. Until clear and accountable standards are in place, we cannot offer a platform to those who have not demonstrated real commitment to LGBTQIA+ equality. We urge the Executive to move beyond rhetoric and take tangible action, especially for trans people, across policy, healthcare, and lived experience. **Our communities deserve dignity, safety, and equality.** Pride is protest. Pride is solidarity. Pride demands action. **Logos shown:** * Trans Pride NI * Belfast Pride Festival * Lurgan Pride * Foyle Pride Festival * Fermanagh Pride * Omagh Pride * Causeway Pride * Mid & East Antrim Pride * Newry Pride
Causeway Pride is appalled by the scenes of violence, intimidation and destruction witnessed following tonight's demonstrations. Homes have been attacked. Property has been damaged. Families have been left frightened in their own communities. Streets have been turned into arenas for mob violence. There can be no excuses, no caveats, and no attempts to dress this up as legitimate protest. It was not. It was criminality. What makes tonight's events even more infuriating is that they were entirely foreseeable. Previously, we called for calm, restraint and respect for due process. Many others did the same. Yet as tensions rose, some political representatives chose not to lead but to follow. Some chose not to calm fears but to amplify them. Some chose not to challenge dangerous rhetoric but to indulge it. Leadership is not standing in front of a camera after the damage is done and expressing concern. Leadership is using your voice before the violence starts. Too many elected representatives failed that test. At a moment when communities needed reassurance, responsibility and clear calls for restraint, we instead saw grievance elevated above responsibility and political calculation placed ahead of community safety. Those who spent time fuelling anger and then express shock at the consequences should reflect carefully on the role they have played. We are also deeply concerned by attempts to use these events to target entire communities, sow division, and roll back years of progress towards a more inclusive and cohesive society. There are those who see every crisis as an opportunity to create fear, identify scapegoats and pit neighbour against neighbour. They should be called out for exactly what they are doing. Northern Ireland knows where this road leads. We know the cost of allowing rumours to spread unchecked, of allowing fear to become hatred, and of allowing political cowardice to masquerade as leadership. We have paid that price before. We should not be payi…
Tomorrow the logos will change. The rainbows will appear in shop windows. Banks will discover they have always cared. Corporations will dust off their annual declarations of allyship and schedule their social media posts down to the minute. And every year I find myself thinking about how strange it is that we've been taught to mistake visibility for victory. Because Pride did not begin in a boardroom. It began in anger. It began when people who had been beaten, arrested, mocked, abandoned and criminalised decided they had reached the end of their patience. June 1969. The police raid the Stonewall Inn yet again. This time, people fight back. Not politicians. Not CEOs. Not the respectable faces that would later appear on magazine covers. Drag queens. Trans women. Sex workers. Butches. Homeless queer kids. The people society had already decided were disposable. Black queer people. Brown queer people. Trans people. Those living at the sharpest intersections of oppression, carrying the weight of racism, poverty, misogyny and queerphobia all at once. People like Marsha P. Johnson. Sylvia Rivera. Stormé DeLarverie. Miss Major Griffin-Gracy
Tina McCombe helped build something so many of us now call home. As one of the original conveners of Belfast Pride, she created space for LGBTQ+ people at a time when doing so required real courage. Before Pride was widely celebrated, there were people like Tina who showed up, spoke out, and made visibility possible. Her legacy lives on in every person who marches proudly today and every young queer person who knows they are not alone because of those who came before them. May we honor her legacy May she rest in pride
We are watching it happen in real time. We are angry because we understand the pattern. We are angry because we know what state neglect looks like. We are angry because trans children deserve care, not culture war theatre. This is political. This is ideological. And it is cruel as fuck. To every single Pride committee in the UK: We need your help Last year, we banned political parties who harmed us and the ones who claimed to be allies but would not fight for us as did the majority of prides in NI. Not because it was easy. Not because it was popular. But because Pride is not a corporate parade and it is not a political networking event. It is a protest. If a party supports, defends, or refuses to challenge policies that strip trans young people of healthcare, they do not belong on our stages. They do not deserve our platforms. They do not get to march under our flags while our community is under attack.
This is calculated harm.. The puberty blocker ban was rammed through with one excuse, we were told would “balance” the damage: a clinical trial. A pathway. A scrap of hope for trans kids who had just had their healthcare ripped away. Now the trial is paused in both NI and England, quite possibly for good So let’s stop pretending. There is no pathway. There is no cushion. There is just a ban. You do not get to strip healthcare from trans children and then quietly withdraw the only alternative you offered. You do not get to slam every door shut and still claim this is about safety. We have seen this before...
To our trans siblings... We see you. We love you. We’ve got you. The last few weeks have been exhausting. The news cycle has felt relentless. Decisions about healthcare, headlines that question your existence, and the sheer volume of hostile commentary can take a real toll. If you’re feeling angry, frightened, numb, or just very, very tired that makes sense. Be gentle with yourself. Log off when you need to. Curate your space. Spend time with people who remind you that you are whole and worthy exactly as you are. You deserve dignity. You deserve healthcare grounded in compassion and evidence. You deserve to live openly and safely. No newspaper column, no social media pile-on, no political posturing can take away your inherent worth. To our young trans people in particular: there are adults in this world who will fight for you, who will stand between you and harm, who believe you deserve a future full of joy. You are not alone and you never will be. And to anyone struggling right now, our inbox is open. If you need a listening ear, a cup of tea, or just someone to sit with you in the storm, that space is here, and where possible we will signpost you to places you can get support if you need it. We will not stop fighting for your rights. We will not stop challenging misinformation. We will not stop building a Northern Ireland where trans people can thrive. Hold fast. Rest when you need to. We’re in this together.
Causeway Pride is entering its 4th year and in a time when LGBTQIA+ rights are under renewed attack, our very existence is an act of resistance. We are a small Pride on the north coast, but we are unapologetically political. We are here to honour Mark Ashton’s legacy... Solidarity and standing with our community no matter the cost. We are here to make the Causeway Coast (and one day all of Northern Ireland) a place where everyone belongs. And we are here to fight back against politicians who have failed us, abandoned us, and continue to side with those who want to erase us. Let’s be clear: LGBTQIA+ rights were never handed to us. They were fought for. They are still being fought for. And we refuse to let them be taken quietly
We have noticed various comments on the articles shared by local media about our continued ban on political parties and would like to take a moment to address some of them... 1. Trans Agenda: To us Every letter of LGBTQIA is just as important as the others and if you actually read the article you'd find that the puberty blocker ban is only one part of this, and even if it was lifted tomorrow the political parties would still be banned, the entire LGBTQIA community has repeatedly been failed by Stormont and things have to change. Furthermore if you actually do your research you will find there is no evidence of harm caused by puberty blockers, there is a risk of bone density issues with long term use, but they arent used long term and the risks are thoroughly explained before hand so that an informed decision can be made. It is worth noting they are still used for a number of other issues including precocious puberty which means giving them to much younger children for longer periods of time but you don't seem to have an issue with that??? 2.Rainbow project: we obviously have a relationship with them but they are not involved in planning pride or funding it. They also dont recieve any funding from stormont so we are unsure how exactly you plan to defund them and while the various Prides communicate with each other there is no overall body running them. 3.PSNI: while the police do their job of closing roads etc for parades they do not take part in any Prides in Northern Ireland, and why do you find it acceptable to ban them but not political parties?? 4. This ban is for parties NOT individuals! Any mla/mp/counsellors are more than welcome to take part as private citizens, the fact that the majority chose not to last year is evidence that it was just a photo op, however we have noted who still turned up and it was very much appreciated.
We will continue structured consultation with our communities. On 1 June 2026, the first day of Pride Month, we will publicly confirm whether this exclusion remains in place. In the interest of transparency and accountability, we will also publicly record and publish: Whether parties have responded to this correspondence The substance of those responses Any commitments made, and whether they are subsequently delivered Failure to engage, refusal to meet the standards outlined above, or attempts to substitute optics for action will be explicitly named. This is not punitive; it is a direct consequence of repeated political failure and a necessary step to ensure honesty with our communities.
Happy New Year, everyone, We’re starting as we mean to go on. Anyone who believed the banning of Executive parties from Pride was a one-off was mistaken. The situation at Stormont has not changed and neither have we. Today, we are sending the letter shared above to each of the Executive parties. We will also be writing to the leader of the SDLP. While they are not currently an Executive party, the reality is that they have not done enough, and that cannot go unchallenged. We want to take a moment to pay tribute to Green Party NI, People Before Profit, and the Socialist Party for standing with us throughout 2025 and in previous years. Their solidarity has mattered, and we look forward to welcoming them at Pride again this year. As for the other parties: the clock is ticking, and we are watching. They have until the beginning of Pride Month to demonstrate meaningful change. If they fail to do so, the ban will remain in place. We also want to thank our Pride siblings particularly Belfast, Foyle, Omagh, and Mid & East Antrim Pride for standing with us in solidarity last year. Collective action is how we win, and we hope to stand together again this year. Finally, to the queer community: thank you. Thank you for your words of support, for marching with us, and for refusing to be silenced. We look forward to welcoming you all back on August 1st, under this year’s theme: “Still Here, Still Proud.” Because We are here. We are queer. And we aren’t going anywhere.