Midlands group scoops top prize at LGBTQ+ awards night

Support workers from the Midlands LGBTQ+ Project scooped a top honour at Ireland’s only LGBTQ+ awards.

At a ceremony in the Dublin Royal Convention Centre on October 5, the Midlands LGBTQ+ Project was named the Community Organisation (Paid Staff) of the year.

Organised by Gay Community News (GCN) and the National LGBT Federation (NXF), the annual GALAS celebrate the work of individuals, companies and organisations who are helping to make Ireland a better place for the LGBTQ+ community.

Awards hosts performer and broadcaster Paul Ryder and social media influencer Cassie Stokes said the judges had been impressed by the project’s leadership and service on behalf of the local LGBTQ+ community.

Veteran activist David Norris, who retired from the Seanad last January, was also honoured with a Lifetime Achievement award at the event, as special recognition for his contribution to the LGBTQ+ community and Irish society.

Speaking at the ceremony Anna Nolan, Chair of the NXF, said: “This is our 11th awards ceremony, and the standard of all the entrants was as strong as ever.

“It is genuinely humbling to see the amount of work that individuals and groups are doing all over Ireland to promote equality, and acknowledging their efforts makes the GALAS such a special and inspiring evening.

“And it’s only fitting we honour the achievements of David Norris, the first openly gay man to be elected to public office in Ireland who devoted his life to campaigning on behalf of the LGBTQ+ community.”