Cork Public Museum Opens Ireland's First Permanent LGBTQ History Exhibition

Cork Public Museum opens a landmark exhibition tracing the history of the city's LGBTQ community today, marking the first time a permanent LGBTQ exhibition has been installed in any Irish museum.

We Were Always Here - Cork LGBT History opens to the public on Wednesday 19 August 2026, the result of a collaboration between Cork Public Museum and the Cork LGBT Archive. The opening also marks the 50th anniversary of the opening of the first gay centre in Cork, at No. 4 MacCurtain Street in 1976.

The Cork LGBT Archive, established in 2013, gathers, preserves and shares the rich history of Cork's Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender communities. It is the most active and accessible Irish queer archive, with a physical collection, a digital archive, a dynamic volunteer group and a public engagement programme that includes publications, exhibitions, documentaries and walking tours.

The museum and the Archive began working together in 2017, when the museum agreed to house the Archive's extensive collections. Since then, staff from both organisations have catalogued, transcribed and digitised this important collection, helping to pave the way for the new permanent exhibition. This work builds on the museum's continued commitment to ensuring that a more inclusive version of Cork's history and heritage is on display, and follows earlier permanent exhibitions on Irish Travellers, created in 2005, and the Cork Hebrew Congregation, created in 2017.

The exhibition also continues Cork's tradition of firsts in Irish LGBT history. The city hosted the first National Gay Conference in 1981 and the first Irish Lesbian and Gay Film Festival in 1991. Cork's 1992 St Patrick's Day parade contained the first ever LGBTQ float seen at the festival anywhere in the world.

Orla Egan, Exhibition Curator and Founder of the Cork LGBT Archive, said:

"Too often the history of the LGBT community has been invisible, ignored or erased. Having Cork's LGBTQ history on display in the Cork Public Museum will ensure that is it [sic] accessible and cannot be forgotten or ignored. It sends a powerful message of respect and inclusion for a community that too often has experienced prejudice, punishment and exclusion. This is even more important in today's world when we are witnessing an increase in transphobia and homophobia in the world. By creating this permanent exhibition, Cork can be a much-needed shining beacon of inclusion and respect for the LGBTQ community."

Daniel Breen, Curator of Cork Public Museum, said:

"This exhibition is another important milestone for Cork Public Museum. Ireland, and Cork, has changed a great deal in the 80 years since the museum has been open. In that time, the museum has often had to re-evaluate its exhibitions and collections to better reflect contemporary society and to better serve the people of Cork. The museum is proud to have worked closely with Orla Egan and her colleagues at the Cork LGBT Archive to create this exhibition and we hope it engages all our visitors, regardless of age, gender or sexuality."

Using original documents, objects and personal possessions, the exhibition traces LGBTQ history in Cork through the stories of the people and organisations that sought to support and defend the LGBTQ community, especially when it was illegal to be homosexual in Ireland until 1993. The display is therefore a celebration of activists who created, and continue to create, social and cultural spaces, challenge prejudice and help bring about lasting social and political change.

The exhibition was funded by Cork City Council, the Heritage Council of Ireland and the Department of Culture, Communication and Sport.