Irish AIDS Day 2022

On Irish AIDS Day 2022, GCN and HIV Ireland presented a special lunchtime webinar:

“These Fragile Lives”

The role of communities in memorialising HIV and AIDS in Ireland

The event was livestreamed and can be watched back here.

It’s 40 years since HIV and AIDS first emerged in Ireland. To mark Irish AIDS Day 15 June 2022, GCN and HIV Ireland presented a special lunchtime webinar. The recent publication of the Government’s call for Expressions of Interest for a National Monument for HIV and AIDS recalls the role of communities in remembering and honouring those lost to AIDS related illness and those who are living with HIV. The lively and engaging discussion heard from noted activists, stakeholders and community leaders who have worked at the coalface of HIV and AIDS and who have witnessed first-hand the devastating impact of AIDS on communities here.

The panel of speakers included:

Tonie Walsh – leading HIV and gay rights activist, journalist, DJ and founder of Gay Community News and Irish Queer Archives. From 1984 to 1988 Walsh was president of the National Lesbian and Gay Federation (NLGF).

Terrie Colman Black – Co-founder of ACET Ireland and the founder of its Quilt Group which she continues to lead. Terrie’s work has featured in academic conferences and in leading peer-reviewed journals and she has collaborated with many groups around the world including the National AIDS Memorial in San Francisco.

Maeve Foreman – formerly Assistant Professor of Social Work in Trinity College Dublin, she has accumulated over 28 years community work and social work practice experience. She worked as a senior medical social worker in HIV for 15 years, and as a medical social worker in oncology and haematology.

Patricia Conway – formerly a registered nurse at Cherry Orchard Hospital providing care including terminal care for people with an AIDS related illness. Former member of the management council of the Ana Liffey Drug Project in Dublin. Former Chair of the Irish Bishops’ Drugs Initiative of the Irish Catholic Bishops’ Conference.