Rory O'Neill (born 16 November 1968), also known by his

stage name A stage name is a pseudonym used by performers and entertainers—such as actors, comedians, singers, and musicians. Such professional aliases are adopted for a wide variety of reasons and they may be similar, or nearly identical, to an individu ...

s Panti, Panti Bliss and Pandora Panti Bliss, is a

drag queen A drag queen is a person, usually male, who uses drag clothing and makeup to imitate and often exaggerate female gender signifiers and gender roles for entertainment purposes. Historically, drag queens have usually been gay men, and part of ...

and

gay rights Rights affecting lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) people vary greatly by country or jurisdiction—encompassing everything from the legal recognition of same-sex marriage to the death penalty for homosexuality. Notably, , ...

activist from

Ballinrobe Ballinrobe () is a town in County Mayo in Ireland. It is located on the River Robe, which empties into Lough Mask two kilometres to the west. As of the 2016 census, the population was 2,786. History Foundation and development Ballinrobe is c ...

County Mayo County Mayo (; ga, Contae Mhaigh Eo, meaning "Plain of the yew trees") is a county in Ireland. In the West of Ireland, in the province of Connacht, it is named after the village of Mayo, now generally known as Mayo Abbey. Mayo County Counci ...

Ireland Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean, in north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel, the Irish Sea, and St George's Channel. Ireland is the s ...

Early life

O'Neill, the son of a

veterinary surgeon Veterinary surgery is surgery performed on animals by veterinarians, whereby the procedures fall into three broad categories: orthopaedics (bones, joints, muscles), soft tissue surgery (skin, body cavities, cardiovascular system, GI/urogenital/ ...

, grew up in

, and went to art college in

Dún Laoghaire Dún Laoghaire ( , ) is a suburban coastal town in Dublin in Ireland. It is the administrative centre of Dún Laoghaire–Rathdown. The town was built following the 1816 legislation that allowed the building of a major port to serve Dubli ...

. Although raised a Roman Catholic, O'Neill is an atheist. O'Neill talked to Aoibhinn Ní Shúilleabháin about having been diagnosed as HIV-positive in 1995 on the RTÉ Radio 1 series ''Aoibhinn and Company''.

Career

Panti is considered to be Ireland's foremost drag queen. From 1996 to 2012, Panti was the hostess of the annual Alternative Miss Ireland pageant. Panti regularly hosts the annual

Dublin Pride The Dublin LGBTQ+ Pride Festival is an annual series of events which celebrates lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer (LGBTQ+) life in Dublin, Ireland. It is the largest LGBTQ+ pride festival on the island of Ireland. The festival culmina ...

celebrations, which take place in the month of June every year. For a number of years Panti hosted a weekly karaoke show, ''The Casting Couch'', at The Front Lounge pub, Dublin. Panti occasionally appears at Shirley Temple Bar's weekly drag queen Bingo show in the Dublin gay bar The George. On 30 November 2007, he opened the self-titled 'Pantibar' in 7 Capel Street, Dublin. Later, he took over the nearby Pennylane cocktail bar in 2020 at 2 Great Strand Street. 'Panti' is short for 'Pandora Panti Bliss'. Rory O'Neill's first drag performance was in 1998. Panti danced on stage in

Japan Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the n ...

with

Cyndi Lauper Cynthia Ann Stephanie Lauper Thornton (born June 22, 1953) is an American singer, songwriter, actress, and activist. Her career has spanned over 40 years. Her album ''She's So Unusual'' (1983) was the first debut album by a female artist to achi ...

during her 1994 Twelve Deadly Cyns Tour.

Incidents

Comments about homophobia on RTÉ (a.k.a. "Pantigate")

On 11 January 2014, O'Neill appeared on

RTÉ (RTÉ) (; Irish for "Radio & Television of Ireland") is the national broadcaster of Ireland headquartered in Dublin. It both produces and broadcasts programmes on television, radio and online. The radio service began on 1 January 1926, whil ...

's '' The Saturday Night Show'' with Brendan O'Connor where they discussed

homophobia Homophobia encompasses a range of negative attitudes and feelings toward homosexuality or people who are identified or perceived as being lesbian, gay or bisexual. It has been defined as contempt, prejudice, aversion, hatred or antipathy, ...

and O'Neill alleged that some individuals involved in Irish journalism were homophobic. This became known as "Pantigate". Those mentioned threatened RTÉ and O'Neill with legal action. RTÉ subsequently removed that section of the interview from their online archive. On 25 January episode of the Saturday Night Show, O'Connor issued a public apology on behalf of RTÉ to those mentioned by O'Neill in the interview held two weeks previously. RTÉ paid €85,000 to those named by O'Neill. The payouts were later discussed by members of

Oireachtas The Oireachtas (, ), sometimes referred to as Oireachtas Éireann, is the bicameral parliament of Ireland. The Oireachtas consists of: *The President of Ireland *The two houses of the Oireachtas ( ga, Tithe an Oireachtais): ** Dáil Éireann ...

. The incident was also discussed in the European Parliament. with Irish MEP Paul Murphy, calling the payout "a real attack on the freedom of speech" and stating "When John Waters says that gay marriage is ‘a kind of satire’, that is homophobia. When Breda O’Brien says ‘equality must take second place to the common good’, that is homophobia. When the

Iona Institute The Iona Institute is a socially conservative, Christian, advocacy group, frequently described as a Catholic pressure group based in Ireland. Founded by columnist David Quinn, it was launched publicly in 2007. Iona promotes conservative Christ ...

campaign against gay marriage because it is gay marriage, that is homophobia." RTÉ's head of television defended the €85,000 payout stating that it saved RTÉ "an absolute multiple" in the long term.

Noble Call Speech

On 1 February 2014, O'Neill (as Panti) gave a Noble Call speech at the

Abbey Theatre The Abbey Theatre ( ga, Amharclann na Mainistreach), also known as the National Theatre of Ireland ( ga, Amharclann Náisiúnta na hÉireann), in Dublin, Ireland, is one of the country's leading cultural institutions. First opening to the p ...

in response to the events surrounding the RTÉ controversy, which garnered over 200,000 views in two days. the video has nearly 1 million views. The speech was described as "the most eloquent Irish speech" in almost 200 years by Fintan O'Toole and garnered the support of

Dan Savage Daniel Keenan Savage (born October 7, 1964) is an American author, media pundit, journalist, and LGBT community activist. He writes ''Savage Love'', an internationally syndicated relationship and sex advice column. In 2010, Savage and his husba ...

RuPaul RuPaul Andre Charles (born November 17, 1960; stylized as RuPaul) is an American drag queen, television personality, actor, musician, and model. Best known for producing, hosting, and judging the reality competition series '' RuPaul's Drag Race ...

Graham Norton Graham William Walker (born 4 April 1963), better known by his stage name Graham Norton, is an Irish actor, author, comedian, commentator, and presenter. Well known for his work in the UK, he is a five-time BAFTA TV Award winner for his comed ...

Stephen Fry Stephen John Fry (born 24 August 1957) is an English actor, broadcaster, comedian, director and writer. He first came to prominence in the 1980s as one half of the comic double act Fry and Laurie, alongside Hugh Laurie, with the two starring ...

Madonna Madonna Louise Ciccone (; ; born August 16, 1958) is an American singer-songwriter and actress. Widely dubbed the " Queen of Pop", Madonna has been noted for her continual reinvention and versatility in music production, songwriting, a ...

, and others. T-shirts with "I'm on Team Panti" have been sold as a fundraiser for BeLonG To Youth Services, raising over €10,000. In March 2014, English electronic pop duo

Pet Shop Boys The Pet Shop Boys are an English synth-pop duo formed in London in 1981. Consisting of primary vocalist Neil Tennant and keyboardist Chris Lowe, they have sold more than 50 million records worldwide, and were listed as the most successful duo ...

released the speech, backed with their music, as "Oppressive (The Best Gay Possible)," they followed up with a "slow mix" of the track, and accompanying video with a "montage of homophobia-related clips." O'Neill later donated the dress he wore at the Noble Call to the

National Museum of Ireland The National Museum of Ireland ( ga, Ard-Mhúsaem na hÉireann) is Ireland's leading museum institution, with a strong emphasis on national and some international archaeology, Irish history, Irish art, culture, and natural history. It has thr ...

, where it was put on display about LGBTI+ history in Ireland.

Works

Theatre

* 2005 ''Spurt! Sister! Spurt!'' as Madame * 2007 ''In These Shoes?'', Written and performed by Panti, at the Dublin Gay Theatre Festival * 2007 ''All Dolled Up'', Written and performed by Panti * 2009 ''A Woman In Progress'', Written and performed by Panti * 2014 ''High Heels in Low Places'', Written and performed by Panti.

Media

Film

* 2015 '' The Queen of Ireland''

Television

* 1990 ''Nighthawks'' as "Seán The Transvestite Farmer" * 1998 '' The Maury Povich Show'', as Panti (1 episode: "Turn My Daughter Back Into My Son") * 2008 '' The Clinic'' as Dusty Mulberry (1 episode) * 2008 '' Raw'' as Panti (1 episode) * 2014 '' The Mario Rosenstock Christmas Special'' as Panti * 2014 '' The Saturday Night Show'' * 2022 '' The Late Late Eurosong Special'' as Panti (televote spokesperson) * 2023 ''

Dancing with the Stars ''Dancing with the Stars'' is the name of various international television series based on the format of the British TV series '' Strictly Come Dancing'', which is distributed by BBC Studios, the commercial arm of the BBC. Currently the form ...

Radio

* 2011 ''Ireland's Karaoke Klassics'', 2FM, Co-presenter as Panti with Arveene * 2014 ''Sunday Breakfast With Dee Reddy'',

Phantom FM TXFM (formerly Phantom 105.2) was a Dublin based radio station, founded in 1997 as a pirate radio station. TXFM broadcast under a contract awarded by the Broadcasting Authority of Ireland (BAI). The station ceased broadcasting on 26 October 2016 ...

as guest contributor * 2016 ''Pantisocracy'' a

RTÉ Radio 1 RTÉ Radio 1 ( ga, RTÉ Raidió 1) is an Irish national radio station owned and operated by RTÉ and is the direct descendant of Dublin radio station 2RN, which began broadcasting on a regular basis on 1 January 1926. The total budget for th ...

four part interview series hosted by Panti

Music

* 2014 "Oppression" by Out!rage Featuring Panti Bliss released in aid of BeLonG To * 2014 "The Best Gay Possible - Oppressive Dance Mix" by

incorporates Panti's speech at the Abbey Theatre

Book

* ''Woman in the Making: A memoir'', Rory O'Neill, 2014, Hachette Books Ireland.

Coverage and recognition

Documentary

O'Neill and his alter ego Panti are the subject of a documentary about his early life, the events surrounding comments O'Neill made about homophobia and Panti's role during Ireland's successful campaign for marriage equality. Filmed over a number of years, the documentary was directed by

Conor Horgan Conor Horgan is an Irish film director, screenwriter and photographer. Career Horgan first trained as a photographer, before moving into directing TV commercials. He has directed over 70 commercials and has won Best Director and Best Photograph ...

. '' The Queen of Ireland'' premiered on 21 October 2015, followed by its planned nationwide release in Ireland from 23 October 2015.

Awards

* Winner of 'Business Person of the Year' – Gay and Lesbian Awards 2009 * Winner of 'Best Blog Post' – Irish Blog Awards 2010 * Attitude's Editor's Special Award - Attitude Magagzine Awards 2014 * Award for contribution to Irish society - People of the Year Awards 2014 * James Joyce Award - Presented by Literary and Historical society of University College Dublin * Trinity College Dublin, Honorary Degree - O'Neill was awarded with an honorary degree from Trinity College Dublin in 2015 for his contribution to LGBT rights and marriage equality

References

External link

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Panti Irish drag queens Irish gay actors LGBT entertainers from Ireland LGBT rights activists from Ireland Living people People from County Mayo 1968 births 20th-century Irish people 21st-century Irish people