Mr Gay Ireland is an annual contest for gay men, with regional heats held in gay venues around

Ireland Ireland (, ; ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe. Geopolitically, the island is divided between the Republic of Ireland (officially Names of the Irish state, named Irelan ...

, with a grand final held in late October. Founded in 2005 and originally called Mr Gay Dublin, previous finals have been held in The George,

Dublin Dublin is the capital and largest city of Republic of Ireland, Ireland. Situated on Dublin Bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster, and is bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, pa ...

. The 2010 title holder, Max Krzyzanowski, went on to win the title of Mr Gay World 2009.

History

Founded in 2005 and originally called Mr Gay Dublin, the event is organised by the Dublin Gay Theatre Festival. Mr Gay Ireland has become more than a beauty contest and has become a nationwide community civic and social project designed to overcome negative stereotypes of gay people and to encourage a civic and social action for

HIV The human immunodeficiency viruses (HIV) are two species of '' Lentivirus'' (a subgroup of retrovirus) that infect humans. Over time, they cause acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS), a condition in which progressive failure of the im ...

AIDS The HIV, human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) is a retrovirus that attacks the immune system. Without treatment, it can lead to a spectrum of conditions including acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS). It is a Preventive healthcare, pr ...

amongst the contestants and their friends. The contest has previously been hosted by

Brendan Courtney Brendan Courtney (born 24 June 1971) is an Irish TV presenter and fashion designer. He was the first openly gay presenter in Ireland. He has hosted ''Wanderlust'' on RTÉ Two, ''The Brendan Courtney Show'' on TV3. Career Courtney began his car ...

, alongside

Dolly Grip In cinematography, the dolly grip is a dedicated technician trained to operate the camera dolly. This technician places, levels, and moves the dolly track, then pushes and pulls the dolly and usually a camera operator and camera assistant as ...

, one of the George's resident

drag queen A drag queen is a person, usually male, who uses Drag (entertainment), drag clothing and makeup to imitate and often exaggerate Femininity, female gender signifiers and gender roles for entertainment purposes. Historically, drag queens have ...

s and cohost of

Shirley Temple Bar Declan Buckley is an Irish television personality and drag queen from Dublin, Ireland, going by the persona Shirley Temple Bar. This name is a play on the name of the American child actress Shirley Temple and a cultural area of Dublin city cal ...

's Sunday Night Bingo. Mr Gay Ireland is run by a group of volunteers from the International Dublin Gay Theatre Festival. Since its inception, Mr Gay Ireland has donated almost €50,000 to charitable causes including Round Tower Housing Association (HIV/AIDS),

St. James's Hospital St. James's Hospital ''Confirms spelling of name as "James's" and Irish name'' () is a teaching hospital in Dublin, Republic of Ireland, Ireland. Its academic partner is Trinity College Dublin. It is managed by Dublin Midlands Hospital Group. ...

Foundation (HIV/AIDS), BelongTo Youth Development, the

KAL Kal may refer to: People *Kal (name) *Kal or KAL, Kevin Kallaugher (born 1955), editorial cartoonist Places Iran * Kal, Fars, a village **Kal Rural District, in Fars Province * Kal, Kurdistan, a village * Kal, Susan, a village in Khuzestan Prov ...

case and GCN.

Participants

Entrants have been aged from 18 to 40, with several nationalities competing for the prize. Mr Gay Ireland 2008, Barry Meegan, made the grand final in the Mr Gay International Competition in Hollywood in 2008. Both he and Mr Gay Northern Ireland represented Ireland in the Mr Gay Europe competition in Budapest in July 2008. Mr Gay Ireland 2007, John Rice, was 3rd in Budapest in 2007. Mikey Robinson, Mr Gay Northern Ireland 2007, made the top 8 in Budapest (2007), following Mr Gay Ireland 2006 Keith Kearney's second place in Mr Gay Europe in Amsterdam in 2006. The 2009 title holder went on to win Mr Gay World 2010.

References

External links

Official website
(archived 2019) LGBTQ beauty pageants LGBTQ events in Ireland Beauty pageants in Ireland Recurring events established in 2005 2005 establishments in Ireland Male beauty pageants Annual events in Ireland Irish awards Autumn in the Republic of Ireland Mr Gay World Gay culture in Europe {{LGBT-event-stub