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

stage name A stage name or professional name is a pseudonym used by performers, authors, and entertainers—such as actors, comedians, singers, and musicians. The equivalent concept among writers is called a ''nom de plume'' (pen name). Some performers ...

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

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 ...

and

gay rights Rights affecting lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and queer (LGBTQ) people vary greatly by country or jurisdiction—encompassing everything from the legal recognition of same-sex marriage to the death penalty for homosexuality. Not ...

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 2022 census, the population was 3,148. The town is in a civil parish of the same name. Hist ...

County Mayo County Mayo (; ) is a Counties of Ireland, county in Republic of Ireland, Ireland. In the West Region, Ireland, West of Ireland, in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Connacht, it is named after the village of Mayo, County Mayo, Mayo, now ge ...

, Ireland.

Early life

O'Neill, the son of a

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

, grew up in Ballinrobe, County Mayo, and went to art college in

Dún Laoghaire Dún Laoghaire ( , ) is a suburban coastal town in County Dublin in Ireland. It is the administrative centre of the county of Dún Laoghaire–Rathdown. The town was built up alongside a small existing settlement following 1816 legislation th ...

. Although raised a Catholic, O'Neill is an atheist. O'Neill talked to

Aoibhinn Ní Shúilleabháin Aoibhinn Ní Shúilleabháin (; born 25 October 1983) is an Irish academic, teacher, broadcaster and high-profile science communicator. She also won the Rose of Tralee contest in 2005 and toured internationally as the lead singer of an Irish ...

about having been diagnosed as HIV-positive in 1995 on the RTÉ Radio 1 series ''Aoibhinn and Company''.

Career

O'Neill (under his stage name ''Panti'') is considered to be Ireland's foremost drag queen. ''Panti'' is short for 'Pandora Panti Bliss'. O'Neill's first drag performance was in 1989. He danced on stage in

Japan Japan is an island country in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean off the northeast coast of the Asia, Asian mainland, it is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan and extends from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea ...

with

Cyndi Lauper Cynthia Ann Stephanie Lauper ( ; born June 22, 1953) is an American singer, songwriter and actress. Known for her distinctive image, featuring a variety of hair colors and eccentric clothing, and for her powerful four-octave vocal range;Jerome, ...

during her 1994 Twelve Deadly Cyns Tour. O'Neill (in his ''Panti'' guise) 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+ gay pride, pride festival on the island of Ireland. The fes ...

celebrations, which take place in June every year. From 1996 to 2012, he hosted the annual

Alternative Miss Ireland The Alternative Miss Ireland (AMI) was an annual gay event which took place in Dublin, Ireland, on the Sunday closest to St. Patrick's Day, 17 March. It occurred over three-and-a-half hours and featured a pastiche of the beauty pageant rounds i ...

pageant. For a number of years, O'Neill (as Panti) hosted a weekly karaoke show, ''The Casting Couch'', at The Front Lounge pub, Dublin. He occasionally appears as Panti at

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 weekly drag queen Bingo show in the Dublin gay bar The George. On 30 November 2007, he opened the self-titled 'Pantibar' at 7

Capel Street Capel Street ( ) is a predominantly commercial street in Dublin, Ireland, laid out in the 17th century by Humphrey Jervis. History Capel Street takes its name from the nearby chapel of St Mary's Abbey (from the Latin Capella – Chapel) altho ...

, Dublin. Later, he took over the nearby Pennylane cocktail bar in 2020 at 2 Great Strand Street. In 2023, he took part in the sixth series of

Dancing with the Stars ''Strictly Come Dancing (widely known as Dancing with the Stars)'' is an international television franchise based on the format of the British TV series '' Strictly Come Dancing,'' itself a successor to the show ''Come Dancing'' (1950–1998) ...

, partnered with Ukrainian dancer

Denys Samson Denys Samson (; born 21 August 1989) is a Ukrainian ballroom and Latin dancer and choreographer. Career Samson is a former two-time Ukrainian Ten Dance Champion and a two-time World Ten Dance Champion. ''Dancing with the Stars'' Ukraine ...

. He finished the competition in 6th place on 5 March. In 2024 O'Neill was the Grand Marshall of the London St Patrick's Day Parade.

Incidents

Comments about homophobia on RTÉ ("Pantigate")

On 11 January 2014, O'Neill appeared on

RTÉ (; ; RTÉThe É in RTÉ is pronounced as an English E () and not an Irish É ()) is an Irish public service broadcaster. It both produces and broadcasts programmes on television, radio and online. The radio service began on 1 January 1926, ...

's ''

The Saturday Night Show ''The Saturday Night Show'' is a talk show hosted by Brendan O'Connor broadcast on RTÉ One between 2010 and 2015. The show features guest interviews, audience participation and live music. ''The Saturday Night Show'' is broadcast every Saturday ...

'' with Brendan O'Connor, where he and O'Connor discussed

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

, and O'Neill alleged that some specific people 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 Bicameralism, bicameral parliament of Republic of Ireland, Ireland. The Oireachtas consists of the president of Ireland and the two houses of the Oireachtas (): a house ...

. 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 Lolek CLG, operating under the business name the Iona Institute, is an Irish, socially conservative organisation that advocates the advancement and promotion of the Christian religion and its social and moral values. It has been frequently des ...

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 (), also known as the National Theatre of Ireland () is a theatre in Dublin, Ireland. First opening to the public on 27 December 1904, and moved from its original building after a fire in 1951, it has remained active 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 Fintan O'Toole (born 16 February 1958) is an Irish journalist, literary editor, and drama critic for ''The Irish Times'', for which he has written since 1988. He was drama critic for the ''New York Daily News'' from 1997 to 2001 and is Advisin ...

and garnered the support of

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

RuPaul RuPaul Andre Charles (born November 17, 1960) is an American drag queen, television host, singer, producer, writer, and actor. He produces, hosts, and judges the reality competition series ''RuPaul's Drag Race'' and has received List of awards ...

Graham Norton Graham William Walker (born 4 April 1963), known professionally as Graham Norton, is an Irish comedian, broadcaster, actor, and writer. He is a five-time BAFTA TV Award winner for the comedy chat show ''The Graham Norton Show'' (2007–present) ...

Stephen Fry Sir Stephen John Fry (born 24 August 1957) is an English actor, broadcaster, comedian, director, narrator and writer. He came to prominence as a member of the comic act Fry and Laurie alongside Hugh Laurie, with the two starring in ''A Bit of ...

Madonna Madonna Louise Ciccone ( ; born August 16, 1958) is an American singer, songwriter, record producer, and actress. Referred to as the "Queen of Pop", she has been recognized for her continual reinvention and versatility in music production, ...

, 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 Pet Shop Boys are an English synth-pop duo formed in London in 1981. Consisting of vocalist Neil Tennant and keyboardist Chris Lowe, they have sold more than 100 million records worldwide and were listed as the most successful duo in UK music h ...

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 () 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 three branches in Dublin, the arch ...

, 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 Rory O'Neill as Panti, at the Dublin Gay Theatre Festival * 2007 ''All Dolled Up'', Written and performed by Rory O'Neill as Panti * 2009 ''A Woman In Progress'', Written and performed by Rory O'Neill as Panti * 2014 ''High Heels in Low Places'', Written and performed by Rory O'Neill as Panti. * 2022 ''If These Wigs Could Talk'', Written and performed by Rory O'Neill as Panti.

Media

Film

* 2015 '' The Queen of Ireland''

Television

* 1990 ''Nighthawks'' as "Seán The Transvestite Farmer" * 1998: ''

The Maury Povich Show ''Maury'' is an American first-run syndicated talk show that was hosted by Maury Povich. It ran for thirty-one seasons from September 9, 1991, to September 8, 2022, in which it broadcast 5,545 episodes. The show frequently featured paternity ...

'', 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: ''

'' * 2022: '' The Late Late Eurosong Special'' as Panti (televote spokesperson) * 2022: ''

Bad Sisters ''Bad Sisters'' is an Irish black comedy television series developed by Sharon Horgan, Dave Finkel, and Brett Baer. Set in Dublin and filmed on location in Ireland, it is based on the Belgian series ''Clan'', which was created by Malin-Sarah Go ...

'', as Ms Sandy Mounts (1 episode) * 2022–2024: '' Wreck'', as Brian/Gloria Hole (6 episodes) * 2023: ''

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 () 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 the station in 2010 w ...

four part interview series hosted by Panti

Music

* 2014: "Oppression" by Out!rage Featuring Panti Bliss released in aid of

BeLonG To BeLonG To is an LGBTQ youth organisation in 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 Ir ...

* 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 photographer, writer and filmmaker. 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 Photographer at the ...

. '' 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 Magazine Awards 2014 * Award for contribution to Irish society - People of the Year Awards 2014 * Gold Medal for Outstanding Contributions to Public Discourse - Presented by the College Historical Society of Trinity College Dublin in 2014 * Equality Award - Presented by European Law Students Association of Trinity College Dublin in 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 links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:ONeill, Rory 1968 births Irish drag queens Irish gay actors Irish LGBTQ rights activists Living people Actors from County Mayo 20th-century Irish people 21st-century Irish people People from Ballinrobe