Sean Morrin, who has died suddenly aged 48 in his native Derry, made a major contribution to the Lesbian Gay Bisexual and Transgender (LGBT) community in Northern Ireland and in Donegal.
Some 20 years ago he was one of the founders of the Rainbow Project in the North, and also became involved in the early days of Foyle Pride in Derry. He maintained his involvement in both and, at the time of his death, he was manager of the Rainbow Project’s Derry centre.
Moreover, his work for the LGBT community extended well beyond normal working hours. Relationships between many young people in rural areas and their families broke down because of their sexual orientation. Morrin sheltered them in his home while they established new lives for themselves.
He was also an activist in Unison, the UK public sector union. In the early 1990s he was one of the North’s few openly gay trade unionists, and one of the founders of Unison’s LGBT committee.
Transgender issues
In the union he was particularly involved in training shop stewards to be aware of LGBT issues, and in making the union generally more aware of transgender issues.
However, his trade unionism was not restricted to LGBT issues. He was fond of the Martin Luther King phrase, “injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere”.
He was also passionate about the arts. He was particularly supportive of the recent project, Every Bottle Has a Story, in which Derry’s street drinkers told their stories.
Above all, he was a man of compassion. He was known for giving the last of his money to someone who, in his opinion, needed it more.
He fostered cats and dogs from an animal refuge. Once, when his neighbours were evacuated during a bomb alert, Morrin stayed in the danger zone because he was fostering several animals who needed to be fed.
Sean was the eighth of 10 children born to William Morrin and his wife Margaret (née McCallion). He was educated at Holy Child and Rosemount Primary Schools and later at St Joseph’s Secondary School (now St Joseph’s Boys’ School).
He was predeceased by his parents and brothers, Eddie and Christopher, and is survived by sisters Margie, Karen and Marie, brothers Jim, Liam, Danny and Paul and nieces and nephews.