HOBBY HORSE CHORAL SINGING:The members of Ireland's gay and lesbian choir are helping to dispel prejudices by doing what they love best, writes Eoin Butler
A WISE-CRACKING drag queen, a 44-piece mixed voice choir and the band of An Garda Síochána belting out
I Am What I Am. I'm not a regular at the National Concert Hall, but I'd hazard a guess that this hasn't been a typical evening's entertainment here. By the end of the near three-hour long performance by Gloria: Ireland's Gay and Lesbian Choir, the packed house is on its feet, roaring its approval.
There are flowers, multiple standing ovations and a well received speech by the Assistant Commissioner of the Garda (in which he jokes about perhaps leaving his wife for the show's strapping hostess, Panti.) On a night like this, the past isn't just another country. For the older choir members, it must seem like a different lifetime.
Gloria was founded in 1995, in response to an advertisement in Gay Community News. At the time, homosexuality in Ireland had been decriminalised for only two years. The prevailing climate for many gays and lesbians remained one of fear. "I wasn't out when I joined the choir," recalls Leah Bools, a community school teacher. "So it was a great support system for me." Her main motivation for joining, she stresses, was that she wanted to sing.
As well as regular national and international performances (the choir is performing at a festival in Florida next month), there are weekly evening and sometimes even weekend practices. That's quite a commitment for members. It's a bonus, Bools adds, that members can pursue their hobby in a gay-friendly environment.
"I suppose I like being able to go along to Gloria and not have to explain to people that I'm a lesbian. It's like that song the Garda sang earlier - I am what I am. We don't have to talk about it."
For non-members too, the choir has served as an inspiration. As chairperson, Bools often found herself being approached by well-wishers after performances around the country. "I was amazed at the number of people who came up to me in Mayo or Galway or Waterford to thank us for coming. It gives them great courage to see other people being open about their sexuality."
Not that there aren't some pockets of resistance. When they appeared at the Cork International Choral Festival, the choir were surprised to find themselves introduced simply as Gloria. The tagline "Ireland's Gay and Lesbian Choir" was also missing from the festival's promotional material. "It was obvious," Bools concluded, "that some people had difficulty with it."
Gloria chose not to make an issue of it. "There were church choirs performing and, you know, you have to show mutual respect," she explains. But it's unlikely too many people were left in any doubt about what constituency the choir represented.
The performance in the National Concert Hall included an all-male version of Hey, Big Spender (complete with pink boas) and a gleeful rendition of Freddy Mercury and Queen's Don't Stop Me Nowduring which some choir members looked in danger of bouncing off the stage in their enthusiasm. "We describe our repertoire as madrigals to musicals, classical to camp," says Bools. "Personally, I prefer the classical end, but we also do showtunes."
By any reckoning, it's been a memorable evening. Not only did the Garda Band do community relations a power of good, but they also proved what my late father long suspected - that they'd come in fierce handy if a dance ever broke out. The Gardai did themselves proud and they mingle freely with members of the gay community in the foyer afterward.
Before I let Bools go and join them, I ask why the name "Gloria"? Given that it begins with a G and an L, is it an acronym? No, she says. It was chosen by the choir's founder, Carole Nelson, for reasons that are now obscure. "There are a few acronyms though. But none for publication."
Run a couple by me, I suggest, and we'll see . She shakes her head and shyly demurs. "You must be joking," she smiles.