Archive on LGBTQ+ activist Michael Barron now available at National Library of Ireland

The National Library of Ireland has acquired and made available The Michael Barron Papers, detailing the work and activism of the Irish LGBTQ+ campaigner over the past decades.

Having started his journey as a social justice activist in the 1990s, Michael Barron has been involved in the LGBTQ+ movement in Ireland and beyond for over 25 years.

21 years ago, he co-founded Belong To, the LGBTQ+ youth organisation that to this day represents a pillar of the community. Barron then went on to run other social justice organisations, such as EQUATE and The Rowan Trust, which do incredible work to protect minority groups at home and abroad.

Now, as Pride month is in full swing, the National Library of Ireland has announced that an archive documenting the campaigner’s work and activism will be available to the public. The Michael Barron Papers are a collection of research, toolkits, personal writing, newspaper articles, opinion pieces, campaign strategy, planning notes and reflections and ephemeral materials such as bags and badges.

The material documents Barron’s work from the time he was advocating for LGBTQ+ young people at Belong To, detailing the strategies employed to advocate for queer youth in Ireland, including multiple campaigns. The documents also trace Barron’s engagement with the government in bringing LGBTQ+ youth to the forefront of public policy and tell the history of the movement for the separation of church and state in Ireland during the first two decades of the 21st century.

Commenting on the announcement, the activist said: “I am particularly happy that the National Library have chosen to announce the availability of ‘The Michael Barron Papers’ during LGBTQ+ Pride Month. As a Queer person and activist I have spent most of my life advocating for Queer Liberation and much of this work is now available at the Library.

“While the story of social change in Ireland is often told through landmark events, these materials also tell a story of what happened between such events. They tell a story of work and long term strategy that created the conditions that enabled the big events to take place.

“Much of my current work is about promoting a society that we can all belong to and tackling rising hatred towards minority communities. This has been a frightening year for our LGBTQ+ community, with intimidation and violence driven by far-right ideology reaching horrible levels,” Barron added.

“I hope these papers will be useful to researchers, students and anyone interested in activism for social justice. As we live in alarming times, we need opportunities for intergenerational learning, and we need the hope that springs from knowing that this is not the first time we have faced many of today’s challenges.

“It’s been a huge privilege to work with so many extraordinary people during the period covered in these papers – with young people who navigated the world with such grace and with fellow activists who fought the good fight. We have so much more to do, and I really hope these papers will be useful in our ongoing battle for liberation for all,” Barron concluded.

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