Church cancels Dublin Gay Men's Chorus concert citing "incompatibility" with its mission

St. Andrew’s Catholic Church, located in Dublin 2’s Westland Row, has decided to cancel an upcoming concert from Dublin Gay Men’s Chorus (DGMC), claiming that the Pride month event was “not compatible with our mission as a Roman Catholic Parish Church”. 

The gig, titled Pride In The Name Of Love and described as “a celebration of love, solidarity, and community”, was set to take place at the church on June 23. However, the event was called off yesterday, June 12, after more than 300 tickets had already been sold.

The Dublin Gay Men’s Chorus first announced Pride In The Name Of Love back in April, and has since shared a number of photos to social media showing the choral group rehearsing for the big night. Now, less than two weeks before the event, St. Andrew’s Catholic Church has decided to cancel. 

“It’s left us very baffled and very confused and obviously quite hurt,” said Dublin Gay Men’s Chorus Chairman Patrick McNamara in an interview with Newstalk. “We’re literally 10 days away from our concert.

“We do two main concerts and this is the main one in the summer period – we’ve been rehearsing since February,” McNamara added. 

According to McNamara, he received an email from St. Andrew’s Church earlier this week that read: “The parish was disappointed that the nature of this event was not made clear at the time of booking. We have learned that in form and content it is being presented not as a simple choral recital but as a Pride Festival event.” 

The email, for McNamara, was confusing, considering that St. Andrew’s had previously hosted fellow Dublin-based LGBTQ+ choir, Glória, in 2023 . 

“While we made it clear this event is not associated with the official Dublin Pride Festival, once St. Andrew’s made their concerns known, the church was unwilling to change their position,” McNamara reported. 

In an official statement published to DGMC’s social media accounts, McNamara wrote: “June is Pride month across the world and the celebration of having pride in one’s self and community should be permitted.”

McNamara added: “This decision sends a clear message: LGBT+ choirs are not welcome in the church if they seek to express pride in who they are, their lived experiences, and show solidarity with one another and the wider cause of greater dignity and inclusivity for LGBT+ people.”

Despite the church cancelling the concert, McNamara claims that Dublin Gay Men’s Chorus “will not be deterred from spreading the choir’s positive, inclusive message, and celebrating and standing up for LGBT+ people across Dublin and beyond.”

Thankfully, McNamara similarly announced that Pride In The Name Of Love will go on, and it has since been announced that the concert has a new venue: Sandford Parish Church. 

News of the concert’s cancellation at the hand’s of the Catholic church comes just days after Pope Francis allegedly used an Italian homophobic slur for the second time in two weeks. 

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