The Cork LGBT Archive is one of six finalists in the Heritage Category for the National Lottery Good Causes Awards…
The Cork LGBT Archive is one of six finalists in the Heritage Category for the National Lottery Good Causes Awards, which aim to celebrate the inspiring and innovative work being carried out by the thousands of individuals, organisations, groups, and sports clubs all over Ireland who benefit from National Lottery Good Causes funding.
The Cork LGBT Archive gathers, preserves, and shares the rich history of an important part of Cork culture and heritage: the Cork LGBT community. The archive was founded by Orla Egan, activist and author of Queer Republic of Cork, Cork’s Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender Communities, 1970s-1990 (2016). Orla created the Cork LGBT Archive to preserve and share information on Cork’s rich history of LGBT activism and community formation. She was the winner of DRI's inaugural DRI Community Archive Scheme in 2019 and her collection has been preserved for long-term access on the DRI. The digital collection can also be accessed on the Cork LGBT Archive site and on Europeana and the physical collection is in the Cork Public Museum.
Orla commented on the significance of receiving Good Causes funding:
Receiving Good Causes funding was hugely symbolic for the Cork LGBT Archive, as it showed that LGBT history is valued and seen as an important part of our national heritage, rather than a community that has historically experienced marginalisation, discrimination and exclusion.
The six categories in the National Lottery Good Causes Awards are Sport, Health & Wellbeing, Heritage, Arts & Culture, Community and Youth. The Cork LGBT Archive is a finalist in the Heritage Category along with Letterkenny Cathedral Quarter, Donegal, Cork Folklore Project, Cork, Kilkenny Famine Experience, Kilkenny, Wildlife Rehabilitation Ireland, Meath, and Irish Peatland Conservation Council, Kildare. Each national category winner will receive €10,000 while the overall Good Cause of the Year will get an additional €25,000. The winners will be announced on Saturday 29th May at a celebratory virtual event.
Orla was also recently awarded a UCC Athena Swan Equality Award 2021 for her work on the Cork LGBT Archive – this award recognises UCC Alumni who have made a significant contribution to equality.
