News
2021
May 2021
Our Associate PI, Dr. Mel Duffy is a sociologist and is based at the DCU School of Nursing, Psychotherapy and Community Health. Her research interests are in LGBTQI experiences of living their lives in the world they find themselves in, writing and presenting on: lesbian health and health care; coming out; relationship and sexuality education; disability; identity; residential care and experiences of health outcomes. Mel's research interests are explored and understood through the hermeneutical phenomenology methodological approach. This research methodology's seeks to understand what it means to be human by exploring a person's lived experiences.
Mel is the Programme Chair of the Graduate Certificate in Sexuality Education & Sexual Well-being | Graduate Certificate Relationships & Sexuality Education for People with Intellectual Disability
Following our conference Intersex 2021 - A Vision For The Future, Mel was invited to join Dublin City FM's radio host, Mick Fitzgerald, on his show LGBTQ Life which airs every Monday at 1pm.
This is an interesting and engaging discussion about what it meant to find oneself growing up in Ireland. It situates the LGBTQ person in the wider social context and considers the personal, the family, the legal, diverse sexualities, the non-binary child and lots more. Mel and Mick 'talk it out' in this frank and honest conversation about sometimes seen, but often unheard, personal experiences about what it means to be an LGBTQ person living in Ireland.
Mel Duffy interviewed by Mick Fitzgerald
Mel Duffy and Mick Fitzgerald 'talk it out' on Mick's radio programme LGBTQ Life on Dublin City FM.
April 2021
Intersex 2021 was a huge success!
Our conference was opened by the European Commissioner for Equality, Helena Dalli who delivered a powerful address to delegates and committed to working towards an 'intersex equal" Europe. 142 delegates, from 22 countries, joined us over two days for discussion and debate. A wonderful range of speakers and presenters shared their personal stories about being intersex, testimonies about their activism work - locally and globally - and many academics and doctoral students presented their research.
Garvan Doherty, our conference partner and producer, did a superb job.
Huge thanks are owed to our colleagues in DCU: Daire Keogh, DCU President who delivered the Welcome Address on Wednesday morning; all our colleagues in the School of Law and Government and the School of Nursing, Psychotherapy and Community Health. Many thanks are also owed to our colleagues in Marketing and Communications - Clare Egan, Marie Leahy and Jane Last. And thanks are also due to Sandra Healy and Emma Loo at the DCU Centre of Excellence for Diversity and Inclusion and also to our colleagues in ISS. We were also delighted to have Axel Keating and Steph Lum, DCU INIA doctoral candidates lend their support over our two conference days.
Intersex 2021 was kindly sponsored by Comfort Keepers. Our study continues to be supported by the Irish Research Council.
Intersex 2021 - A Vision For The Future
Our conference booklet is available here
January 2021
That beautiful image was taken by our team lead, Tanya Ní Mhuirthile. It's the view of Dublin's Custom House Quay and River Liffey and (from left) the CHQ Building: EPIC - Irish Emigration Museum, the Convention Centre and the Samuel Beckett Bridge - these were three of the seventy buildings across Ireland that turned purple for our #IrelandTurnsPurple campaign on November 8th, 2020 to mark International Intersex Solidarity Day.
2020
November 2020
Our #IrelandTurnsPurple campaign raised awareness about what intersex is. 70 buildings across Ireland turned purple in a show of solidarity with the intersex community on Intersex Solidarity Day, November 8th, 2020. Check out our #IrelandTurnsPurple tab to learn more about our amazing supporters who helped turn Ireland purple!
October 2020
International Intersex Awareness Day on October 26th raises awareness of human rights issues affecting intersex people. Please follow us to see what our exciting plans are for this important day.
September 2020
Our team lead, Tanya Ní Mhuirthile, is interviewed about what intersex means for a well-known Irish magazine. We'll follow-up with more details.
And of course, we're getting ready to commence a new academic year!
August 2020
Work commences on getting a brand new DCU website! We're excited!
July 2020
June 2020
We've developed a PRIDE 2020 page to acknowledge the importance of Pride and why it's relevant for some of the intersex community.
Tanya took to the Zoom airwaves on 17th June in collaboration with the http://www.outlawnetwork.ie - a network aimed at bringing LGBT+ people and allies together in Ireland's legal sector. Check out our Tweet about her presentation Alieni Juris - An Outlaw: The Law and Intersex People.
May 2020
We're now able to proceed with online interviews with intersex people, their families and health professionals who have worked in the field. We can use Zoom/Skype as we adhere to social distancing while still engaging in our work during COVID-19. Email us with any queries intersex@dcu.ie
April 2020
April was an epic month for the team!
We had the opportunity to host the @MotherFoclóir Twitter account and Tweet for a week about all things intersex - as gaeilge!
During that time, and for the first time ever, our PI Tanya Ní Mhuirthile took part in a Trans-Atlantic 'Tweet Chat' as gaeilge about what intersex is with Canadian Professor - Janik Bastien-Charlebois - who is intersex and who also happens to speak Irish !
We had a great time and are very grateful to have had the opportunity to join everyone on Twitter that week. Thank you very much for your support.
We secure Ethical Approval to facilitate doing research online.
March 2020
Our interviews with the intersex community and with the non-intersex community (families, partners, medical professionals) officially commences.
Like lots of other folk, we had to leave DCU and commence working from home to stay safe during the COVID-10 pandemic. Our research continues in these challenging times.
February 2020
Our online survey is up and running. We are officially in 'data collection' mode.
2019 - Dublin 'goes purple' !
Our study commenced in 2019. November was an important month for us.
For the first time in Ireland, a public building was illuminated purple, to acknowledge and celebrate International Intersex Solidarity Day - 8th November. Our PI Tanya Ní Mhuirthile was instrumental in making this happen.
Huge thanks are owed to Dublin's Lord Mayor, Paul McAuliffe for his support of our work by having the Mansion House - official residence of the Lord Mayor - become the first public building in Ireland to 'go purple' as a show of solidarity to the intersex community worldwide. Listen to Tanya explain why this was such an important symbolic gesture.
Huge thanks are also owed to DCU President Brian MacCraith and all at DCU for their ongoing support of our work - we became the first Irish University to 'go purple'!
