Drag legend Panti Bliss destroys anti-LGBTQ+ protester at Ireland’s Mayo Pride with truly epic read

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A drag queen story time event during Mayo Pride in Ireland was targeted by pathetic anti-LGBTQ+ protestors who attempted to disrupt the proceedings.

The event took place on Saturday (July 2) after the annual Mayo Pride parade in Westport, Ireland. The family story time event for people of all ages was organised in the bookshop Tertulia.

However, things became chaotic after a group gathered outside holding anti-LGBTQ+ banners and signs  bearing slogans such as: “Why sexualise children?”

In a video published on Twitter by legendary Irish drag queen Dr Panti Bliss-Cabrera, the protestors are seen yelling at participants, with one protestor asking if she had “clearance to speak to this 15-year-old”. She then replied, saying: “I’ve clearance to tell you to go f**k yourself.”

So after a gorgeous Pride and a lovely welcome from Westport, some fascists turned up at the local bookstore to intimidate the drag queen story time. So we decided to go and support the shop and inclusion and say feck off to fascism pic.twitter.com/CeR9svbR7S

— Dr Panti Bliss-Cabrera (@PantiBliss) July 2, 2022

Tertulia co-owner Neil Paull told The Irish Times about a strange set of phone calls he received before the event, with one woman calling up and saying: “I hear you’re reading pornographic material to young children.”

According to Paul, they received more than 60 calls from people accusing the shop of grooming and sexualising children after a social media message said “please contact this business to confirm that the parents of Ireland will NOT stand for this ongoing mental & sexual of Children anymore!!”

After a mad weekend we are bowled over with the support we have received in the shop and through our on-line shop. A special thanks to Mayo Pride, and to everyone who took the time to care and spread some love in the world #abookshoplikenoother @PantiBliss @Mayo_Pride pic.twitter.com/sC9suoNpYo

— TertuliaBooksWestport (@TertuliaBooks) July 3, 2022

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Following the incident, Mayo Pride released a statement on Twitter saying that they “will not be intimidated” by “far-right hate groups” at Pride.

“At the event itself, protestors behaved abusively towards LGBTQ+ teenagers, some of whom were left in tears,” the statement continued. “We will not be intimidated. We intend to run a full line-up of events next year.”

A GoFundMe page has since been created by the organisation in an effort to fund next year’s events and “promote inclusivity to ensure that LGBTQ+ people can thrive no matter what part of Ireland they live in”.

“Mayo Pride does not receive commercial funding and is run completely by hard-working volunteers,” the page reads. “The harassment we received was scary. More importantly, it was intended to distract us from promoting and building an inclusive society and LGBTQ+ community here in Mayo.”

The page has received almost 100 donations at time of writing, with €2,305 reached towards its €10,000 goal. Messages of support from those who have donated tell volunteers to “stay strong, love is love” and “hate won’t win”.