TONIE WALSH

Tonie Walsh is a LGBTQ+ rights activist, journalist and DJ. Tonie was president of the National LGBT Federation (NXF) from 1984 to 1988. During this time, NXF was David Norris’ co-litigant in David’s constitutional action against the criminalisation of homosexuality in Ireland. Tonie was also a reporter for Out magazine at this time. Following his time at Out, Tonie founded Gay Community News (GCN) which is Ireland’s longest running gay publication.

In 1997, Tonie reorganised the NXF archive holdings into what would later become the Irish Queer Archive (IQA). Drawing on materials from IQA's collection, Walsh curated both "Pride and Protest" at Belfast's Central Library (2005) and "Revolting Homosexuals" (Outhouse and GUBU, Dublin 2004). "A Liberating Party", a site-specific exhibition on the history of LGBTQ Pride in Ireland commissioned by Thisispopbaby, was created for Dublin's Project Arts Centre in 2009. It has since gone on to tour art centres and libraries across Ireland. On 16 June 2008, the Irish Queer Archive officially transferred its materials to the National Library of Ireland, marking it as a significant and historical event.