Belfast Pride Parade marchers mock Iris Robinson
Henry McDonald, Ireland editor The Observer
Iris Robinson, the Democratic Unionist MP who believes homosexuality can be cured by psychiatry, made a 'guest' appearance at yesterday's annual Gay Pride parade in Belfast.
The Strangford MP appeared in the 'guise' of several marchers wearing Iris masks in what turned out to be Northern Ireland's largest Pride rally for years. One float called the 'Iris Mobile' joined the procession through Belfast city centre with a giant papier-mâché image of Robinson on the front. The parade took place in a city labelled the most homophobic place in the UK or Ireland.
Changing Attitude Ireland, a new organisation representing gay Christians throughout the island, said they had decided to join Pride in response to the MP's remarks. 'This is the first time our banner has been displayed at Pride in Belfast because it was important to increase our visibility and to show people that there are alternative Christian views than those espoused by Iris Robinson,' said a retired Church of Ireland minister, the Rev Mervyn Kingston.
A number of other clergymen joined the Gay Pride march along Belfast's Royal Avenue, including the Rev Chris Hudson, the Dublin-born peace activist who acted as a secret conduit between loyalist paramilitaries and the Irish government in the lead up to the 1994 ceasefires.
Dressed in the red robes and pointed mitre of a Catholic bishop, PA MagLochlainn, president of the Northern Ireland Gay Rights Association, said he wanted to thank Robinson for her intervention in the gay equality debate.
'She has done us a favour because it has forced a lot of people to face up to the fact that homophobia still exists in Northern Ireland,' he said. 'Look how many have turned up today. The numbers are up because people want to show solidarity. She has helped the cause.'
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