but legendary female impersonator danny la rue came from cork and went on to become one of the 1960s's mostly found in britain after moving there as a child. ireland back then was such a different place, entirely different — different attitudes and different outlook. it was only in i believe �*93 that homosexuality was actually decriminalised, so i — lots of people that i know from that time upped sticks and moved — might have gone to the uk or wherever they went — went to a country that was more liberal with its attitudes or where the community was larger so you could feel that security. and then, of course, ireland has progressed so much. # gonna get married... ireland was the first country to legalise gay marriage in 2015 through a referendum. all cheer. covid aside, cork has vibrant pride celebrations and now, danny la rue's grandnephew has established a leading collective of drag performers — the house of mockie ah! we are ireland's first drag house and we are now the biggest house — other ones are springing up — and there's this incredible scene where, like, you see all of these

but legendary female impersonator danny la rue came from cork and went on to become one of the 19605' you can literally go on instagram, and there's styles of drag everywhere. so it's more easy to be inspired, which is great. and tell me about how the pandemic affected you and the whole scene here. specifically with queer people and the lgbt+ community, again, ourspaces have been taken away. and for the likes of myself and the other queens, our work was taken away. yeah, it's taught us a lot and what i've loved personally seeing is how resourceful queer people are. i haven't seen some of my friends in 18 months all in the same room. i haven't a proper audience in so long, but i'm ready to not do drag in my bedroom anymore! i'm pretty excited to come back on stage! soft music plays. so you didn't think you'd do it again after the first time? no, no. what?! no. well, the first time i was in drag i fell on the parade stage, broke my heels, my wig came off. — and i still kept going. persistence and determination. soft music continues. well, that was brilliant fun. flamboyant, yes, but als