David Norris: ‘Death is constantly on my mind. But not in a negative way. I’ll be buried in a little Church of Ireland graveyard in Co Laois’

Last month, David Norris retired after 36 years of serving in Seanad Éireann. Here, he looks back over his many political and cultural wins — all achieved with his signature wit and flair — and shares his retirement plans

Senator David Norris's last speech in the Seanad Éireann

Barry Egan

Tens of thousands of people marched at last year’s Pride parade in Dublin. Now an annual event, it wasn’t always so well attended. In 1974, David Norris was one of just eight people there. It was less a celebration of their sexuality as a small protest against the inequality they suffered because of it.

The young Trinity College lecturer carried a placard he made, bearing a phrase he came up with himself: “Homosexuals are revolting.” The group marched to the Department of Justice, where they began a mini picket. “It was quite fun really,” Norris tells me, five decades on. “The secretaries were all up on the first floor looking out the window. The minister’s new carpet arrived in a lorry and it was shoved out on the pavement. The helper got out and he took one look at us and he said [to his colleague], ‘Jaysus, Mick! F**king queers!’