Limerick Pride Festival 2025 theme calls for unity within and throughout the LGBTQIA+ community and is a call to action for all allies. Picture: Olena Oleksienko/ilovelimerick
Limerick Pride Festival 2025 returns this year from July 7 to 13, with the Pride Parade taking place Saturday, July 12
Limerick Pride Festival returns this year from July 7th to 13th, with the Pride Parade taking place Saturday, July 12th.
Lisa Daly, Festival Director of Limerick LGBTQ Pride 2025 said, “We are thrilled to be back and able to offer a fantastic weeklong lineup of events which we will continue to add to our website and socials in the coming weeks.
Our theme this year is ‘United in This Together’ and we hope to see you showing your support and colours at our annual Pride Parade gathering at Merchants Quay, taking place on Saturday, July 12th with the PrideFest party directly after the Parade at the Hunt Museum. We have just celebrated 10 years of Marriage Equality in Ireland but people in our community are still being discriminated against so when we march up O’Connell Street for the parade, this year we will be united toward a future without discrimination where all people have equal rights under the law. We are seeking to illuminate the good that can and has been accomplished through uplifting and supporting one another.”
At a time of division in our country and the world, this year’s theme calls for unity within and throughout the LGBTQIA+ community and is a call to action for all allies, especially those in government and the private sector, to demonstrate their alliance with the community-at-large at this critical time in our history. The Pride committee is delighted to announce this year’s Grand Marshal is Limerick organisation Tonie Walsh, who has been a lifelong advocate for LGBTQIA+ rights.
Tonie Walsh’s announcement as Grand Marshal is a celebration of his legacy as well as his ongoing commitment to LGBTQIA+ visibility and activism. The Grand Marshal is well-known in the community and beyond for his early involvement with the National LGBT Federation, the National LGBT Archive, and his work with Gay Community News (GCN).
Tonie wanted to give the message that Pride isn’t just an “ opportunity” for people to “show off their finest for one day of the year” but the message and history is a lot more than that. Tonie said, “These important festivals aren’t just about a fabulous opportunity for Limerick queers to show off their finest for one day of the year. It’s about all of the city embracing what we’re offering and coming with us on our journey. That’s really important.”
Richard Lynch, PRO of Limerick Pride said, “This movement can’t happen with one or two people, we need to be all together, our allies and our whole city. Even throughout the world, we need to stand by our communities and represent them all. That’s why having Tonie as Grand Marshall this year is amazing, he is such a trailblazer who has been there from the start. I think that needs to be a reminder to people. This year, we’re fighting from the beginning all over again for our rights.”
In exciting news for Limerick Pride, Limerick could play host to up to 100,000 people for the biggest pride event ever to be held on the Island of Ireland with Europride 2028. Attracting over 100,000 people annually from around the world, EuroPride is hosted by a different European city each year. The joint bid to host the prestigious event in Limerick and Clare has been submitted by Limerick LGBTQ+ Pride, QuareClare, and The Outing Queer Arts Collective & Festival. The host location for EuroPride 2028 will be announced later this year.
Limerick Pride has announced a first for this year’s Pride celebrations with the addition of the Limerick ‘Pride Village’, a dedicated accommodation hub for the exclusive use of Limerick Pride attendees. Under the theme of this year’s festival, ‘United in this Together’, Limerick Pride is happy to announce a safe space of dedicated accommodation taking place over Friday, July 11 and Saturday, July 12. The Pride Village will offer a limited number of rooms and apartments on the University of Limerick campus, providing a safe, welcoming, and convenient place to stay during the weekend’s festivities. To ensure the security and exclusivity of Pride Village, the booking process will follow a secure, multi-step registration; attendees must contact info@ilovelimerick.com to register interest.
This year’s Parade taking place on Saturday, July 12th will march through the heart of Limerick and culminate in a celebratory Pridefest behind the Hunt Museum from 3pm to 6pm. This family-friendly event will feature live music, performances, free kids’ face painting, and the beloved Tea Dance with Myles Breen.
Pride Week will close with the Climax Party at Dolans on Saturday, July 12, where all three rooms will come alive with entertainment headlined by Kyran Thrax, winner of RuPaul’s Drag Race UK, and a live performance by the world’s leading Britney Spears impersonator.
Lisa Daly noted this year’s parade is one of the most important so far, saying, “This year I don’t think I’ve ever felt so passionate about our parade, it’s a mission to make this bigger and better because we need to send out that strong message this year, and all Prides need to do it.” She added, “ I’m calling on everyone, our allies, especially, to show up! Do not get pulled into this false information that’s gone out about our community, and we really need your support, now more than ever. Our events this year aim to inspire, educate, commemorate and celebrate our diverse community.”
Limerick Pride LGBTQ Festival 2025 will feature a multitude of events from workshops, support meetings and discussions to evenings of music and club nights, to cater to the Pride needs of everyone. Use the hashtag #LimerickPride2025 #UnitedinthisTogether