Eamonn Coghlan tells of attack on son for being gay

World champion athlete turned Fine Gael senator Eamonn Coghlan has said he backs marriage equality as a way to ease prejudice after his gay son was subjected to violent attacks.

Mr Coghlan said he cried for weeks after his son, Michael, came out to him, but wants him to have the same rights as everyone else.

“When I discovered my son Michael was gay, I was devastated. I cried for weeks. The hopes and dreams I had for my son were shattered. I felt guilty, almost as if I was to blame for him being gay.

“I tried to cover up my disappointment. While I hugged him, told him I loved him, I had to come to terms that it was not about me but about him and his life ahead.

“The big breakthrough for me was when some of Michael’s gay friends joined us on a family holiday in Spain. I got to know them and see how happy he was with his mates,” Mr Coghlan told a pro-marriage equality meeting in Portlaoise.

He said Michael was bullied in school and assaulted in the street. “Michael suffered awful bullying in school. At the time we didn’t know why this was happening but after he came out it became apparent that it was because he was gay. He had also suffered from terrible stomach problems as a teen, which we could never get diagnosed. It transpired that this was all anxiety related because of the struggle he had with knowing he was gay and the bullying he was being subjected to.

“The abuse didn’t stop after he came out. He was subject to two particularly violent physical attacks in Dublin on account of his being gay.

“It is clear to me as a parent of a gay child that the marriage equality referendum is about voting for real people and their lives. It is not about politics or about voting for a particular party. It is about equality, removing rejection, removing exclusion, removing the guilt, shame, and fear that gay people experience. We have to think of the person, their dignity, their validation, their human freedom to love and to live life to the full.

“I was lucky enough to marry the woman of my dreams. Who are we as a nation to deny our sons and daughters the basic right of marrying the person they love?”

READ MORE: Donegal’s Éamon McGee shrugs off criticism over marriage equality vote stance