'I was a criminal until the age of 37': Gay activists on quashing of convictions for homosexual sex

For a generation of Irish gay men, the government announcement that legislation to disregard historic convictions for homosexual sex is on the way is an emotional moment, and a practical acknowledgement that the pre-1993 laws which made sex between gay men a criminal offence were a human rights violation, writes Ellie O’Byrne

Kieran Rose, right, and fellow activist Laurie Steele, left, lead an LGBT rights march in Cork in 1984.

The end of an arc of history 

For Kieran Rose, the coming legislation that will allow the government to disregard old convictions is “like the end of an arc of history,” even if it has taken 30 years since decriminalisation for it to happen.