IRELAND: Prime Minister Visits Gay Bar

Via the Irish Times:

“So there’s An Taoiseach in Pantibar,” a post on the Dublin gay bar’s Facebook page reads over a picture of Enda Kenny who visited the bar last night. “It’s a changed world in many ways.” This was the reaction to the visit by Rory O’Neill, the entertainer and gay rights activist also known as Panti Bliss, who owns the bar where the Taoiseach met with members of the Fine Gael LGBT group during a pre-Christmas get-together. A tweet by Irish Times columnist Una Mullally summed up one Pantibar-goer’s reaction: “Bless,” he said when it was pointed out to him that one of the “suits” in the establishment was in fact the leader of the country. However the online reaction to a photo posted on the bar’s Facebook page showing the Taoiseach pictured with TD Jerry Buttimer, Brian Sheehan of GLEN, and Minister for Children James Reilly was decidedly less subdued and included no small amount of cynicism. “He’s obviously trying to win the pink vote,” one post read. 

Ireland's public referendum on same-sex marriage will take place in May and is expected to pass with overwhelming support. (Tipped by JMG reader Gerard)