Roscommon’s LGBTQ+ Pride Festival honoured with national award

Roscommon’s LGBTQ+ Pride Festival won Event of the Year at the GALAS Awards, a national ceremony that celebrates and champions the LGBTQ+ community in Ireland.

Roscommon Pride was presented with the award at a ceremony in Dublin’s Royal National Convention Centre for its first ever Pride Festival, which took place in August 2024.

Local volunteers from Roscommon Pride accepted the award at the ceremony, which saw LGBTQ+ activists, communities and allies come together from across the country.

Will Keane, a local LGBTQ+ activist and a member of Roscommon Pride, delivered a speech at the ceremony where he focused on the importance of rural and community-led Pride marches.

Will said: “We are so proud to have won this award. It’s a huge honour and a recognition of all the hard work that goes into Roscommon Pride, which recently celebrated its second year.

“Rural Pride festivals like this one are vital – they’re a lifeline for LGBTQ+ people and their allies in places like Roscommon. We’re delighted with what we’ve achieved with Roscommon Pride to date. It’s helped build community, foster connections and understanding, and it’s championed our amazing local LGBTQ+ community.

“We’ll be back again next year for our third Pride Festival, and we’re so excited to keep delivering a powerful, meaningful event for LGBTQ+ people and allies across the county and from all across Ireland.” 

Karina Murray, event manager at Roscommon Pride, said: “It’s a huge achievement for Roscommon Pride to receive this award for its first ever event – it shows just how impactful our festival is, and how much it means to the local community and to those who visit Roscommon to join in our festivities.

“We would like to thank the National LGBTQ+ Federation (NXF) and Gay Community News (GCN) for this award. It’s a huge honour.” 

Roscommon Pride will return for its third outing from Friday 21st to Sunday, August 23rd, 2026.