Rory O'Neill (born 16 November 1968), also known by his

stage name A stage name is a pseudonym used by performers and entertainers—such as actors, comedians, singers, and musicians. Such professional aliases are adopted for a wide variety of reasons and they may be similar, or nearly identical, to an individu ...

s Panti, Panti Bliss and Pandora Panti Bliss, is a

drag queen A drag queen is a person, usually male, who uses drag clothing and makeup to imitate and often exaggerate female gender signifiers and gender roles for entertainment purposes. Historically, drag queens have usually been gay men, and part o ...

and

gay rights Rights affecting lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) people vary greatly by country or jurisdiction—encompassing everything from the legal recognition of same-sex marriage to the death penalty for homosexuality. Notably, , 3 ...

activist from

Ballinrobe Ballinrobe () is a town in County Mayo in Ireland. It is located on the River Robe, which empties into Lough Mask two kilometres to the west. As of the 2016 census, the population was 2,786. History Foundation and development Ballinrobe is con ...

County Mayo County Mayo (; ga, Contae Mhaigh Eo, meaning "Plain of the Taxus baccata, yew trees") is a Counties of Ireland, county in Republic of Ireland, Ireland. In the West Region, Ireland, West of Ireland, in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Conn ...

Ireland Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe, north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel (Grea ...

Early life

O'Neill, the son of a

veterinary surgeon Veterinary surgery is surgery performed on animals by veterinarians, whereby the procedures fall into three broad categories: orthopaedics (bones, joints, muscles), soft tissue surgery (skin, body cavities, cardiovascular system, GI/urogenital/ ...

, grew up in

, and went to art college in

Dún Laoghaire Dún Laoghaire ( , ) is a suburban coastal town in Dublin in Ireland. It is the administrative centre of Dún Laoghaire–Rathdown. The town was built following the 1816 legislation that allowed the building of a major port to serve Dubli ...

. Although raised a Roman Catholic, O'Neill is an atheist. O'Neill talked to

Aoibhinn Ní Shúilleabháin Aoibhinn Ní Shúilleabháin (; born 25 October 1983) is an Irish academic, broadcaster and musician. She also won the Rose of Tralee contest in 2005. Life Early life Ní Shúilleabháin is a native of Carnacon near Ballyglass, County Mayo. ...

about having been diagnosed as HIV-positive in 1995 on the RTÉ Radio 1 series ''Aoibhinn and Company''.

Career

Panti is considered to be Ireland's foremost drag queen. From 1996 to 2012, Panti was the hostess of the annual

Alternative Miss Ireland The Alternative Miss Ireland (AMI) was an annual gay event which took place in Dublin, Ireland, on the Sunday closest to St. Patrick's Day, 17 March. It occurred over three-and-a-half hours and featured a pastiche of the beauty pageant rounds ...

pageant. Panti regularly hosts the annual

Dublin Pride The Dublin LGBTQ+ Pride Festival is an annual series of events which celebrates lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer (LGBTQ+) life in Dublin, Ireland. It is the largest LGBTQ+ pride festival on the island of Ireland. The festival culmi ...

celebrations, which take place in the month of June every year. For a number of years Panti hosted a weekly karaoke show, ''The Casting Couch'', at The Front Lounge pub, Dublin. Panti occasionally appears at

Shirley Temple Bar Declan Buckley is an Irish television personality and drag queen from Dublin, Ireland, going by the persona Shirley Temple Bar. This name is a play on both Shirley Temple and a cultural area of Dublin city called Temple Bar. He also writes a we ...

's weekly drag queen Bingo show in the Dublin gay bar The George. On 30 November 2007, he opened the self-titled 'Pantibar' in 7

Capel Street Capel Street is a street in Dublin, Ireland. On 20 May 2022, it was made traffic-free, following a campaign by people who wanted to improve the quality of life on the street. It is now the longest traffic-free street in Dublin. History Capel ...

, Dublin. Later, he took over the nearby Pennylane cocktail bar in 2020 at 2 Great Strand Street. 'Panti' is short for 'Pandora Panti Bliss'. Rory O'Neill's first drag performance was in 1998. Panti danced on stage in

Japan Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north ...

with

Cyndi Lauper Cynthia Ann Stephanie Lauper Thornton (born June 22, 1953) is an American singer, songwriter, actress, and activist. Her career has spanned over 40 years. Her album ''She's So Unusual'' (1983) was the first debut album by a female artist to achi ...

during her 1994 Twelve Deadly Cyns Tour.

Incidents

Comments about homophobia on RTÉ (a.k.a. "Pantigate")

On 11 January 2014, O'Neill appeared on

RTÉ (RTÉ) (; Irish language, Irish for "Radio & Television of Ireland") is the Public broadcaster, national broadcaster of Republic of Ireland, Ireland headquartered in Dublin. It both produces and broadcasts programmes on RTÉ Television, telev ...

's ''

The Saturday Night Show ''The Saturday Night Show'' is a talk show hosted by Brendan O'Connor broadcast on RTÉ One between 2010 and 2015. The show features guest interviews, audience participation and live music. ''The Saturday Night Show'' is broadcast every Saturday ...

'' with Brendan O'Connor where they discussed

homophobia Homophobia encompasses a range of negative attitude (psychology), attitudes and feelings toward homosexuality or people who are identified or perceived as being lesbian, gay or bisexual. It has been defined as contempt, prejudice, aversion, h ...

and O'Neill alleged that some individuals involved in Irish journalism were homophobic. This became known as "Pantigate". Those mentioned threatened RTÉ and O'Neill with legal action. RTÉ subsequently removed that section of the interview from their online archive. On 25 January episode of the Saturday Night Show, O'Connor issued a public apology on behalf of RTÉ to those mentioned by O'Neill in the interview held two weeks previously. RTÉ paid €85,000 to those named by O'Neill. The payouts were later discussed by members of

Oireachtas The Oireachtas (, ), sometimes referred to as Oireachtas Éireann, is the Bicameralism, bicameral parliament of Republic of Ireland, Ireland. The Oireachtas consists of: *The President of Ireland *The bicameralism, two houses of the Oireachtas ...

. The incident was also discussed in the European Parliament. with Irish MEP Paul Murphy, calling the payout "a real attack on the freedom of speech" and stating "When John Waters says that gay marriage is ‘a kind of satire’, that is homophobia. When Breda O’Brien says ‘equality must take second place to the common good’, that is homophobia. When the

Iona Institute The Iona Institute is a socially conservative, Christian, advocacy group, frequently described as a Catholic pressure group based in Ireland. Founded by columnist David Quinn, it was launched publicly in 2007. Iona promotes conservative Christ ...

campaign against gay marriage because it is gay marriage, that is homophobia." RTÉ's head of television defended the €85,000 payout stating that it saved RTÉ "an absolute multiple" in the long term.

Noble Call Speech

On 1 February 2014, O'Neill (as Panti) gave a

Noble Call ''Strumpet City'' is a 1969 historical novel by James Plunkett set in Dublin, Ireland, around the time of the 1913 Dublin Lock-out. In 1980, it was adapted into a successful TV drama by Hugh Leonard for RTÉ, Ireland's national broadcaster. The ...

speech at the

Abbey Theatre The Abbey Theatre ( ga, Amharclann na Mainistreach), also known as the National Theatre of Ireland ( ga, Amharclann Náisiúnta na hÉireann), in Dublin, Ireland, is one of the country's leading cultural institutions. First opening to the pu ...

in response to the events surrounding the RTÉ controversy, which garnered over 200,000 views in two days. the video has nearly 1 million views. The speech was described as "the most eloquent Irish speech" in almost 200 years by

Fintan O'Toole Fintan O'Toole (born 16 February 1958) is a polemicist, literary editor, journalist and drama critic for ''The Irish Times'', for which he has written since 1988. O'Toole was drama critic for the ''New York Daily News'' from 1997 to 2001 and is ...

and garnered the support of

Dan Savage Daniel Keenan Savage (born October 7, 1964) is an American author, media pundit, journalist, and LGBT community activist. He writes ''Savage Love'', an internationally syndicated relationship and sex advice column. In 2010, Savage and his husba ...

RuPaul RuPaul Andre Charles (born November 17, 1960; stylized as RuPaul) is an American drag queen, television personality, actor, musician, and model. Best known for producing, hosting, and judging the reality competition series ''RuPaul's Drag Race'' ...

Graham Norton Graham William Walker (born 4 April 1963), better known by his stage name Graham Norton, is an Irish actor, author, comedian, commentator, and presenter. Well known for his work in the UK, he is a five-time BAFTA TV Award winner for his comedy ...

Stephen Fry Stephen John Fry (born 24 August 1957) is an English actor, broadcaster, comedian, director and writer. He first came to prominence in the 1980s as one half of the comic double act Fry and Laurie, alongside Hugh Laurie, with the two starring ...

Madonna Madonna Louise Ciccone (; ; born August 16, 1958) is an American singer-songwriter and actress. Widely dubbed the " Queen of Pop", Madonna has been noted for her continual reinvention and versatility in music production, songwriting, a ...

, and others. T-shirts with "I'm on Team Panti" have been sold as a fundraiser for BeLonG To Youth Services, raising over €10,000. In March 2014, English electronic pop duo

Pet Shop Boys The Pet Shop Boys are an English synth-pop duo formed in London in 1981. Consisting of primary vocalist Neil Tennant and keyboardist Chris Lowe, they have sold more than 50 million records worldwide, and were listed as the most successful duo i ...

released the speech, backed with their music, as "Oppressive (The Best Gay Possible)," they followed up with a "slow mix" of the track, and accompanying video with a "montage of homophobia-related clips." O'Neill later donated the dress he wore at the Noble Call to the

National Museum of Ireland The National Museum of Ireland ( ga, Ard-Mhúsaem na hÉireann) is Ireland's leading museum institution, with a strong emphasis on national and some international archaeology, Irish history, Irish art, culture, and natural history. It has thre ...

, where it was put on display about LGBTI+ history in Ireland.

Works

Theatre

* 2005 ''Spurt! Sister! Spurt!'' as Madame * 2007 ''In These Shoes?'', Written and performed by Panti, at the

Dublin Gay Theatre Festival The International Dublin Gay Theatre Festival is a theatrical event held annually in Dublin, Republic of Ireland, during the first two weeks of May. The 19th festival will be held from 2–15 May 2022. Over 50% of the festival's content comes fr ...

* 2007 ''All Dolled Up'', Written and performed by Panti * 2009 ''A Woman In Progress'', Written and performed by Panti * 2014 ''High Heels in Low Places'', Written and performed by Panti.

Media

Film

* 2015 '' The Queen of Ireland''

Television

* 1990 ''Nighthawks'' as "Seán The Transvestite Farmer" * 1998 ''

The Maury Povich Show ''Maury'', originally titled ''The Maury Povich Show'', is an American tabloid talk show hosted by Maury Povich that ran in first-run syndication from 1991 to 2022. The series premiered in 1991 as ''The Maury Povich Show'' and was produced by ...

'', as Panti (1 episode: "Turn My Daughter Back Into My Son") * 2008 '' The Clinic'' as Dusty Mulberry (1 episode) * 2008 ''

Raw Raw is an adjective usually describing: * Raw materials, basic materials from which products are manufactured or made * Raw food, uncooked food Raw or RAW may also refer to: Computing and electronics * .RAW, a proprietary mass spectrometry dat ...

'' as Panti (1 episode) * 2014 '' The Mario Rosenstock Christmas Special'' as Panti * 2014 ''

'' * 2022 '' The Late Late Eurosong Special'' as Panti (televote spokesperson) * 2023 ''

Dancing with the Stars ''Dancing with the Stars'' is the name of various international television series based on the format of the British TV series '' Strictly Come Dancing'', which is distributed by BBC Studios, the commercial arm of the BBC. Currently the forma ...

Radio

* 2011 ''Ireland's Karaoke Klassics'', 2FM, Co-presenter as Panti with Arveene * 2014 ''Sunday Breakfast With Dee Reddy'',

Phantom FM TXFM (formerly Phantom 105.2) was a Dublin based radio station, founded in 1997 as a pirate radio station. TXFM broadcast under a contract awarded by the Broadcasting Authority of Ireland (BAI). The station ceased broadcasting on 26 October 2016 ...

as guest contributor * 2016 ''Pantisocracy'' a

RTÉ Radio 1 RTÉ Radio 1 ( ga, RTÉ Raidió 1) is an Irish national radio station owned and operated by RTÉ and is the direct descendant of Dublin radio station 2RN, which began broadcasting on a regular basis on 1 January 1926. The total budget for th ...

four part interview series hosted by Panti

Music

* 2014 "Oppression" by Out!rage Featuring Panti Bliss released in aid of

BeLonG To BeLonG To is an LGBT youth organisation in Ireland which caters for young people aged between 14–23 years. It is a registered charity and is supported by the Irish Department of Education. The service was set up in March 2003. The group rece ...

* 2014 "The Best Gay Possible - Oppressive Dance Mix" by

incorporates Panti's speech at the Abbey Theatre

Book

* ''Woman in the Making: A memoir'', Rory O'Neill, 2014, Hachette Books Ireland.

Coverage and recognition

Documentary

O'Neill and his alter ego Panti are the subject of a documentary about his early life, the events surrounding comments O'Neill made about homophobia and Panti's role during Ireland's successful campaign for marriage equality. Filmed over a number of years, the documentary was directed by Conor Horgan. '' The Queen of Ireland'' premiered on 21 October 2015, followed by its planned nationwide release in Ireland from 23 October 2015.

Awards

* Winner of 'Business Person of the Year' – Gay and Lesbian Awards 2009 * Winner of 'Best Blog Post' – Irish Blog Awards 2010 * Attitude's Editor's Special Award - Attitude Magagzine Awards 2014 * Award for contribution to Irish society - People of the Year Awards 2014 * James Joyce Award - Presented by Literary and Historical society of University College Dublin * Trinity College Dublin, Honorary Degree - O'Neill was awarded with an honorary degree from Trinity College Dublin in 2015 for his contribution to LGBT rights and marriage equality

References

External link

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Panti Irish drag queens Irish gay actors LGBT entertainers from Ireland LGBT rights activists from Ireland Living people People from County Mayo 1968 births 20th-century Irish people 21st-century Irish people