Trans & Intersex Pride has announced that the theme for their block at the Dublin Pride Parade will be a political funeral, inspired by the protest actions of ACT UP during the AIDS crisis. The action aims to draw attention to what organisers describe as the ongoing mistreatment of trans and intersex people by the National Gender Service (NGS), the Irish government and the growing influence of far-right politics.

At the centre of the Trans and Intersex Pride block will be a symbolic funeral procession highlighting the consequences of lengthy waiting times and barriers to gender-affirming healthcare. Organisers point to reports that the current NGS waiting list stands at approximately 18 years.

“Waitlists have often been called a ‘death sentence’, and the waitlist and gatekeeping carried out by the NGS is no exception,” organisers said.

The block’s main banner will carry the slogan “Death to the NGS”. Participants will also wear black and grey, and carry gravestone-shaped placards displaying waiting times experienced by members of the community, alongside memorials to those who have lost their lives to transphobia and related harms.