Thanks to the ongoing pandemic, Pride 2021 celebrations are a little smaller than usual. However, there are still many online events taking place all through the month to raise your spirits. At a time when the rights and freedoms of the global LGBTQ+ community are being threatened and eroded, it's more important than ever to celebrate Pride when and how we can.

The annual June weekend normally sees Dublin city flooded with crowds and colour for Dublin Pride's annual parade. This year they will be hosting their Virtual Pride Parade, broadcast from The Round Room at The Mansion House on Saturday June 26th, 1pm.

Happy Pride & Bród Shona, folks! 🏳️‍🌈🏳️‍⚧️
It's that time of the year again, and we're excited to reveal our virtual programme for Pride Day this Saturday, June 26th
👉https://t.co/chm4onvjX9#DublinPride2021 #CommunityFirst #Pride2021 pic.twitter.com/600lnEarYJ

— Dublin LGBTQ+ Pride (@DublinPride) June 22, 2021

As part of their full-day entertainment programme, Dublin Pride will also be broadcasting a number of other events live on Dublin Pride TV, including a brunch hosted by Outhouse LGBT Community Resource Centre (with chef & activist Colm O’Gorman and mixologist Dave Mulligan) at 12pm, and a Digital Pride Block Party, hosted by Mother Club at 9.15pm.

Dublin Pride will also be premiering their new documentary, PRIDE, directed by Joe McGovern.

For the full Virtual Parade & Pride Day schedule, click here.

BeLong To Youth Services are also hosting their first ever virtual Pride Disco on Saturday afternoon. They will be broadcasting live on their YouTube channel from 3pm, with music from DJs Stephen Dowling, Conor Behan & Glamo. Follow the link here to tune in.

The Butler Gallery in Kilkenny have a whole weekend of online and in-person events lined up as part of their 'Pride in Kilkenny' programme, a series of events and activities which will be just the start of a prolonged process of mutual cultural and artistic engagement with LGBTQ communities across Kilkenny and further afield.‏‏‎ ‎‏‏‎ ‎

The programme features online talks on issues facing LGBTQ+ creatives, including one between the Butler Gallery's artist-in-residence for Pride 2021, Stephen Doyle, in conversation with journalist Una Mullally on 'Creative safe spaces for Irish LGBTQ artists – the role of museums & galleries' on Friday June 25th at 3pm. There will also be a number of scriptwriting and theatre masterclasses on Saturday run by playwright Brian Merriman, founder and director of the International Dublin Gay Theatre Festival.

The gallery also has a number of exhibitions and online film screenings that are available until July. For the full list of events see their website here.

We are delighted to screen an array of recently acclaimed and award-winning short films representing a cross section of LGBTQ life and creativity from Ireland and overseas. https://t.co/VlausAzNJw#Pride2021 #pride

— Butler Gallery (@butlergallery) June 21, 2021

A number of other cultural events that are running for the whole month of Pride include the National Gallery of Ireland's 'Through a Lens Tour: LGBTQIA+', a selection of artworks explores parts of the national collection through a (LGBTQIA+) lens which runs until June 30th, and the 'Out in the World: Ireland's LGBTQ+ Diaspora' exhibition at EPIC The Irish Emigration Museum, a partnership with the Irish Department of Foreign Affairs that highlights twelve stories from the vast history of Ireland’s LGBTQ+ diaspora, and will run until December this year.

If you end up overdoing it on Saturday night for Pride, a fantastic place to chill out on Sunday will be at the Trans Picnic in St Stephen's Green, hosted by the Small Trans Library Dublin. A small lending library of trans-authored books for trans people, with branches in Dublin and Glasgow, they will be bringing a selection of their books to the park at 3pm for some sanitised and socially distanced browsing and some homemade food.

Weather permitting, we're having our first in-person event of 2021! 🙏
We'll be having a small trans picnic in Stephen's Green on June 27th at 3pm, with a selection of library books for your (hand-sanitised) browsing and some homemade food, potluck style. Come say hi! 📚🥰🥪 pic.twitter.com/vnsWRDQh9m

— Small Trans Library Dublin (@smalltranslibr) June 18, 2021