Prejudices and stigmas notwithstanding, Ireland is in a really exciting place right now. The past few years have brought us collectively much closer to the ideal of full and complete sexual liberation.

There are people who are dedicating their lives to making Ireland a more sex-positive place, through the work they do – whether it’s campaigning for equal rights or supporting the younger generation with consent classes. Meanwhile, I have personally found, through my work as a spoken word poet – one whose work focuses around sex – that no matter where I perform in Ireland, I am always met with a huge amount of support.

But these things should never be taken for granted. We have to press forward together, to ensure that the liberalisation that we have achieved is not just maintained, but rather expanded and developed on.

On the surface, it might not be as obvious, but the Church still holds a huge amount of power, and they using it to hinder the rights of many people. What’s more, they are quietly working away at kindling a backlash, most notably on the abortion issue – but also in relation sex education. Indeed, the control that they have been allowed to retain of so many different aspects of education is entirely wrong and must be challenged if we are to resist the demonisation of sexual activity which has always been the Roman Catholic Church’s forte.

The fight for sexual freedom is part of the wider struggle for human rights. We all need to bear that in mind, as we move into 2020. Because, when you think of it, the problems that we have been experiencing in relation to housing also have a huge impact on our sex lives.

We should no longer take the government’s inaction on that subject lying down!

You can read the complete 'Sex News Of The Year’ collection in one brilliant sweep in the Hot Press Annual – in which we distill the highlights and low-points of the year, across 132 vital, beautifully designed pages. Starring heroes of the year Fontaines D.C. on the front we cover Music, Culture, Sport, Film, Politics, the Environment and much, much more. Buy this superb publication direct from Hot Press here.