““No speeches at all” isn’t the only alternative to “too many speeches”. Also, is there a reason people who don’t want to hear speeches can’t just leave when they’re on? ”
I would agree. I haven’t been following all of the details, and have looked at and spoken to only a hnadful of sources, so I don’t have a full picture. (Translation: If I were a journalist, I wouldn’t be prepsred to submit a story based on the limited information that I do have!)
It seems to me that there were two problems with the speeches decision. One was that it was made based on one concept of the community — those who responded to last year’s survey. The community includes those who work — as volunteers and paid professionals — in the organisations — political, social, statutory and combined — that make the lgbti community possible, the TENIs, BeLonG Tos, GLENs, GMH Clinics, Out and Abouts (‘Outs and Abouts‘?), Front Runners, etc.
The second seems to be that the communication of it was not handled well. The row broke out in the last week, but I am told Pride wrote tot he organisations three months ago. Such a big change takes more than a letter. (I don’t know what letters Pride got in reply, or when and what it did in response.)
A further challenge Dublin Pride faced is that it has becoome so big that the official organs of the state are making demands of it. When I first went in 1991 or thereabouts, the only issue was Garda traffic control from the Garden of Remembrance to the Central Bank plaza (before the bank put up a fence and prevented the steps forming a stage for speeches and performers).
Now, the City Council is involved, closing streets for the day on Merrion Square, requiring professional security services in addition to the volunteer stewards. Add “voluntary costs” like putting a fun fair at Merrion Street for fimilies with children, and you have significant costs, but shaking buckets along the route is not going to raise enough money to cover them. (Instead, the make an arrangement with the Council to set aside an are of the street at Merrion Square for food and drink franchises, who charge over €7 for a piece of southern fried chicken.)