Event Description

In 1869, the word “homosexuality” slipped into print for the very first time. A century later, Belfast City Hospital opened its Clinic for Sexual Disorders – a place where desire itself became a diagnosis. Between those two moments, Northern Ireland lurched from blissful ignorance to moral panic, convinced that queer passions might unravel society.

This talk uncovers the untold, intimate history of how psychiatry tried to define, control, and even cure same-sex desire – from whispered confessions in the 1920s to the shock therapy that lingered into living memory. We’ll encounter the brave and the bold: aristocratic artists seeking to understand their forbidden love, working-class soldiers pursuing pleasure, and the hopeful brides of mock marriages. The professionals determined to rewrite their desires – from Freudian Methodist ministers to clinicians wielding electricity as a weapon – will also be revealed. 

For the first time, discover how science, sex, and power collided in Northern Ireland – and how the LGBTQ+ community refused to be written off.

This talk is led by Dr. Tom Hulme as part of LGBTQ+ History Month. Dr Hulme’s current research is focused on the history of Irish sexuality, particularly of male same-sex desire, from the 19th to mid-20th century.