Fifth annual Laois Pride to take place in Portlaoise

LAOIS PRIDE will return in 2026 for its fifth annual celebration, running from Monday 7 to Sunday 13 September, with the main festival day taking place on Saturday 12 in Portlaoise.

After the success of previous years, the Laois Pride team says they are planning their biggest and “most vibrant” festival yet.

This year’s festival will run from Monday September 7th to Sunday, September 13th, with the annual Pride Parade and main festival day taking place on Saturday 12th in Portlaoise.

Marchers will meet at Fitzmaurice Place, Portlaoise between 11am and 11:30am, for a 12pm start. This will be followed by a Pride fun day until 5pm.

The Pride festival showcases the diversity and inclusion across Laois and celebrates the county’s LGBT+ community.

This year’s festival takes place against a backdrop of rising homophobia and transphobia.

According to a 2024 report from RESIST, a Horizon Europe funded and UCD-lead research project addressing ‘anti-gender’ politics across Europe, organised anti-trans and anti-LGBT attacks have increased across Ireland.

“Pride events are important to build connections with the community, so everyone knows they are not alone”, Laois Pride Chairperson Helen Lanigan tells the Laois Nationalist.

“It is visible and loud so everyone can see how strong the community is. It is about making connections with other marginalised groups because we will always be stronger together and we want the community to be able to see there is more support there than the negativity they may be seeing more often”, Helen continues.

Each year, Laois Pride invites groups from Laois and surrounding communities to join in on the celebration.

Laois Pride was founded in by the Midlands LGBT+ Project in 2022 to celebrate the diverse LGBT community in Laois.