Chair and founder of Liverpool Pride, Tommy McIlravey, is stepping down at the end of the year after two successful festivals to concentrate on his work with Liverpool’s HIV multicultural support charity, Sahir House.
Tommy was instrumental in bringing Pride back to the streets of Liverpool after a 15 year break. As chair of the LGB&T Network from 2008-10, he worked with the Pride working group, City Councillors and Officers to secure funding and support for the city’s first official Pride Festival and March.
Resignation Statement
“The last 2 years have been an incredible time. I’ve met so many remarkable people and been touched by how much they care about Liverpool and its LGBT community. That’s members of the LGBT communities themselves who have given their time and efforts to make a visible celebration of our culture but also so many non-LGBT friends and supporters who have put their hearts and souls into making Liverpool Pride one of the most vibrant, inclusive and biggest Pride festivals in the UK, in only 2 years. It has been an honour and a privilege to be involved with.
“I am really sad to be leaving but also incredibly relieved to lift the awesome responsibility working with Pride. My day job (as Chief Executive of Sahir House) is very a demanding role in itself and I can work 60 hours a week on that. Sahir House does essential work supporting people living with, or affected by, HIV. In increasingly difficult times, I need to concentrate my efforts on making sure services here are safeguarded and developed. Even so I am still looking forward to having lots more free time to spend with friends and family.
“Until 2005 my life was mainly about having fun. Like many people I was out clubbing a lot in those days and spent a lot of time in the Escape, Garlands and the gay scene in Liverpool and Paradise Factory in Manchester. In 2005, 3 people I cared deeply about died, in very different, but equally tragic circumstances; two of them were in their early twenties at the time. I still can’t put in to words the impact that had on me but I guess as well as all the pain and sorrow, I realised I had to start doing something useful with my life.
“I made a list back then of aims I wanted to achieve, and near the top of the list was making Pride happen in Liverpool. It took a few years to get off the ground but to then get 20,000 people in our first year and over 40,000 in year two – especially when there had been no kind of Pride festival in Liverpool for 15 years – was an exceptional achievement. Of course it took hundreds of talented, skilled and big hearted people to achieve that but I am so proud to have been in the middle of all of it for those first two years. I feel it’s time to move on now and I there are still quite a few more things on my list to achieve.
“I can only hope that the people of Liverpool, and especially the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgendered communities get behind Liverpool Pride even more now. It is going to be a tough year ahead, with further government cuts affecting the city council and the many other statutory and 3rd sector organisations that help to fund Liverpool Pride. We need the community to support the remaining trustees, who are a really talented, committed and energetic bunch of people. I know they have the skills and energy to take Liverpool Pride forward and make it stronger year on year. I wish them well and would like to thank them, and all of the thousands of people who have made Liverpool Proud for two years running now.”
Tommy McIlravey
Zoran Blackie, acting Chair and Trustee said: "Tommy has done what we’d all really love to have done – taken a personal dream and vision and made it happen through collaborating with people across the spectrum and championing it for Merseyside. I hope we can help his baby grow into a mature LGBT festival at the cultural heart of Liverpool"
Joan Burnett, trustee, said: “Tommy has worked tirelessly to improve the lives of LGBT people in Liverpool through the LGB&T Network as well as Liverpool Pride, Queer Notions and Sahir House.
“His vision has always put fairness and inclusivity at its heart, and although the whole Liverpool Pride team will miss his energy, commitment – and terrible jokes – it is brilliant that he’s still in our city making sure that Sahir House continues to thrive and expand.”
James Davies, festival coordinator and trustee said: “Two years ago, I got a call asking if I was still interested in getting pride off the ground. What I didn’t realise at the time was that Tommy meant for us to deliver it in just six months! Without Tommy’s passion and drive our Rainbow Circus would never have been possible.
“Liverpool Pride and I will miss Tommy, but he, and his team at Sahir House will always be friends of the festival.”
Seen Magazine director & editor Rebecca Keegan said: “Tommy has been fantastic for Seen to work with since we launched. As chair of such an event, he has had to make some difficult decisions and in doing so has acted with great dignity and class.
“We will miss working with him, but look forward to keeping up to date with his tireless work at Sahir House in the coming year.Team Seen wish him all the best in his future.”
The Board of Trustees will be chaired in the interim by Zoran Blackie until the annual general meeting on January 10th where a new board for 2012 will be elected. The Board of Trustees for 2011 also included James License, Kim McCann and Jeni Tehan.
Any member of the charity can apply to become a Trustee, non-members may apply to the Trustees for co-option. Expressions of interest should be made to http://www.liverpoolpride.co.uk/register-liverpool-prides-annual-general-meeting
The Annual General Meeting will take place at LCVS, 151 Dale Street on Tuesday, January 10th will be open to members of the public; however, in order to monitor numbers we ask them people register their interest in attending on the Liverpool Pride website.