Imagine a world where you live in fear, and with each waking hour that fear grows to a point where the only escape comes from the promise of closing your eyes forever. Imagine being born into a life without choice or consultation, without the option of bartering the terms and conditions. Imagine then, that you persevere through the hardships and navigate your way through the obstacles on a perilous journey that you had no part in choosing. While people from many backgrounds in modern Ireland must make this journey, it is a common experience for the LGBT+ community, who do so without any chart or map.‘My mother asked who else in our town was gay?’ I myself was in my 30s when I publicly came out for the first time, and I chose to do it at an LGBT pride comedy event where I was performing. I came out because it was safe to do so, and while it was not the easiest thing I’ve done in my life, it was definitely the most liberating.