Mid Ulster Pride receives ‘amazing’ reception in Belfast

MEMBERS of the Mid Ulster Pride group marched in Belfast Pride on Saturday (July 30), in which thousands of people from all backgrounds took to the streets of the city centre to show their support for the North’s LGBTQ+ community.

A huge range of organisations including the PSNI, Garda Siochana, Fire Service Northern Ireland, the GAA, Ulster Rugby, and many more, took part in the march to express their support,

Josh Cuddy who is chair of the Mid Ulster Pride group, hailed the reception which they received from supporters in the city.

“It was a fantastic day in Belfast. The reception we got was amazing,” said Josh.

“A lot of people recognised us from the documentary we made with the BBC and wanted to cheer us on. A lot of people I spoke to gave us their support and praised the event from last year. We marched alongside people from Omagh Pride and all across Northern Ireland, it was a very special day.

“We heard a lot of kind words and a lot more people said that they would be coming to see our parade in Cookstown.”

It proved to be a very busy and successful weekend for the Coalisland-based group, who are preparing to host their own Pride parade in Cookstown next Saturday. The beauty and skincare company Lush made Mid Ulster Pride its chosen charity for the weekend.

Josh explained, “Mid Ulster Pride is now a registered charity and we had a table at the Lush store in Belfast. The store also sold a special skincare product over the weekend and the profits went to Mid Ulster Pride.”