Pride 2025 - Jim McIlroy of Bohemian FC

Sport for Business

Let us know what’s on your mind

The sporting pitch has long been a battleground for social progress, and few fronts have been more challenging than the inclusion of LGBTQI+ individuals. In this thoughtful conversation, Jim McIlroy of Bohemian FC's Gay Bohs offers a candid look at what genuine inclusion means in Irish football today.
Founded in 2016 after Bohemian FC publicly supported marriage equality, Gay Bohs reclaimed a slur and transformed it into a symbol of pride. Since 2017, Dalymount Park has flown the Pride flag at every match—the only League of Ireland ground to do so. "That simple step made me feel a little bit more at ease," reflects McIlroy, "showing support, showing solidarity."
The stark reality remains that LGBTQI+ participation in sport lags significantly behind the general population. Research reveals that around 55% of LGBT individuals aren't active enough to maintain good health, compared to much lower figures for others. McElroy explains how many queer people gravitate toward solitary sports rather than team environments, where "locker room culture" can feel unwelcoming.
Most concerning is what McIlroy describes as a societal pendulum swinging back from progress: "We're probably at a point on that journey that is particularly challenging for LGBTQI+ people, particularly for transgender people." Despite Ireland having diversity policies and inclusion strategies, McElroy warns about "pinkwashing" and the creation of documents without meaningful change. "It's not enough to say, 'Oh well, we did the survey and that's it, it's done,'" he cautions. "We're setting ourselves up to do a lot of hard work over the next five, ten years."
This conversation arrives at a pivotal moment when corporations are quietly withdrawing support for Pride events and sporting bodies face pressure to roll back inclusive policies. McIlroy's powerful call for allyship reminds us that progress requires courage: "Now is the time for people to show their true colours and support."
Find out more about what we do day in day out at Sportforbusiness.com
We publish a daily news bulletin and host regular live events on a wide range of sporting subjects.

Subscribe to the podcast wherever you get your podcasts from and look forward to more upcoming chats with those on the front lines of Pride in Irish Sport and the GAA All-Ireland Championships. We also have a chat with Enda Lynch, CEO of the recently awarded National Governing Body of the Year, Badminton Ireland, and plenty more to come over the summer.
Our upcoming live events on the Future of the League of Ireland, the Business of Golf, Digital Infrastructure and AI, as well as plenty more, are live on the Sport for Business website, and we'd love to have you join us.

Chapters

1. Pride 2025 - Jim McIlroy of Bohemian FC (00:00:00)

2. Welcome and introduction to Jim McElroy (00:00:28)

3. Origins of Gay Bows at Bohemian FC (00:01:33)

4. Barriers to LGBTQI+ participation in sport (00:04:17)

5. The challenge of locker room culture (00:09:18)

6. Transgender inclusion challenges in sport (00:14:05)

7. Sport policies vs meaningful action (00:18:39)

8. Podcast closing and outro (00:27:04)