SINN FÉIN HAS been banned from taking part in a trans Pride march in Dublin this July over its stance on rights for transgender people, after months of questioning of the party’s position on the issue.

It follows extensive efforts by Sinn Féin leadership in meetings with LGBT+ groups. Party president Mary Lou McDonald met with activists yesterday.

Those meetings came on foot of an initial last month by Trans and Intersex Pride Dublin for Sinn Féin to clarify the party’s position on the UK Supreme Court and the ban on puberty blockers in Northern Ireland.

The controversy had been sparked by Sinn Féin’s health spokesperson David Cullinane describing a ruling by the Scottish Supreme Court – that the terms “woman” and “sex” in UK equality legislation do not include transgender women – as a “common sense judgment”.

Trans groups have been strongly critical of the Scottish Supreme Court’s findings, with some pointing to a recent motion by a British doctors union calling the ruling “scientifically illiterate”.

In a statement this morning, Trans and Intersex Pride Dublin said Sinn Féin had “numerous opportunities to explain their position” in recent weeks.

The group cited one-on-one discussions with McDonald as well as a community engagement meeting with the Sinn Féin leader, her Dáil health spokesperson David Cullinane and other LGBT+ organisations across the island.

Explaining this decision, the group said that it was “not satisfied with the clarity received” around the party’s position on a number of issues affecting trans people.

The group said it had engaged with the party “in order to seek clarity” on their positions on the Scottish Supreme Court ruling in the UK and “whether it would oppose attempts to implement the ruling in Northern Ireland”.

It also sought a response on whether Sinn Féin would continue to support the decision of the Northern Irish government – where the party’s vice president Michelle O’Neill is First Minister – to ban puberty blockers, and whether the party would support a ban on puberty blockers in the Republic.

The group added that it holds the view that a “real alternative to Fianna Fàil and Fine Gael” must be able to “firmly stand in solidarity” with the trans community.

“Trans and Intersex Pride Dublin have since made the decision to officially ban Sinn Féin from Trans and Intersex Pride Dublin 2025. We have always banned government parties from joining our March, and we continue to say that Fine Gael, and Fianna Fàil are not welcome, but a real alternative to Fianna Fàil and Fine Gael has to firmly stand in solidarity with the trans community.”

Trans and Intersex Pride Dublin also mentioned a “Late Late Show interview with Mary Lou McDonald” in which the Dublin Central TD spoke about trans rights in light of her health frontbencher Cullinane’s remarks.

While McDonald told host Patrick Kielty that the issue was a very personal one for her given she has a trans sibling, it also caused concern for some party members and LGBT+ groups.

That interview saw McDonald put forward that conversations about the rights of trans people must start from a “position of respect”. She cautioned that Sinn Féin’s position had not changed but said the implications of the UK Supreme Court ruling would need to be studied, particularly for Northern Ireland.

It’s understood part of what has concerned LGBT+ groups and some members of Sinn Féin is a belief that the party is maintaining a purposefully “grey” position on the issue, without offering clear public support.

Earlier this week, The Journal reported that Sinn Féin has seen a number of long-time members leave the party over a belief that the party is set to water down its support for LGBT+ issues, in particular on trans rights.

Concern was heightened by plans for the party to hold a conference this summer specifically to discuss its stance on trans rights. While there has been confusion over when exactly this is due to take place – with some senior sources indicating it would be pushed back to take place next year – it’s thought Sinn Féin now intends to hold it in the coming weeks.

Puberty blockers controversy

Some of the standoff over Sinn Féin’s position can be traced back to the Cass Review, a landmark report which found that thousands of young people questioning their gender identity had been let down by the National Health Service in the UK. (The report was welcomed here in Ireland by some but has been heavily disputed by others)

The Cass Review also stated that the pillars of gender medicine are “built on shaky foundations”, outlining what it called a lack of evidence on the impacts of puberty blockers and hormone treatments, preceding the Stormont executive supporting a temporary ban on the medication for transgender youth.

Trans advocacy groups have long maintained that puberty blockers are an important part of some people’s treatment, with Sinn Féin’s support support of the ban in the North prompting much of that fierce criticism over the past year.