Panti Bliss says memoir reflects ‘a changing Ireland’

Rory O'Neill, the entertainer and gay rights activist better known as Panti Bliss, said his newly published memoir was a reflection of a changing Ireland told through the prism of his own life story.

O'Neill was speaking at the launch of A Woman in the Making at Panti Bar in Dublin, where he was introduced by former RTÉ news anchor Anne Doyle.

Despite being the country’s most celebrated drag queen, Panti appeared just briefly on the stage, clearly overwhelmed by a rapturous reception.

Earlier this year, O'Neill became embroiled in controversy following his remarks on homophobia during an interview on RTÉ's The Saturday Night Show. Tonight he said while the last two chapters addressed the controversy, "it's not what the book is about; it's about a change in Ireland and it's reflected through my story".

O’Neill said the book was a celebration of a life:“I enjoyed [writing] it and it made me remember things that I had forgotten. It was superintense.”

Doyle said the memoir was “bound together by a steely spine and truth and courage, and along with that it has a plain ordinary refusal to lie down”.