A Women’s Rights Network (WRN) meeting went ahead in Belfast on Tuesday morning after the session was removed from the programme of the West Belfast Festival, Féile an Phobail, following an online campaign.
Rescheduled meeting held at private city hotel
The event, relocated to the Hilton Hotel and kept private to reduce the risk of counter-protest or harassment, drew campaigners and panellists from across the UK and Ireland. Organisers said security was in place at the venue.
Speakers at the rescheduled meeting included Nora Calder of WRN Northern Ireland, Fiona McAnena from the UK human rights charity Sex Matters and Danielle Loughrey, co‑founder of Gaels For Fair Play. Panellists discussed legal and social definitions of women and girls and argued for the right to set personal and legal boundaries in some single-sex spaces.
| Speaker | Organisation | Role |
|---|---|---|
| Nora Calder | Women’s Rights Network (WRN NI) | Speaker |
| Fiona McAnena | Sex Matters | Speaker |
| Danielle Loughrey | Gaels For Fair Play | Speaker |
Community tensions and political divisions
The session follows a public dispute in which Féile an Phobail removed the WRN event from its schedule after pressure from transgender activists opposed to events perceived as excluding trans people from the definition of woman. Campaigners who oppose expanding the legal category of women to include those who were assigned male at birth argue that single-sex spaces should sometimes exclude men who identify as women.
Those views have been met with hostility from some mainstream rights organisations and nationalist political parties in Northern Ireland, organisers said. During the meeting Ms Calder said Sinn Féin was split on the issue.
Organisers also revealed that the meeting might have been hosted at Parliament Buildings in Stormont after an offer from the independent unionist MLA Doug Beattie. However, no nationalist MLA agreed to countersign the booking, which meant the event could not proceed at that venue.
Aftermath and organiser statement
WRN Northern Ireland posted a message on the social media platform X after the event to express their view of how the situation unfolded. The group thanked Féile an Phobail for what it said were actions that ultimately helped the meeting reach a wider audience.
“Féile an Phobail helped make our event a resounding success and sent so many new members our way.”
Attendees spoke of a lack of support for WRN from some quarters locally, and highlighted concern from groups such as Gaels For Fair Play, which represents women in the Gaelic Athletic Association worried about the organisation’s policy on allowing males who identify as females to play in women’s and girls’ leagues.
- Event originally scheduled as part of Féile an Phobail was removed after an online campaign.
- Rescheduled meeting held at a private Belfast hotel with security in attendance.
- Speakers argued for women’s rights to set legal and personal boundaries in some single-sex spaces.
The episode highlights ongoing tensions across Northern Ireland around gender, rights and public events, and underlines the sensitive nature of how community festivals and civic spaces are used to host debates. For Belfast residents the controversy has raised questions about public safety, freedom of expression and the responsibilities of community organisations when deciding which events to host or cancel.
As conversations continue locally and nationally about the legal definition of sex and gender and their implications for sporting and public spaces, the Belfast meeting is likely to be cited by both sides of the debate as an example of the broader contest over how those issues are discussed in public life.
