<p>For Dublin's gay community, Irish Independence and the creation of the Irish Free State in 1922 heralded anything but freedom. While the new state promised change, the gay community faced decades of repression, arrest, and severe punishment. Yet despite this, they continued to build lives, relationships, and communities in the shadow of fear.</p><br><p>In this episode, I am joined by historian Averill Earls to discuss her book <em>Love in the Lav</em>, a fascinating history of the community in Dublin in the decades after Irish independence. While repression is central to the story, this conversation also uncovers a more complicated picture of the community's relationship with wider Irish society and the ways people navigated a world shaped by surveillance, stigma, and silence.</p><br><p><strong>Become a supporter of the show </strong><a href="patreon.com/irishpodcast" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank"><strong>patreon.com/irishpodcast</strong></a></p><br><p><strong>Get your copy of Averill's book <em>Love in the Lav</em></strong></p><p>In Ireland -&nbsp;<a href="https://www.hodgesfiggis.ie/book/love-in-the-lav/averill-earls/9781439924167" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">https://www.hodgesfiggis.ie/book/love-in-the-lav/averill-earls/9781439924167</a></p><br><p>In the US&nbsp;<a href="http://bookshop.org/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Bookshop.org</a>&nbsp;-&nbsp;<a href="https://bookshop.org/p/books/love-in-the-lav-a-social-biography-of-same-sex-desire-in-ireland-1922-1972-averill-earls/99753665e753ea33?ean=9781439924167&amp;next=t" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">https://bookshop.org/p/books/love-in-the-lav-a-social-biography-of-same-sex-desire-in-ireland-1922-1972-averill-earls/99753665e753ea33?ean=9781439924167&amp;next=t</a></p><br><p>Averill Earls is Associate Professor of History at St. Olaf College in Minnesota, Executive Producer of Dig: A History Podcast, and co-convener of the Reminiscence and Remembrance Oral History Project for LGBTQ+ Ireland.</p><br><p>Sound: Kate Dunlea</p><hr><p style='color:grey; font-size:0.75em;'> Hosted on Acast. See <a style='color:grey;' target='_blank' rel='noopener noreferrer' href='https://acast.com/privacy'>acast.com/privacy</a> for more information.</p>