The history of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people in Ireland. Pre-20th century The first recorded trans individual in Dublin was a 19th-century trans man Patrick McCormack, who lived from 1821 to 1871. McCormack was a famine survivor and worked as a labourer, while living in Castleknock. Another 19th-century trans man was Albert Cashier (born Jennie Hodgers, 1843–1915) from County Louth, who fought on the Union side of the American Civil War. Writers and patriots Ireland and Dublin, in particular, have always been regarded as the home of some of the greatest gay and lesbian writers in the English speaking world, some of whom are Oscar Wilde, Eva Selina Gore-Booth, Elizabeth Bowen, Kate O'Brien, Ladies of Llangollen, Somerville and Ross and Mary Dorcey Legal situation Prior to formal Irish independence in 1922, sexuality in Ireland was governed by the UK-wide laws emitted from the Parliament of the United Kingdom such as the Offences Against the Person Act 1861. These laws were automatically inherited by the new Irish Free State. The most notable legal event related to Irish natives was the trial and imprisonment of Oscar Wilde. Some leaders of the Irish Independence struggle of the early 20th century were assumed - at the time or later - to be gay, notably Padraig Pearse and Roger Casement whose sexuality was an element in his trial and execution. Post-independence After independence, Ireland became a very insular society, dominated by the Catholic Church and was conservative, however in the midst of this, there was an acceptance of homosexuality of those within the acting profession such as Micheál MacLiammóir. It was widely accepted that Micheál MacLiammóir was gay and that his longtime life partner was Hilton Edwards. MacLíammóir would even appear on Irish TV in the 1950s and 1960s performing in drag. It is because of this that Irish people were never really surprised to see men dressing up as women on TV and even today, one of Dublin's drag queens, Shirley Temple Bar, presents bingo on prime-time national TV. MacLíammóir claimed when talking to Irish playwright Mary Manning to have had a homosexual relationship with General Eoin O'Duffy, former Garda Síochána commissioner and head of the quasi-fascist Blueshirts in Ireland, during the 1930s. The claim was revealed publicly by RTÉ in a documentary, The Odd Couple, broadcast in 1999. However, MacLíammóir's claims have not been substantiated by any evidence. Economic development and civil