How One Play Rewrites Ireland's Queer Past

A 2021 stage work called Once Before I Go takes on Ireland's tough history with HIV and queer life. The piece doesn't just tell a story. It digs into how laws, church rules, and silence shaped lives that felt unsafe or unwelcome.

The play looks at five big forces that hurt queer and HIV-positive people in Ireland. These include criminalization, Catholic control, public health silence, pressure to act 'normal,' and being pushed aside. Together, these made the country hard to live in for many.

Using ideas from scholar Sara Ahmed about 'queer use,' the article sees the play as something new. It brings back forgotten histories, bodies, and grief. But it does not let AIDS death mean punishment. Instead, it turns pain into power.

The main character Bernard is shown as sick but not broken. His body becomes a place of dignity and voice. Another character, Daithí, survives and shows how today's 'post-AIDS' world still has limits. Jase adds a modern angle, linking old AIDS memories to today's fights for body rights.

The play uses non-linear storytelling and memory. It keeps the past alive but unfinished. Rather than fixing history, it keeps asking questions. This makes the Irish past useful not by closing it, but by keeping it moving forward.