LGBT people find community outdoors

A man who moved back to Northern Ireland after spending more than a decade in London has found a welcome community in a new LGBT social group.

Donal Conlon returned to live in Northern Ireland during the Covid-19 pandemic to be with family and friends again.

Having found lockdowns very difficult, Mr Conlon said he was “just looking for a way to bring myself out of that anxiety again and back into social groups”.

This is when he found Out and Active NI last November, which had been set up the previous month.

Mr Conlon attended the group’s first event, a scavenger hunt, and hasn’t looked back.

“It’s been great bringing me out of my shell a bit more and feeling more confident,” he said.

Since its inception, the Belfast-based group now has more than 900 registered members.

Founder, Ryan Lee Gribben, said he and his husband “wanted to do more stuff at the weekend that didn’t involve drink”.

They wanted to do something active but outdoorsy – not in the gym.

The men were speaking to BBC News NI at Crawfordsburn Beach, where dozens of people gathered for a sea swim event.

Out and Active NI describes itself as a “community-driven sports and social group dedicated to providing a welcoming, inclusive and supportive space for LGBTQIA+ individuals and allies”.

Mr Gribben said groups like this are still needed.

“We have loads of amazing things in 2025 like phones and apps, but we are finding a lot of our younger members don’t really know how to communicate with people in person without drink or an app,” he said.

“They really struggle to just make friends unless it’s through a computer screen and it’s been really nice to see younger people really embrace just playing a game and making friends.”

Since the formation of Out and Active NI, Mr Gribben has put together a committee to plan weekly events, workshops and activities.

“Some of the feedback we’ve got is that if we’re playing a game of something, like rounders, some members have said that it feels really good to them and gives them a real buzz when people are chanting their name and chanting for them… and they’ve never had that before,” he said.

“It’s kind of wholesome.”

Mark Gallagher has been a member of Out and Active NI since its creation.

“Ryan had approached me a while back with the idea of setting up a social group for people that wanted to get out and about, more with an emphasis on the social side of things,” Mr Gallagher said, noting that there are numerous LGBT sporting groups in Northern Ireland.

He said he has met and made friends with people he “wouldn’t necessarily have crossed paths with”.

While Mr Gallagher said Northern Ireland has made progress with LGBT issues, he added “there is still a lot of work to be done”.

“So to have a group that’s just for us where you know you’re always going to be welcome, no one’s going to judge you, no one’s going to give you any hassle, or you’re not going to face any odd questions or face any problems – that makes it easier for a lot of people to make that initial step, to come out and take part,” he said.

Out and Active NI provides members with the opportunity to try their hand at activities outside their regular interests.

In April, the group hosted a weekend in Donegal and recreated the Traitors game, named after the popular BBC television show.

Most recently, the group spent a day at Todd’s Leap Activity Centre in Dungannon.

Robin Mairs did his first ever hike and sea swim with the group and believes there is a place for such groups in 2025.

“It starts to create relationships that are, maybe, outside the drinking culture, pub culture, club culture which I have personally found is how you would make those connections in the past, not through sport and activity,” Mr Mairs said.

“Whenever you’re at these sort of events you’re with people who get your situation, I don’t feel like I have to hide that I have a husband.

“I don’t feel nervous when I start to say I have a husband and that makes quite a difference.”