Mary McAleese

Speaking after the murders of Aidan Moffitt and Michael Snee in Co Sligo, Mrs McAleese told radio station Newstalk that homophobia still exists. "It's out there ...

"And I still think, regrettably, that in a country where religion plays a very, very, very big role and is a huge key influencer of attitudes, I think the churches - and I'm not just talking about the Catholic church, I'm talking about all the major denominations - because all of them are conduits for homophobia. What keeps it going? "It is kind of scary, Ireland is a welcoming country for gay and lesbian, bisexual and transgender people in the main.