David Norris (politician)
David Patrick Bernard Norris (born 31 July 1944)[1] is an Irish scholar, former independent Senator, and civil rights activist.[2][3][4][5] Internationally, Norris is credited with having "managed, almost single-handedly, to overthrow the anti-homosexuality law which brought about the downfall of Oscar Wilde", a feat he achieved in 1988 after a fourteen-year campaign.[6] He has also been credited with being "almost single-handedly responsible for rehabilitating James Joyce in once disapproving Irish eyes".[7]
David Norris
Norris is a former university lecturer and was a member of the Oireachtas, serving in Seanad Éireann from 1987 to 2024.[8] He was the first openly gay person to be elected to public office in Ireland.[9] A founder of the Campaign for Homosexual Law Reform, he is also a prominent member of the Protestant Church of Ireland.
He was a candidate for President of Ireland in the 2011 election. He topped numerous opinion polls and was favourite among members of the Irish public for the position but withdrew from the race months before the election,[10][11] before returning to the race in September 2011.[12][13] In January 2024 he retired from the Seanad after 36 years service, making him the longest serving senator in Irish history.
Education and academic career[edit]
Norris attended school at St. Andrew's College and The High School. He then entered Trinity College Dublin, to read for the degree of B.A. in English Literature and Language, where he was elected a Foundation Scholar in 1965 in that subject before achieving a 1st Class Moderatorship in 1967 and editing Icarus, the university literary magazine. He remained at Trinity as a lecturer and college tutor between 1968 and 1996.[17] His love of Joyce is borne out in Dublin's annual Bloomsday celebrations.[18] He defended Ulysses when Roddy Doyle said it was "overlong, overrated and unmoving", calling Doyle a "foolish" and "moderate talent".[7] He is an Irish language speaker. He is also a Hebrew language speaker.[19][20]
After contracting the water-borne variation of hepatitis while visiting Central Europe in 1994, Norris received disability payments from a private income continuance insurer worth thousands of euro over 16 years,[21] from a Trinity College insurance policy.[22][23] Norris left his role as a lecturer after Trinity College authorities said the situation arising from his illness was "untenable", although he remained an elected senator.[21] Norris was hospitalised and was seriously ill for a time as a result of the condition.[21]