The Rose of Tralee came under fire after it was reported the festival (that bills itself as a celebration of the "aspirations, ambitions, intellect, social responsibility and Irish heritage") wouldn't allow transgender women to apply.
A spokesman told the Irish Mirror earlier today that: “The Festival is a progressive organisation that always strives to reflect changes in society in the entry guidelines for women.
“Transgender women entering is not something we are considering at the moment, however, we will continue to review our guidelines.”
The news led to an outcry from the LGBTQ community with Transgender Equality Network Ireland spokesman Gordon Grehan telling The Irish Mirror the decision is “unnecessarily exclusionary”.
He said: “It’s a shame the Rose of Tralee isn’t keeping in line with how the country is going.
But now there's been some good news come to light: the festival actually is allowing transgender women to apply! Power to the people!!!
#RoseofTralee does not ban transgender women
On @RadioRayRTE Festival Exec Chair said transgender women are welcome to apply@TENI_Tweets— Rose of Tralee (@RoseofTralee_) February 2, 2017
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Great news!
Very enlightened view on transgender from #roseoftralee CEO. Take a bow! Not everybody who calls in to radio shows is a bigot #rteradio
— Aiden Lloyd (@aido5) February 2, 2017
