Support the Mayo bookshop that was targeted by protesters during Pride event

Fiona Frawley

Shop front of Tertulia bookshop, with yellow facade and signage

The Westport bookshop have a huge selection of fiction, nonfiction and everything in between on their online store, and are also offering reduced postage.

Mayo Pride made its return to Westport over the weekend, with an exciting lineup of events including a Croagh Patrick climb, a sea swim and sauna, a Mother afterparty and drag story time at Tertulia Bookshop.

The only event to be already sold out when the Mayo Pride IG account shared their lineup ahead of last weekend, the story time was clearly eagerly awaited by people looking for a family-friendly way to celebrate Pride.

However, Tertulia was targeted by right-wing protesters before and after the event – owner Neil Paul told the Irish Times he’d received phone calls accusing him of “reading pornographic material to young children” in the week leading up to the story time, and on the day of the event itself a group of protesters gathered outside the bookshop. According to Mayo Pride, the protesters “behaved abusively towards LGBTQ+ teenagers, with some left in tears”.

Grand Marshal for this years Mayo Pride Panti Bliss headed to the bookshop to show solidarity, sharing a video of some interactions with protestors.

https://www.instagram.com/p/Cfg-tL_sH3T/

In a statement yesterday, Mayo Pride said:

Our Drag Storytime was targeted by far-right protesters on Saturday. Mayo Pride and Tertulia Bookshop were informed earlier in the week about far-right online groups who were planning to disrupt the event. Both Mayo Pride and Tertulia were subjected to violent threats and harassment.

Mayo Pride does not receive commercial funding and is run completely by hard-working volunteers. The harassment we received was scary. It was intended to stop us promoting and building an inclusive society.

https://www.instagram.com/p/CfhHsPiIjyd/

Taking to Instagram, Tertulia owners Neil and Bríd said they were “bowled over” by the support they received after the protest in terms of online orders and visits to the shop – if you’d like to do the same, you can order a book from Tertulia’s WEBSITE. The ‘bookshop like no other’ also have a selection of rare books, and if you’re looking for something in particular they will do their best to help you source it HERE.

Header image via Instagram/tertuliabooks