Dr Lydia Foy

Trans Rights Activist

TW: Transphobia

When the Gender Recognition Act was passed in 2015 allowing trans people in Ireland to apply to have their true gender legally recognised by the State, some believed it was ‘snuck in’ under the radar alongside Marriage Equality while the country was ‘distracted’ by the latter. But this is far from the truth as one woman in particular can attest to. For over twenty long, enervating years in which she undertook three court cases, Dr Lydia Foy fought for the right to have her gender recognised by the State.

“I knew I wasn’t allowed to be myself and I couldn’t tell anyone.”

Born into a family of seven children in Westmeath in 1947, Lydia, from an early age, was conscious that she ‘should be seen as a girl’ which continued as she reached her teenage years in the ‘60s. Relentlessly bullied throughout her school days, she made it through boarding school in Kildare to move into college in Dublin, eventually graduating with a Bachelor's degree in Dental Surgery in 1971. Six years later, Lydia was married and by the 1980s, she had two children - but she couldn’t go on pretending to be something she was not.

“The case became much more than just me looking for a birth certificate…”

Over the course of the next few years, Lydia lost her job, her family and her home. She was at breaking point, but by 1991 she was living authentically as the woman she is. The following year she traveled to London for gender confirmation surgery and in 1993 she applied to the office of the Registrar General for a new birth certificate to reflect her gender, but was refused. Following many years of fruitless correspondence, she initiated High Court proceedings in 1997, represented by FLAC (Free Legal Advice Centres), ‘a human rights NGO that provides free legal information and advice’ in order to compel the Registrar to provide her with a new birth certificate. What followed were years of hostility and isolation for Lydia who initially fought on because she felt she ‘had nothing left to lose.’ Eventually, however, her motivation changed when she realised just how important her case was to the LGBT+ community, and to the general human rights of everyone in Ireland.

“I was told to hide when I was coming out of court, to hide my face and everything, and to try and get out the backdoor, but I said I’m not going to do that. I decided I’d just stick my head high and wave my hand. I was called everything under the sun for that [...] but I said no, put on a brave face and try carry on.”

Sadly, the High Court ruled against Lydia in 2002 but the judge did express concern at the position of trans people in Ireland and advised the government to review the matter immediately. Just two days later, in Christine Goodwin v UK, the European Court of Human Rights held that the UK (which at the time had the same laws as were in place in Ireland) had violated the rights of two transgender women who, like Lydia, had also been refused new birth certificates. Contrary to Ireland though, the UK moved quickly and introduced a Gender Recognition Act in compliance with the European judgment.

The following year, the European Convention on Human Rights Act 2003 (the ECHR Act) was enacted, bringing the European Convention into Irish domestic law which meant that Lydia could now follow the same road Christine Goodwin in the UK had gone down before her. Once again, she applied to the Registrar for a new birth certificate, arguing the obligation under the ECHR Act to respect the demands of the European Convention, but again was refused.

So, she turned to the High Court once more and initiated proceedings and ‘on 19 October 2007, the High Court gave its judgment, finding that the failure to recognise Dr Foy’s female gender was a violation of her rights under Article 8 of the European Convention on Human Rights.’ Unfortunately, this was not the end of Lydia’s struggles though, only recognition that Irish law was incompatible with the Convention. As well as that, the judge ‘expressed considerable frustration at the failure of the Government to take any steps to assist transgender persons in the five years since the European Court’s rulings on the UK cases.’

“Ireland as of now is very much isolated within the Member States of the Council of Europe … [and] must be even further disconnected from mainstream thinking.”

— Justice McKechnie

*Lydia with Tánaiste and Minister for Social Protection Joan Burton at the launch of the Gender Recognition Advisory Group report, 14 July 2011. Photo: Damien Eagers Photography*

In 2009 the State appealed the ruling to the Supreme Court but by this time, with considerable work by groups such as TENI, public opinion was beginning to change and by October, the Government ‘promised to introduce legal recognition for transgender persons.’ The following year, an inter-departmental working group - the Gender Recognition Advisory Group (GRAG) - was established to advise on the best course of action.

The Advisory Group report was published in July 2011 and while it did call for legislation and advised against making gender reassignment surgery a pre-condition for recognition, it was otherwise very cautious and conservative. It proposed a psychiatric diagnosis of “Gender Identity Disorder” as a basic condition for recognition, despite the fact that transgender persons felt this suggested that they were mentally ill or disordered, which they are not.
It also proposed ‘compulsory divorce’ – that married trans persons must divorce before they can be recognised in their true gender – to avoid the possibility of same-sex marriages. This had been opposed by all submissions dealing with this issue and was particularly problematic in Ireland, given the exacting conditions to be satisfied when seeking a divorce.
- FLAC

*Lydia in 2014 following her legal victory*

By 2013, despite numerous promises from Ministers that gender recognition legislation was a high priority and on the way, there was little to show for it, so Lydia - along with FLAC - returned to court and settled the case in November 2014. Finally, 22 years after she first requested a new birth certificate, the Gender Recognition Act was passed in July 2015 and commenced that September, with Lydia becoming the first person to be legally recognised by the Act.

“Sometimes people who don’t like to see a change or a difference are quite reluctant to be properly informed.”

In the end, the requirement for ‘supporting evidence’ from a psychiatrist was removed and replaced by a self-declaration approach, however the Act, as passed, did include ‘the requirement that applicants for Gender Recognition Certificates must be single, with the result that married transgender persons would have to divorce to secure recognition.’ All this to avoid the creation of same sex marriages. Following the majority Yes vote to Marriage Equality in May 2015, this aspect of the Act was dropped by the time it commenced in September, making it ‘one of the most progressive regimes for legal recognition of transgender persons’ anywhere. But there is still a ways to go, however, as the Act does not provide adequately for those under 18, and in fact makes the process far more onerous.

But thanks to Lydia’s perseverance, an incredibly hard-fought foundation has been set for activists and trans people today. A week after the commencement of the Act in September 2015, she received her birth certificate, and on the very same day received the honour of becoming Ireland’s only recipient of the European Citizen’s Award.

“This is a great day for me and for the trans community in Ireland. With this piece of paper and after 22 years of struggle, my country has finally recognised me for who I really am, not for what other people think I should be. I am especially pleased for young trans people – that they will not have to go through the pain, the isolation, the lack of understanding and the abuse that my generation had to endure.”

Listen to Lydia discuss her journey in this 2021 episode of ShoutOut’s ‘Know Your Queer History’.

Herstory by Katelyn Hanna.
Want to read about historical LGBTQ+ women? See our photo essay here.

Sources:

Muldoon, Molly, ‘Lydia Foy speaks of difficulty growing up transgender in Ireland,’ online at: https://www.irishcentral.com/news/lydia-foy-speaks-of-difficulty-growing-up-with-trans-gender-syndrome-in-ireland-125520858-237399441 [accessed 3 May 2022].

‘Gender recognition - Dr Lydia Foy,’ online at: https://www.teni.ie/gender-recognition/dr-lydia-foy/ [accessed 4 May 2022].

‘Briefing note on the Lydia Foy case: The case that won recognition for Ireland’s transgender community,’ online at: https://www.flac.ie/assets/files/pdf/briefing_note_on_foy_case_2015_final.pdf [accessed 4 May 2022].

Linehan, Alice, ‘Dr Lydia Foy describes her 20 year struggle for gender recognition in new ShoutOut interview,’ online at: https://gcn.ie/dr-lydia-foy-20-year-struggle-gender-recognition-new-shoutout-interview/ [accessed 4 May 2022].

The Journal, 9 Jun. 2019.

‘Profiles in Pride: Dr. Lydia Foy, Irish trans-rights activist,’ online at: https://www.irishcentral.com/culture/pride-lydia-foy [accessed 3 May 2022].

‘Legal recognition of your preferred gender,’ online at: https://www.citizensinformation.ie/en/birth_family_relationships/changing_to_your_preferred_gender.html [accessed 4 May 2022].

Irish Examiner, 3 Nov. 2014.

‘ShoutOut: Know Your Queer History Episode 10: Dr Lydia Foy,’ online at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0xzVf4Drxc0 [accessed 4 May 2022].

Casey, Jane, ‘Dr Lydia Foy Wins European Citizens Award,’ online at: https://gcn.ie/dr-lydia-foy-wins-european-citizens-award/ [accessed 4 May 2022].