Colin Farrell Writes Emotional Letter to Voters in Ireland: Please Support Gay Rights for My Brother

Actor shares his support for LGBT rights in a personal essay published in Sunday World

By Mike Vulpo Nov 17, 2014 2:45 AMTags
Colin Farrell, Eamon Farrell Kevin Mazur/WireImage

Colin Farrell has a message to Ireland voters: Please support gay rights!

In a letter published in this weekend's Sunday World, the beloved actor shares the personal story of his brother's journey as a gay man. In the process, Farrell can't help but take a stand in the fight for same-sex couples.

"My brother Eamon didn't choose to be gay," he wrote in an essay. "But he was always proud of who he was. Proud and defiant and, of course, provocative. Even when others were casting him out with fists and ridicule and the laughter of pure loathsome derision, he maintained an integrity and dignity that flew in the face of the cruelty that befell him."

While Eamon continues to call Dublin home with his husband, Steven, Farrell revealed that the couple had to say "I Do" in Canada where their marriage was able to be "celebrated."

"That's why this is personal to me," he shared. "The fact that my brother had to leave Ireland to have his dream of being married become real is insane. INSANE."

He added, "It's time to right the scales of justice here. To sign up and register to vote next year so that each individual's voice can be heard."

According to recent polls published in Ireland newspapers, more than 67 percent of voters support the introduction of same sex marriage in Ireland. With the election not scheduled until the spring of 2015, Farrell hopes that number can only increase.

"How often do we get to make history in our lives?" he asked readers. "Not just personal history. Familial. Social. Communal. Global. The world will be watching. We will lead by example. Let's lead toward light." 

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