A drag show event scheduled for the end of the month has been cancelled due to a “bombardment of abuse and threats”.

The over-18s event has been pulled after organiser Danny Hayes felt worried his home would be “attacked or targeted by protestors”. The event organiser detailed how he was worried for his family after messages had been sent to him and his company over social media, in protest of the evening show.

Irish-American drag queen Kara Kalua was supposed to participate in the night at the Seven Oaks Hotel in Carlow. She attributed an influx of Americanised rhetoric leaking into Irish culture as the reason for the show not going ahead.

“The show has been pulled for, not exactly the same reason, but it is similar rhetoric,” she said “If you’re buying tickets for a show at nine o’clock for your child, the bigger issue is you doing that”.

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Event organisation, TNT Promotions, who oversaw the event released a statement following the cancellation:

“This was due to no fault of ours or the hotel it was purely down to online abuse and threats that both TNT Promotions and the hotel received. Our number one priority at any of our shows is to make sure that everyone involved is safe which led to this decision.”

Drag artist Maura Darragh appeared on The Tonight Show yesterday to outline the point that, through the internet, these issues are happening “on our doorstep, no matter where they are in the world”.

The Mayor of Carlow, Fintan Phelan, emphasised his worry about the growth of online abuse towards the LGBTQ+ community and has supported the campaign that has been made by Irish drag agency, The Queens Of The Party, to revive the event.

“The Pride Festival have said they’d be willing to work with the promoter and the venue to have the event relaunched which I think will be great, you would get a packed-out attendance,” he said.

Since the cancellation, performers have expressed worry about how little it took to stop the show and what implication this could have for other drag shows in the future.

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