Irish Comic Oliver Callan Comes Out on Live TV: I'm Not Homophobic, I'm Gay! — VIDEO

Oliver Callan, an Irish radio-turned TV satirist best known for the radio show Nob Nation, appeared on Ireland's The Staruday Night Show to respond to a newspaper columnist who accused sketches he did of David Norris and GAA star Paul Galvin as being homophobic, but Callan the whole interview on its head by coming out.

Callan received a huge round of applause from the audience.

Said Callan: "This column was intended to reveal to the world that I'm a hate-filled homophobe out to get the gays. Let's get one thing straight, I'm not homophobic, I'm gay."

He added: "I've been called a fag, a daisy, a fairy, a pansy, a queer, all of that down through the years. I'm from a very small part of Co Monaghan and coming out probably made me literally the only gay in the village. Obviously everybody says you're born that way, but in all honesty when I was 11 or 12 I just knew I was different. I felt like a Protestant on the Falls and I knew I was different to my older brother who started driving the tractor when he was eight. I'm not singing I'm gay and proud. I'm saying I'm gay and I don't give a s**t and neither should anyone else."

Watch the interview, AFTER THE JUMP...

David Norris, Other Irish Candidates Graceful In Defeat

Michael D. Higgins, of Ireland's Labour Party, won yesterday's presidential election. The race's much-publicized gay candidate, the independent David Norris, was the first to call Mr. Higgins with his concession.

Norris, a one-time front runner whose campaign was undone by a series of minor scandals, was gracious in defeat. According to Independent.ie:

"When you have such a concentration of power in the hands of the Coalition I think it's good to have somebody who will be in a position morally and intellectually to speak out on behalf of the marginalised," [Norris] said. "I know that Michael D. will do that. So I'll be very happy to be an Irishman under the presidency of Michael D. Higgins."

Mr. Norris's good cheer and fellow-feeling was echoed by the other candidates. Note: In the Independent's video reportage, the defeated candidates manage to refrain from calling the victorious Mr. Higgins a Marxist, socialist, Nazi, or tyrant.

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Gay Candidate David Norris Back in Irish Presidential Race, and Leading

Could Ireland soon have a gay President? It appears that way.

Sen. David Norris, who left the race in August following the disclosure of letters to Israeli authorities asking for clemency for a former partner in a statutory rape case, is back, in and leading the pack, CNN reports:

Sen. David Norris completed an extraordinary comeback Tuesday, securing the political backing he needed to get onto the ballot after withdrawing over a sex scandal in August, then changing his mind and jumping back into the race.

He leads the field, according to an opinion poll published in the Sunday Business Post this week, followed by Michael D. Higgins of the Labour Party and McGuinness, the Sinn Fein politician who stepped down as deputy first minister of Northern Ireland to run for president of the republic....

...Norris -- tipped to be the country's first openly gay head of state -- got onto the ballot, thanks to an 11th-hour intervention by his rival Higgins.

Ahead of a vote by Dublin city councilors, Higgins recommended to Labour colleagues they facilitate the entry of Norris to the presidential race "in the interests of democracy."

There are seven candidates in the election, which takes place October 27.

Gay Candidate David Norris to Re-Enter Irish Presidential Race

David Norris a former frontrunner who dropped out of the Irish presidential race last month following the disclosure of letters to Israeli authorities asking for clemency for a former partner who had been convicted of the statutory rape of a 15-year-old boy, will re-enter the race, according to Irish Central:

Norris is expected to confirm his latest decision to run when he appear on Irish television’s flagship show The Late Late next Friday night.

The Norris u-turn has come about after he featured prominently in a number of opinion polls.

Independent members of the Irish parliament and some County Councilors have also confirmed that they will back a new Norris bid.

Rory's Story, a Powerful Marriage Inequality PSA from Ireland: VIDEO

It seems the best LGBT PSAs these days are coming out of Ireland (remember this excellent clip against bullying?). Here's a new, very powerful spot about how civil partnerships lack the rights given to those who are married.

Watch Rory's Story tell it like it is in one minute, AFTER THE JUMP...