Noel
Cunningham: "I'm 63 and I haven't had the conversation with my family yet
about being gay"
He's TV3 showbiz guru, and general
manager of Harvey's Point hotel, but Noel Cunningham's sunny smile reflects an
inner peace he's attained after years of struggling to accept his sexuality,
writes Andrea Smith
He's a very familiar and
much-loved face on the social scene, unfailingly dapper, always smiling, and
famous for having a kind word for everyone. But Noel Cunningham's kindness has
not always been reciprocated by the strangers who hurl abuse at him.
"We are supposed to be this
enlightened and liberal society, but homophobia still exists," he says.
"If I'm out walking on a summer's day and people are outside drinking,
someone is going to say, 'Look at the f**king faggot.'"
While Noel is an expert in
entertainment and royal news, and has interviewed many famous faces, this
particular interview is a big step for him as it's the first time he has openly
admitted to being gay, even to his own family in Donegal. It's important to
him, because at 63, and having battled alcohol addiction, he wants to reach out
to young people who are struggling, as he believes that the pain of suffering
abuse can lead some people to suicide.
"I tell my story not in a
self-pitying way, but hoping I can turn my own sadness to positive use,"
he says. "If I talk to young people in schools, I want to tell them that
it's okay to be yourself. I didn't always accept that I was gay, and my biggest
wish up until recently would have been that I could have married, had children
and not gone through all that pain."
Born in 1953, Noel had an idyllic
childhood growing up on a farm in Donegal with his two brothers and three
sisters. He was a happy child, sensitive and different, who spent his childhood
daydreaming. "My older brother Jimmy tried to ensure that my father didn't
include me in farm work, because he knew I wasn't cut out for it." he
says. "I used to help my mother with the hanging baskets instead."
With the fear and sexual
repression that reigned in the 1960s, where girls were sent to the Magdalene
Laundries for getting pregnant, or simply for being too attractive, admitting
to being gay was guaranteed to send you on a direct path to the fires of Hell
in society's eyes.
When asked how he came to the
realisation that he was gay, Noel says that he had encounters that shocked and
horrified him, but brought him to that moment of awareness.
"I never really dated girls,
it was just for show and some form of self-preservation," he says.
"I'm sure people knew by looking at me, but I'd take a girl to events to
protect myself."
Noel had a great relationship
with his parents, although they would never have believed for a moment that gay
people existed in Ireland. And even if he had told them and they had dealt with
it, they would have worried about what the neighbours and local priest thought.
His dad James died twenty years ago, and his adored mum Kathleen is an
extraordinary woman of 89, who still has a full, vibrant social life and drives
all over the county.
"Even now, if I was in a
relationship, I don't know how forthright I would be about it with my
family," he admits. "I haven't had the conversation with them yet
about being gay, although I have made references to it, more so in fun to get
the message across. My mum is wonderful, and we have so much fun together. I
joke with her about doing the flowers, and I'm sure she understands that it
would have been impossible for me to tell her, and it may have been impossible
for her to understand because of her generation and background."
Noel found his early years at
school in Donegal very hard, because being different led to bullying and abuse.
Things improved when he went to boarding school at 15, and found good friends,
but the early years left an indelible scar. "You think that you dealt with
it, but then you look back later in life and realise that you have lived in
fear, as a pleaser and a person who wanted affirmation, because you were
damaged and hurt," he says.
He went to a hotel school after
his Leaving Cert, and his subsequent hotel management roles suited his caring,
effervescent personality. He would have loved to have gone to drama school, but
there was no chance of a young lad from Donegal pursuing that option back then.
Noel worked all over the world, and had two very serious relationships during
this time. "They were beautiful, but I suppose we were badly equipped for
them because we were fighting a constant battle," he says. "The abuse
continued into the workplace, and I was conscious about how I looked and
behaved. I was always fearful that someone was going to be nasty."
HARVEYS POINT |
After 25 years abroad, Noel came
back to Ireland from south-east Asia twenty years ago for two reasons. The
first was that his sister Marie and her husband Donal were killed in a car
accident, their children Niamh (Noel's god-daughter), Tania and Gareth were
injured, and another sister, Geraldine, was very badly injured. While the
family didn't know how they would ever get through it, it brought them all
closer as they rallied to support the children. "I marvel at these three
wonderful young people and how they dealt with it," he says. "They
are grown up now and two are married. Tania has children, and it's so sad that
Marie and Donal have missed all of that."
The second reason was that he was
drinking too much, which he links to the burden of living a lie and the pain of
being bullied. He drank from a very young age to give himself the confidence to
walk into a room, but addiction led to him losing his house, his car, and his
self-respect. He credits his niece Tania with being the catalyst for him
becoming sober, when she pointed out, quite starkly and courageously, that he
was drinking too much. "She was in her late teens, and that inconvenient,
brutal, painful sentence uttered on a Sunday was so significant to me," he
says. "I thought my life would end the day I gave up drinking, but little
did I know that it only began that day."
Noel credits God, his higher
power, the support of his best friend Patricia, and an addiction programme for
leading him to sobriety, and the joy he got from his family helped him through
that difficult period. While he was devastated over the deaths of Marie and
Donal, and losing his brother Jimmy to cancer, he has enjoyed building
relationships with his twelve nieces and nephews, as he would have loved to
become a father himself. He has never felt the urge to have a drink, and while
he has thankfully never considered suicide, even in his darkest days, he
believes the drink would have eventually killed him. "I can't be ashamed
of how my life went, because I have dealt with it and part of getting better is
making up to people that I hurt," he says. "I wasn't a messy drunk,
and was never violent or angry, but I let people down when I didn't come to
significant events because drink was more important."
Noel is now general manager of
the award-winning Harvey's Point in Donegal, which this week was named
Ireland's number one top hotel in the TripAdvisor awards, for the third year in
a row. It was also ranked sixth in Europe and 18th in the world, and Noel is
the perfect ambassador for the gorgeous resort.
In tandem with this, he has a TV
and radio career, which began because he had direct contact with Princess Diana
through charity work he was involved in when he lived in London. He was asked
to discuss a royal visit on Gay Byrne's radio show which led to his ongoing
relationship with TV3. He works as entertainment correspondent for Ireland AM,
and travels around the country surprising people.
So as someone who knew her, what
was Diana like? "She was a beautiful woman," he says.
"Wonderful, sensitive and a bird with a broken wing, who went to her grave
still in love with Prince Charles," he says. "I met her with her
children, and she was an extraordinary mother. In Charles' defence, he was a
marvellous man, but they never should have married. He lived in a time warp
where kings could have their mistresses."
Now living in Killybegs, Noel is
very content with his life, and is grateful to the small community there who
took him to their bosom. While he thinks love is amazing, part of his recovery
and contentment lies with trying to be happy in the moment with his family and
very close friends, and anything else is a bonus.
"But if a wonderful white knight rushes down
Grafton Street tonight and carries me off, well that's grand," he laughs,
as he finishes his difficult story, and the wonderful smile that could brighten
up any dull day returns to his lovely face.
PAT SAYS:
I very much like Noel Cunningham and count him among my friends. I knew him when he ran his restaurant in Killybegs. He has been to Larne to see me. I met him on the two occasions I have been to Harvey's Point in Donegal - the last time with a priest friend who is recovering from serious health scares.
Noel is very kind and caring and goes out of his way to make EVERYONE feel special.
I greatly admire him for his successful battle against his addiction.
He has a good sense of humour.
I would love to see him meeting his "wonderful white knight" and having the happiness that has often eluded him.
Never dined in H P but did have coffe, I found the chairs too low for me, so never went back.
ReplyDeleteBought a painting there, not worth what I gave for it.
The food in Harvey's Point is about the best there is in Irish hotels.
DeleteI like the low cosy chairs.
I suppose it is a 50s + place?
I can imagine your painting was expensive.
Adrian Margey Kilrea artist has his exhibitions there
ReplyDeleteSorry Adrian, but some of your paintings way too expensive
Must be the beautiful setting of the hotel that got into my pocket.
Love Donegal and Sligo Pat.
There is, sadly, a problem with alcohol misuse, and suicide, in the gay community. A nice, uplifting article.
ReplyDeleteDo you think its a bigger problem in the gay "community" than in others?
DeleteAn expensive establishment!!
DeleteApparently, up to forty per cent of homeless youth in the U.S. are LGBT rejected by their families for being different in this way. Some of these young people (mostly teens) turn to prostitution just to survive and become drug addicts to numb the pain of loneliness, rejection and isolation. Some band together, living in squalid basements, for protection.
DeleteThe institutional Catholic Church, with the exception of some bishops in the U.S., has contributed to this social problem with its use of such phrases as 'intrinsically disordered'. It, and other Christian denominations, have sown much of the anti-LGBT prejudice in the U.S. .
Pat, it is actually a bigger problem in the gay community. In fact all health behavuours are worse in the gay community - smoking, drugs, even less fruit and veg. There is consistently worse mental health.
DeletePerhaps the problems in the gay community stem from how they have been treated by society. Being gay was never wrong...but the closet was.
ReplyDeleteSo Google says, and I think it's sad if true. I was initially unsympathetic to Pride events, disliking the flamboyance which can itself add to stereotypes, but if it makes a fellow human being feel better about who they are that's good. I used "community" out of sheer laziness. I know that gay people are as varied as anyone else and some don't think of themselves as belonging to a particular "community".
ReplyDeleteYou always seem to be in hotels Pat!
ReplyDeleteYou are right.
DeleteI have been conducting wedding ceremonies in hotels for over 30 years now - mainly because I am not allowed in most churches.
With thousands of hotel weddings I have been in many.
Alcohol was and probably is a crutch and refuge for many (in Ireland). I'm sure Mr Cunningham is a better person with his experience behind him. However I would not wish the struggle with alcohol on anyone.
DeletePerhaps you might think about downsizing your very large Diocese-funded house given the amount of time you spend in luxury hotels?
DeleteMeow..............
DeleteI hate hotel food, absolutely overlooked, unhealthy, and one just doesn't know how many hands have been to your plate b4 you have.
ReplyDeleteHotels are ok for weddings and overnite stays with the partner
Found the breakfasts disgusting, especially in the center of Derry.
Nice for photographs though especially H P.
You sure know how to spoil yourself when you can afford to stay in Harvey's Point.
ReplyDeleteI have been in Harvey;s Point twice.
DeleteOnce as a birthday present.
Secondly on a trip with a diocesan priest recovering from ill health - which was paid for by his bishop.
I went along as the driver.
Wouldn't that bishop have been more compassionate
ReplyDeleteif he had sent the recovering bishop off on a quiet holiday
I'm never surprised when I go to confirmations and see all theses priests licking up to their bishop By taking them out dining in the biggest hotel that they can find
Said bishops have dirty hair , dandruff all over them.
It was a priest the bishop sent to Harveys Point - not a bishop.
DeleteThe driver was a bishop though.
You mean Pat that the hotel was paid for for by us gullible sheep...as usual
ReplyDeleteI'm afraid so.
DeleteDon't think you have conducted thousands of weddings, Pat.....just sayn
ReplyDeleteWrong.
DeleteThey are all listed in my Marriage Registers.
Sounds like you were indulging in activities endorsed by the S.P.R
ReplyDeleteI suppose it was a lot more cost effective for the priest's Bishop to send him to a hotel to recover rather than a much more expensive clinic for clergy in the USA.
ReplyDeleteRory Coyle's bill for his treatment was $23,000
DeleteThat would buy you a loy of nights in Harvey's Point.
Armagh Priest.
Would the archdiocese spend that amount of money (any amount of money) on treating a layman? Of course not! Even though it was the laity's money.
DeletePeople, it's the clergy who need laity, not the other way round.
The Vatican welcomed Xavier Bettel and his husband like any other married couple.
ReplyDeleteSo why cant the rest of the world especially this Irish sod do the same. I absolutely abhor anyone who discriminates even clergy who can't accept their family members for who they are LESBIAN or homosexual.
Hopefully Frankie will call to your abode Pat for tea and scones when he comes to Ireland as obviously he works more out of the box than his minions.
I don't think you got to the hotel by car Pat because someone at the hotel saw you landing in a helicopter on the hotel helipad just right next to the lake. How the other half live. Did you happen to conduct the wedding of the pilot by any chance? There must be some perks involved.
ReplyDeleteWe arrived in my 1989 Merc.
DeleteI have been brought to a wedding by helicopter as it turns out - on one occasion - courtesy of a wealthy groom when I had another wedding on the same day and too much distance to cover to make both.
With a priest having a gay or lesbian Sibling, problem here is some people might think the priest also gay....and he wouldn't want that...thus he keeps his distance.
ReplyDeleteNow that just sounds very poor that one would hide the fact that your a priest because your sibling was gay and you might be tarnished with the same brush. Get real it's hiding the fact and dont let me be seen in case I am recognised. Self preservation and denial in case it hinders promotional opportunities.
DeleteNot my brother or sister
I didn't know
Pat you didn't comment on the paudric mc carthy Sermon re the irish unmarried pregnant women and homes.
ReplyDeleteMaybe u agree with some other priests here that th media was too harsh on the church regarding their findings
Pat, when you lift an article from somewhere can you please acknowledge your sources i.e. journal as well as author.
ReplyDeleteSorry. Will do.
Deletedont be ridiculous , Rory can't be treated. Any amout of thousands won't stop him having sex.23 grann might have kept him living out of the country....but treating him....that's a laugh.
ReplyDeleteArch Amy says that Rory is now "cured".
DeleteArmagh PP.
A miracle in Armagh ad just in time for the papal visit yippie
DeleteHe did
ReplyDeleteAndrea Smyth did this one
That Bishop was generous in sending you Pat and your Priest friend to a luxury hotel. I Didn't realise generous Bishops existed.
ReplyDeleteThe bishop did not know I was the sick priest's companion.
DeleteHow can a person be cured if they not I'll
ReplyDeleteRory wasn't ill He was having sex with more than one person which. Is disgusting.yes in some countries that is allowed if he married to 3 or 4 wives or men...but here in Ireland we normally settle for one or 2
Men who live as priests are celebait or are expected to be...if they don't want to be priests then they leave the priesthood
Is Rory left the priesthood...I hope so...he needs to live his life away from the altar
We don't really know who Rory was having sex with.
DeleteWe only know that he was looking sex on Grindr with young men.
Why is Rory discriminatory towards the older wrinkilies how sad, they could teach him true love.
Delete