#5. Jack Dunne
Ireland’s own Dunne joined the list of history makers in 2021, when, by publicly coming out as bisexual, he became the first-ever active professional player employed by the IRFU to speak openly about being a member of the LGBTQ+ community.
“It was strange enough. When I originally found out, I was completely okay with it,” he began. “But then, you know, when you’re in a teenage boys’ school, people say things that aren’t the nicest so you kind of internalise them. So then, for about a year or so I really wasn’t happy with it and I wished I wasn’t bisexual at all.”
Like many young people struggling with their sexuality, Dunne’s initial feelings were that he would never tell anyone or act on it. He describes bisexuality as sometimes being both a blessing and a curse in that way, saying, “it’s easier to hide than if you were gay because you don’t have to pretend to like girls, and you don’t have to pretend to enjoy kissing a girl if you’re out with the lads on a Saturday night.”
