Coghlan says he cried over gay son

FORMER world champion runner Eamonn Coghlan has admitted he struggled to come to terms with son Micahel being gay.

The Fine Gael Senator, who now lives in Castleknock, also spoke openly about the difficulties faced by his son as a gay teenager at a LGBT meeting organised by his party in Portlaoise last week.

“When I discovered Michael was gay I was devastated,

? he said.

“I cried for weeks. The hopes and dreams I had for my son were shattered. I felt guilty, almost as if I was to blame for him being gay.

“I tried to cover up my disappointment. While I hugged him and told him I loved him, I had to come to terms that it was not about me but, about him and his life ahead.

“The big breakthrough for me was when some of Michael’s gay friends joined us on a family holiday in Spain. I got to know them and see how happy he was with his mates.

Senator Coghlan told the meeting how Michael, now 27, suffered

“awful bullying

?.

“At the time we didn’t know why this was happening but after he came out it became apparent that it was because he was gay,

? he said.

“He had also suffered from terrible stomach problems as a teen which we could never get diagnosed. It turned out that this was all anxiety related because of the struggle he had with knowing he was gay and the bullying he was being subjected to.

“The abuse didn’t stop after he came out. He was subject to two particularly violent physical attacks in Dublin on account of his being gay.

?

Senator Coghlan is backing a

‘yes’ vote in the upcoming marriage equality referendum.

“It is not about politics or about voting for a particular party,

? he said.

“It is about equality, removing rejection, removing exclusion and removing the guilt, shame and fear that gay people experience.

“We have to think of the person, their dignity, their validation, their human freedom to love and to live life to the full.

“I was lucky enough to marry the woman of my dreams. Who are we as a nation to deny our sons and daughters the basic right of marrying the person they love?

?