Rory O'Neill (born 16 November 1968), also known by his stage names Panti, Panti Bliss and Pandora Panti Bliss, is a drag queen and gay rights activist from Ballinrobe, County Mayo, Ireland.

Early life

O'Neill, the son of a veterinary surgeon, grew up in Ballinrobe, County Mayo, and went to art college in Dún Laoghaire. Although raised a Catholic, O'Neill is an atheist. O'Neill talked to Aoibhinn Ní Shúilleabháin about having been diagnosed as HIV-positive in 1995 on the RTÉ Radio 1 series Aoibhinn and Company.

Career

O'Neill (under his stage name Panti) is considered to be Ireland's foremost drag queen. Panti is short for 'Pandora Panti Bliss'. O'Neill's first drag performance was in 1989. He danced on stage in Japan with Cyndi Lauper during her 1994 Twelve Deadly Cyns Tour. O'Neill (in his Panti guise) regularly hosts the annual Dublin Pride celebrations, which take place in June every year. From 1996 to 2012, he hosted the annual Alternative Miss Ireland pageant. For a number of years, O'Neill (as Panti) hosted a weekly karaoke show, The Casting Couch, at The Front Lounge pub, Dublin. He occasionally appears as Panti at Shirley Temple Bar's weekly drag queen Bingo show in the Dublin gay bar The George. On 30 November 2007, he opened the self-titled 'Pantibar' at 7 Capel Street, Dublin. Later, he took over the nearby Pennylane cocktail bar in 2020 at 2 Great Strand Street. In 2023, he took part in the sixth series of Dancing with the Stars, partnered with Ukrainian dancer Denys Samson. He finished the competition in 6th place on 5 March. In 2024 O'Neill was the Grand Marshall of the London St Patrick's Day Parade.

Incidents

Comments about homophobia on RTÉ ("Pantigate")

On 11 January 2014, O'Neill appeared on RTÉ's The Saturday Night Show with Brendan O'Connor, where he and O'Connor discussed homophobia, and O'Neill alleged that some specific people involved in Irish journalism were homophobic. This became known as "Pantigate". Those mentioned threatened RTÉ and O'Neill with legal action. RTÉ subsequently removed that section of the interview from their online archive. On 25 January episode of the Saturday Night Show, O'Connor issued a public apology on behalf of RTÉ to those mentioned by O'Neill in the interview held two weeks previously. RTÉ paid €85,000 to those named by O'Neill. The payouts were later discussed by members of Oireachtas. The incident was also discussed in the European Parliament. with Irish MEP Paul Murphy, calling the payout "a real attack on the freedom of speech" and stating "When John Waters says that gay marriage is 'a kind of satire', that is homophobia. When Breda O’Brien says 'equality must take second place to the common good', that is homophobia. When the Iona Institute campaign against gay marriage because it is gay marriage, that is homophobia." RTÉ's head of television defended the €85,000 payout stating that it saved RTÉ "an absolute multiple" in the long term.

Noble Call Speech

On 1 February 2014, O'Neill (as Panti) gave a Noble Call speech at the Abbey Theatre in response to the events surrounding the RTÉ controversy, which garnered over 200,000 views in two days. the video has nearly 1 million views. The speech was described as "the most eloquent Irish speech" in almost 200 years by Fintan O'Toole and garnered the support of Dan Savage RuPaul, Graham Norton, Stephen Fry, Madonna, and others. T-shirts with "I'm on Team Panti" have been sold as a fundraiser for BeLonG To Youth Services, raising over €10,000. In March 2014, English electronic pop duo Pet Shop Boys released the speech, backed with their music, as "Oppressive (The Best Gay Possible)", they followed up with a "slow mix" of the track, and accompanying video with a "montage of homophobia-related clips". O'Neill later donated the dress he wore at the Noble Call to the National Museum of Ireland, where it was put on display about LGBTI+ history in Ireland.

Works

Theatre

Media

Film

Television

Radio

Music

Book

Coverage and recognition

Documentary

O'Neill and his alter ego Panti are the subject of a documentary about his early life, the events surrounding comments O'Neill made about homophobia and Panti's role during Ireland's successful campaign for marriage equality. Filmed over a number of years, the documentary was directed by Conor Horgan. The Queen of Ireland premiered on 21 October 2015, followed by its planned nationwide release in Ireland from 23 October 2015.

Awards