Panti Bliss

Rory O'Neill, known by his stage name Panti or Panti Bliss, is a distinguished Irish drag queen and prominent gay rights activist from Ballinrobe, County Mayo, Ireland. Beyond his notable status as a leading drag queen in Ireland, Panti has also made significant contributions to LGBT rights advocacy. From 1996 to 2012, Panti hosted the annual Alternative Miss Ireland pageant and continues to be a regular host of the annual Dublin Pride celebrations.

Over the years, Panti has also taken on the role of a host for a weekly karaoke show, The Casting Couch, at The Front Lounge pub in Dublin. Panti occasionally graces Shirley Temple Bar's weekly drag queen Bingo show in the Dublin gay bar, The George. On the 30th of November in 2007, he launched his own self-titled 'Pantibar' in Dublin. Furthermore, Panti has made appearances on a variety of television shows such as "Nighthawks," "The Saturday Night Show," and "Dancing with the Stars." His most notable TV moment was during an appearance on RTÉ's "The Saturday Night Show," where he discussed homophobia in an incident widely known as "Pantigate."

Known alternatively as 'Pandora Panti Bliss,' Panti has a rich performance history that includes dancing on stage in Japan with Cyndi Lauper during her 1994 Twelve Deadly Cyns Tour. In the wake of the RTÉ controversy, Panti delivered a Noble Call speech at the Abbey Theatre, which quickly went viral and garnered over 200,000 views in two days. The speech also received prominent support from individuals such as Dan Savage, RuPaul, Graham Norton, Stephen Fry, Madonna, and others. Panti's dress from this speech was later donated to the National Museum of Ireland.

In addition to his work on stage and screen, Panti has written and performed in several works, including "In These Shoes?," "All Dolled Up," "A Woman In Progress," "High Heels in Low Places," and others. He has also been featured in the documentary "The Queen of Ireland" and runs a radio show called "Pantisocracy" on RTÉ Radio 1. Panti's book, "Woman in the Making," was published by Hachette Books Ireland in 2014.

Panti has received numerous awards for his significant contributions to public discourse, LGBT rights, and Irish society. These include 'Business Person of the Year' at the Gay and Lesbian Awards in 2009, the 'Best Blog Post' at the Irish Blog Awards in 2010, Attitude's Editor's Special Award in 2014, and the Equality Award presented by the European Law Students Association of Trinity College Dublin in 2014. He was also honored with a James Joyce Award and an honorary degree from Trinity College Dublin in 2015 for his work in promoting LGBT rights and marriage equality.