David Patrick Bernard Norris (born 31 July 1944) is an Irish scholar, former independent Senator, and civil rights activist. Internationally, Norris is credited with having "managed, almost single-handedly, to overthrow the anti-homosexuality law which brought about the downfall of Oscar Wilde", a feat he achieved in 1988 after a fourteen-year campaign. He has also been credited with being "almost single-handedly responsible for rehabilitating James Joyce in once disapproving Irish eyes".
Norris is a former university lecturer and was a member of the Oireachtas, serving in Seanad Éireann from 1987 to 2024. He was the first openly gay person to be elected to public office in Ireland. A founder of the Campaign for Homosexual Law Reform, he is also a prominent member of the Protestant Church of Ireland.
He was a candidate for President of Ireland in the 2011 election. He topped multiple opinion polls and was favourite among members of the Irish public for the position but withdrew from the race months before the election, before returning to the race in September 2011. In January 2024 he retired from the Seanad after 36 years service, making him the longest serving senator in Irish history.
Early and personal life David Norris was born in Léopoldville in the Belgian Congo, now known as Kinshasa, capital of the Democratic Republic of Congo, where his father (John Norris) worked as chief engineer for Lever Brothers. John Norris served in the British Armed Forces during World War I and World War II; he died while Norris was still a child. David Norris was then sent to Ireland to be cared for by his mother, Aida Fitzpatrick, and her extended family.
...while, on hearing his dad had died, he "had to squeeze out tears" because they were never that close, the death of his mother, was "totally heartbreaking".
"It destroyed my sense of reality," he adds, now. "This was somebody I loved who was there one minute, then the next minute she was gone."
After first meeting in 1975, Norris was in a long-term relationship with Israeli activist Ezra Nawi for a number of years until 1985. They continued a platonic friendship after that. In a Today FM interview with Matt Cooper in Summer 2011 Norris said (paraphrasing) "nowadays people think of a romantic relationship as a sexual one and Ezra and myself have not had that kind of relationship since the 1980s."
Education and academic career Norris attended school at St. Andrew's College and The High School. He then entered Trinity College Dublin, to read for the degree of B.A. in English Literature and Language, where he was elected a Foundation Scholar in 1965 in that subject before achieving a 1st Class Moderatorship in 1967 and editing Icarus, the university literary magazine. He remained at Trinity as a lecturer and college tutor between 1968 and 1996. His love of James Joyce is borne out in Dublin's annual Bloomsday celebrations. He defended Joyce's novel Ulysses when writer Roddy Doyle said it was "overlong, overrated and unmoving", calling Doyle a "foolish" and "moderate talent". He speaks Irish and Hebrew.
After contracting the water-borne variation of hepatitis while visiting Central Europe in 1994, Norris received disability payments from a private income continuance insurer worth thousands of euros over 16 years, from a Trinity College insurance policy. Norris left his role as a lecturer after Trinity College authorities said the situation arising from his illness was "untenable", although he remained an elected senator. Norris was hospitalised and was seriously ill for a time as a result of the condition.
Campaigning and activism Norris was initially one of a number of Irish individuals to aid in the formation of the International Gay Association in Coventry, England in 1978, and was a founding member of the Irish Gay Rights Movement and the National Gay Federation.
Norris took the Attorney General to the High Court over the criminalisation of homosexual acts. His claim was based on the fact that the law infringed on his right to privacy and that since the introduction of the Constitution of Ireland, the law passed under British rule became repugnant to the constitution. The High Court ruled against Norris. He appealed his case to the Supreme Court of Ireland.Lacey, Brian (2008) Terrible Queer Creatures: Homosexuality in Irish History. Dublin In 1983 (in Norris v. Attorney General), the Supreme Court upheld the constitutionality of the law by a three to two verdict.
Having lost the Supreme Court case, Norris took his case to the European Court of Human Rights (see Norris v. Ireland). In 1988, the European Court ruled that the law criminalising same-sex activities was contrary to the European Convention on Human Rights, in particular Article 8 which protects the right to respect for private life. The law was held to infringe on the right of adults to engage in acts of their own choice.Norris v. Ireland – 10581/83 (European Court of Human Rights)
This law was repealed in 1993.
Norris has since then expanded his activism to a concept of "universal rights".
Political career Senator (1987 to 2024) Norris represented the Dublin University constituency in the Seanad as an independent. He was first elected to the Seanad in 1987, and was re-elected at each election until his resignation in 2024. On 14 November 2023, he announced in an interview with Trinity News that he would retire in January 2024. He resigned from the Seanad in January 2024, and received tributes from president Michael D. Higgins and taoiseach Leo Varadkar delivered to the cathaoirleach. On his retirement, he was the longest-serving senator in Irish history.
2011 presidential campaign
Entry In March 2011, Norris announced his intention to run in the 2011 Irish presidential election. Facebook support for a presidential bid drew comparisons with Barack Obama's campaign for the American presidency. Norris topped multiple opinion polls as the person most Irish people would like to see as their next president (with the caveat that these polls were taken before all candidates have declared). Internal research by Fine Gael also placed Norris ahead of all other potential candidates.
On 14 March 2011, Norris launched his campaign to secure a nomination. On 9 May 2011, he was nominated by Fingal County Council. By the end of that month, he had secured the support of 6 TDs. Fine Gael ordered its councillors to block Norris's nomination. In late May, controversial comments Norris allegedly made in 2002 were raised on a talk radio show. Norris called this an attempt to "sabotage" his campaign. He said the quotes had been taken out of context.
Norris's candidacy was endorsed by British actor and writer Stephen Fry, who said Ireland "couldn't have a more intelligent passionate and knowledgeable witty or committed President".
In late July, it was revealed that Norris had written a letter in 1997 to an Israeli court asking clemency for his former partner Ezra Nawi, who had been convicted of the statutory rape of a 15-year-old Palestinian boy but was awaiting sentencing. Norris's letter, written on parliamentary notepaper, said that Nawi had been lured into a "carefully prepared trap" and had unwisely pleaded guilty to the charges. The story was publicised by a pro-Israel blogger John Connolly. Connolly stated that he had received a tip from "someone in the trade union movement". A number of people resigned from Norris's campaign team. While Norris himself said he remained committed to his campaign, he admitted that it was now "in serious trouble". It was claimed by some that these allegations, complete with Norris's subsequent defence of his comments on pederasty in ancient Greece would seriously damage his chances of securing a nomination. Norris refuted this, saying he still expected to receive a nomination, and the controversy did not affect his poll standings.
Withdrawal As of 22 July, Norris had secured the support of 15 of the 20 members of the Oireachtas required for a nomination. On 1 August, the Independent TDs John Halligan, Finian McGrath and Thomas Pringle announced that they were withdrawing their support for Norris over the revelations of the Nawi plea. However, several other TDs re-iterated their support for Norris in his bid to become president. Maureen O'Sullivan, TD referred to a "nasty campaign" when expressing her continued support for Norris. Wicklow TD Stephen Donnelly said he believed it was wrong for Norris to have used Oireachtas headed notepaper, while Mick Wallace, TD said he believed Norris should not have sent the plea. Both Donnelly and Wallace also reaffirmed their support for Norris. Norris expressed his desire to continue his campaign for president. However, on 2 August, Norris announced at a press conference held at his home that he was withdrawing from the presidential race.
Re-entry
Despite withdrawing from the presidential race in July 2011, Norris retained significant public support. A poll taken a week later showed him leading with 40% first-preference support and 50% indicating they would vote for him. In early September, over 1,000 signatures were collected in Galway in 12 hours, with similar support reported in Cork. A petition of 10,000 signatures was presented outside Leinster House shortly afterwards. Norris announced his return to the race on The Late Late Show on 16 September; a Sunday Independent/Millward Brown Lansdowne poll two days later showed him at 34% support.
Norris initially fell two Oireachtas members short of nomination but secured backing from four county councils (Fingal, Laois, Waterford and Dublin City), allowing his entry. He was helped by Labour candidate Michael D. Higgins, who encouraged party colleagues to support Norris "in the interests of democracy". Norris personally phoned Higgins to express his thanks.
By late September, Norris had four times as many Twitter followers as any other candidate.
In the first debate, on RTÉ News at One, Norris stated he would have no issue visiting Israel or meeting Pope Benedict XVI. Amid scrutiny of rivals' financial disclosures, Norris confirmed he had no stocks, shares, or directorships. He formally re-launched his campaign at the Dublin Writers Museum on 5 October 2011.
Ultimately, Norris came fifth of seven candidates in the election, receiving 109,469 (6.2%) first preference votes.
Views In 2003, Norris' website listed his concerns as "Human Rights Issues, Foreign Policy, Immigration/Asylum, European Union, Luas/Metro".
He owns a Georgian house in North Great George's Street in Dublin, he is a member of the Irish Georgian Society and is an active campaigner for the preservation of Georgian buildings in the Republic of Ireland. He has spent many of his own earnings on restoring his own home "room by room". He has campaigned for the transfer of the Abbey Theatre (National Theatre of Ireland) to the GPO in the centre of O'Connell Street. Norris is also a well-known Joycean scholar and plays a large part in Dublin's annual Bloomsday celebrations.
Norris believes himself to be an "outsider" of "accepted society" and claims this gives him a heightened awareness of other minority or "outsider" groups. He says he wishes society to become more accepting of diversity. He has campaigned on mental health and child abuse issues.
When questioned on drug legalisation he said:
The blunt instrument of criminalisation is not working because of the vast profits it generates for organised crime ... my view is that the welfare of the community, including the victims of drug abuse, may be better served by having access to quality-controlled, legally prescribed drugs.