Lydia Foy facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Lydia Annice Foy
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Foy in 2015
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| Born | 23 June 1947 Midland Region, Ireland
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| Alma mater | University College Dublin (bachelors degree in dental surgery, 1971) |
| Occupation | Dentist (retired) |
| Known for | Transgender rights activism |
| Spouse(s) |
Anne Naughton
(m. 1977; separated 1991) |
Lydia Annice Foy is an Irish woman known for her important legal fight for transgender rights in Ireland. A transgender person is someone whose gender identity is different from the sex they were assigned at birth. In 1992, Lydia had surgery to help her live as a woman.
After her surgery, she began a long legal journey. She wanted her birth certificate to show her true gender identity. In 2007, an Irish court decided that the country's laws about gender recognition needed to change. Even though the law was not immediately updated, Lydia continued her fight. By July 2015, Ireland passed a new law called the Gender Recognition Bill 2014. This law made it easier for transgender people to have their gender legally recognized.
Contents
Early Life and Education
Lydia Foy is a retired dentist from Athy, County Kildare. She was born in the Midland Region of Ireland in 1947. She grew up with five brothers and one sister.
From a young age, Lydia felt that she was female. This feeling continued when she attended Clongowes Wood College from 1960 to 1965. After finishing school, she started studying medicine at University College Dublin. However, she soon changed her studies to dentistry. Lydia earned her degree in Dental Surgery in 1971 and began her career as a dentist.
Family Life and Marriage
In 1975, while living in Athlone, Lydia met Anne Naughton through a music group. Anne was a secretary from Clara, County Offaly. They got engaged and married on September 28, 1977, in Horseleap. They had two children, born in 1978 and 1980.
Lydia's Transition Journey
In the 1980s, Lydia started having health challenges. These problems became very difficult in 1989. She sought help from doctors and was diagnosed as a transsexual. This means she was a person whose gender identity was different from the sex she was assigned at birth. She began hormone treatment and received further medical advice.
Lydia then started the process of transitioning from male to female. This included various medical procedures. On July 25, 1992, she had sex reassignment surgery in England. The Irish Eastern Health Board helped pay for part of the surgery.
After her surgery, Lydia lived fully as a woman. She had moved out of her family home in 1990. She and her former wife separated in 1991. Lydia legally changed her first names in November 1993. She was able to get a new passport, driving license, and other official documents with her new name. However, her request to change the sex on her birth certificate was refused.
First Legal Battle for Recognition
| Foy v An t-Ard Chláraitheoir | |
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| Court | High Court of Ireland |
| Full case name | Foy -v- An t-Ard Chláraitheoir, Ireland and the Attorney General |
| Decided | 19 October 2007 |
| Citation(s) | [2007] IEHC 470 |
| Case history | |
| Prior action(s) | Foy v. An t-Ard Chlaraitheoir & Ors [2002] IEHC 116 |
| Court membership | |
| Judge(s) sitting | Liam McKechnie |
In April 1997, Lydia Foy started legal action. She challenged the government's refusal to give her a new birth certificate. She was helped by a group called Free Legal Advice Centres. Lydia argued that the law used to register births did not allow for changes based on a person's gender identity. She felt that the error on her birth certificate was embarrassing. She also believed it could affect her rights, such as her right to marry a man.
The case went to the High Court in October 2000. Lydia's former wife and their daughters disagreed with her request. They were concerned it might affect their legal rights.
The court made its decision on July 9, 2002. Justice Liam McKechnie rejected Lydia's request. He stated that based on medical evidence, she was born male. Therefore, the birth registration could not be changed. However, he also expressed concern for transgender people in Ireland. He urged the government to look into the matter quickly.
Second Legal Battle and European Influence
Just two days after the decision in Lydia's case, a similar case was heard in Europe. The European Court of Human Rights in Strasbourg heard the case of Christine Goodwin. She was a British transgender woman. She argued that the UK's refusal to change her birth certificate and allow her to marry as a female was against her human rights.
The European Court agreed with Christine Goodwin. They said the UK government had violated her rights. Because of this, Britain passed the Gender Recognition Act 2004. This law allowed transgender people to have their new gender legally recognized. It also allowed them to get new birth certificates.
In 2005, Lydia Foy's case was sent back to the Irish High Court. Ireland had passed a new law in 2003 to follow European human rights rules more closely. Relying on this, Lydia applied for a new birth certificate again in November 2005. When it was refused, she started new legal action in January 2006. She referred to the European Court's decision in the Goodwin case.
On October 19, 2007, the court ruled in Lydia's favor. The court found that Ireland was not following the European Convention on Human Rights. Justice Liam McKechnie said that Lydia's right to a private life had been violated. He stated that the government had failed to properly recognize her female identity. He also showed frustration that the Irish government had not done anything to help transgender people since his first judgment in 2002.
Impact on Irish Law
Even though the court made a ruling, no new law was immediately passed. The court's decision meant that Irish law did not match European law. This put pressure on the government to make changes.
On January 5, 2009, Thomas Hammarberg, a Human Rights Commissioner, spoke about Lydia Foy's case. He said there was no reason to delay giving transgender people their full human rights.
Government Response
Initially, the Irish government challenged the 2007 court ruling. However, on June 21, 2010, the Irish Government dropped its appeal. They then created a committee to look into the legal recognition of transgender people. This committee's report was published in July 2011. It recommended creating a law to recognize transgender people.
The Minister for Social Protection, Joan Burton, said the government would introduce this law as soon as possible. However, by February 2013, no law had been introduced.
Third Legal Action
On February 27, 2013, Free Legal Advice Centres, representing Lydia Foy, announced new legal action. Lydia went back to the Irish High Court. She asked the court to order the government to act on the 2007 judgment. She wanted to finally get a new birth certificate that recognized her as female.
Other Notable Achievements
In 1997, Lydia Foy grew the world's largest foxglove flower in her garden.
In 2011, a documentary about her life was broadcast on RTÉ Radio 1. It was called My name is Lydia Foy.
See also
- LGBT rights in the Republic of Ireland
