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 trans woman. She is famous for leading legal challenges about gender recognition in Ireland. In 1992, Lydia had surgery to align her body with her gender identity. She then spent 20 years fighting to have her birth certificate show her true gender identity.
In 2007, the Irish High Court decided that parts of Irish law did not follow the European Convention on Human Rights. However, the law was not changed right away. By 2013, Lydia started new legal steps to make sure the 2007 decision was followed. As of July 15, 2015, Ireland passed a new law called the Gender Recognition Bill 2014. This law helps transgender people get legal recognition.
Contents
Early Life and Education
Lydia Foy is a retired dentist from Athy, County Kildare. She was born in the Midland Region of Ireland. Lydia grew up with five brothers and one sister.
From a young age, Lydia felt like a girl. This feeling continued when she attended Clongowes Wood College from 1960 to 1965. After finishing school, Lydia began studying medicine at University College Dublin. A year later, she switched to dentistry.
Lydia earned her degree in Dental Surgery in 1971. She then started her career as a dentist.
Family Life
In 1975, Lydia met Anne Naughton in Athlone through a music group. Anne was a secretary from Clara, County Offaly. She was eight years younger than Lydia.
They got engaged and married on September 28, 1977. Their wedding took place at the Church of Saints Peter and Paul in Horseleap. Lydia and Anne had two children together. One child was born in 1978, and the other in 1980.
Gender Transition Journey
In the 1980s, Lydia began to experience physical and emotional difficulties. These problems became very serious in 1989. She sought help from psychiatrists. They diagnosed her with gender dysphoria. This is a feeling of distress when a person's gender identity does not match the sex they were assigned at birth. Lydia was prescribed hormone treatment.
Lydia then began her journey to live as a woman. This included electrolysis (hair removal), and voice surgery. On July 25, 1992, Lydia had full sex reassignment surgery in Brighton, England. The Irish Eastern Health Board helped pay for part of the surgery.
After her surgery, Lydia lived completely as a female. She had left her family home in 1990. A legal separation from her wife was granted 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 Court Case 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 |
Lydia Foy started legal action in April 1997. She wanted to challenge the government's refusal to give her a new birth certificate. She was helped by Free Legal Advice Centres. Lydia argued that the law used only biological signs at birth to decide a person's sex. She believed this was wrong for her.
Lydia said that the incorrect sex on her birth certificate was embarrassing. It also stopped her from having certain legal rights, like marrying a man.
The case went to the High Court in October 2000. On July 9, 2002, Justice Liam McKechnie rejected Lydia's request. He said that based on medical evidence, Lydia was born male. Therefore, her birth registration could not be changed. However, he also said he was worried about the situation for transgender people in Ireland. He asked the government to look into the matter urgently.
Second Court Case and European Influence
Just two days after the decision against Lydia Foy, the European Court of Human Rights in Strasbourg heard a similar case. This case involved Christine Goodwin, a British transgender woman. She argued that the UK's refusal to let her change her birth certificate and marry as a female was against the European Convention on Human Rights.
The European Court ruled that the UK government had broken parts of the convention. Because of this, Britain passed the Gender Recognition Act 2004. This law allowed transgender people to be legally recognized in their new gender. 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 make the European Convention on Human Rights more effective in Irish law. Using this, Lydia applied for a new birth certificate in November 2005. When it was rejected, she started new legal action in January 2006. She referred to the Goodwin decision from the European Court.
On October 19, 2007, the High 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 State had failed to give "meaningful recognition" to her female identity. He also expressed frustration that the Irish government had done nothing to help transgender people since his 2002 judgment.
Impact on Irish Law
Even though the issue had been discussed in parliament, no new law was made. The court's ruling meant that Irish law did not match European law. This put pressure on the government to change Irish laws to agree with European rules.
On January 5, 2009, Thomas Hammarberg, the Human Rights Commissioner for the Council of Europe, spoke about the transgender community. He said there was "no excuse for not immediately granting this community their full and unconditional human rights."
Government Response
At first, the Irish Government challenged the 2007 court ruling. However, on June 21, 2010, they dropped their appeal. They then set up a committee to look into the legal recognition of transgender people.
This committee's report was published in July 2011. It suggested that new laws should be made to recognize transgender people. The Minister for Social Protection, Joan Burton, said the government would introduce these laws as soon as possible. But by February 2013, no new laws had been introduced.
Continued 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 Achievements
In 1997, Lydia Foy grew the world's largest foxglove flower in her garden.
In 2011, she was the subject of a documentary on RTÉ Radio 1. The documentary was called My name is Lydia Foy.
See also
- LGBT rights in the Republic of Ireland
