A fragment of San Francisco’s original 1978 rainbow Pride flag will go on display in Cork, Ireland for four months this summer, coinciding with the opening of the local public museum’s first permanent exhibition dedicated to LGBTQ history.

The last remnant of the original rainbow Pride flag created in San Francisco in 1978 is headed overseas for the first time, with the historic artifact set to go on display at Cork Public Museum in Ireland for four months, as LGBTQ Nation reports. The loan, arranged between Cork officials and the GLBT Historical Society Museum, marks the first time the flag has ever been exhibited outside the United States.

The GLBT Historical Society received the flag through the original designer Gilbert Baker's estate in 2021, as SFist reported at the time. The remnant is believed to be the only surviving piece of one of two original 30-by-60-foot flags first raised at San Francisco’s United Nations Plaza during the 1978 Gay Freedom Day Parade.

“People all around the world, it’s San Francisco they look to, the birthplace of the flag when they look to find that symbol of hope,” said Charles Beal, a longtime friend of Baker’s, at the remnant’s unveiling at the GLBT Historical Society Museum in 2021.

According to the LGBTQ History Project, more than 30 volunteers reportedly helped dye and stitch the massive flags in the attic of San Francisco's Gay Community Center, including artist and costume designer Lynn Segerblom, then known as Faerie Argyle Rainbow, who developed the original dyeing process and played a central role in producing the flags by hand.

Baker later reportedly modified the design for mass production, dropping the hot pink and teal stripes because those fabrics were difficult to source commercially.

LGBTQ Nation explains that in the decades since, the flag has continued to evolve through the work of numerous artists and activists, with newer designs such as the Progress Pride Flag incorporating additional colors and symbols to recognize communities that have historically been marginalized within the broader LGBTQ movement, including transgender people, queer people of color, and intersex people.

Officials in Cork said the flag exhibit coincides with the opening of the museum's first permanent exhibition dedicated to LGBTQ history, an effort aimed at expanding public access while preserving the stories of communities long overlooked in historical narratives.

“The Rainbow Flag’s importance extends far beyond any one museum, city, or nation — our shared history belongs to all of us, regardless of borders,” said GLBT Historical Society Executive Director Roberto Ordeñana in a release. “This international collaboration reaffirms our commitment to keeping LGBTQ+ history visible and accessible to all and sharing global solidarity during a moment when the most vulnerable among our LGBTQ community face increased attacks and erasure all around the world.”

Previously: The Original Pride Flag Has Returned to San Francisco

Image: Twitter via @WendyLRouse