A unbelievable as it may seem, it was only 24 years ago that homosexuality was decriminalised in Ireland.

Up until 1993, gay men and women lived under the threat of persecution for being themselves, and a new documentary is aiming to shed light on the lives led by people in the LGBT community at the time.

A Different Country, a landmark documentary, is coming to RTÉ One on Wednesday June 21 at 9.35pm, and will chronicle some of these vital stories, from a time when the LGBT community was almost totally hidden.

Film makers recorded the personal recollections of those people who lived in Ireland when it was a crime to be gay.  

The documentary preserves the memories of those who lived in a time when to openly express one’s sexuality could result in job loss, ostracisation, physical attack and estrangement from family.

The harrowing film showcases the ways in which this community first mobilised to change the laws around homosexuality. 

We may have all celebrated at Dublin Castle barely two years ago, when the Marriage Equality Referendum secured equal marital rights for all Irish people, but a past in which persecution was a reality for many is not so far behind us.

This documentary is set to be a stark reminder of that, while preserving a dark part of Irish history.