This week, Europe had a small taste of Zionism on the streets of Amsterdam.
The thugs of Maccabi Tel Aviv were tearing down the flag of the people they oppress and singing sings of genocide.
Remind you of anyone?
A comrade of mine here in Dún na nGall observed, “Just imagine having THAT as a neighbour!”
Given our history on this island, it isn’t surprising that the cause of Palestine resonates so strongly in Ireland.
It is an open secret that the Israeli state considers any lobbying efforts here to be essentially futile.
Resistance to colonialism can take many forms.
Sometimes, it is enough just to be yourself as the powerful stranger tries to extinguish your very essence as a people.
Ken Loach’s iconic movie, The Wind That Shakes The Barley, opens with a scene where young lads are playing a game of hurling.
Then the Tans turned up.
Bad neighbours…
For the Brits, Gaelic games and even the humble hurl itself was a symbol of native rebellion against their foreign rule.
The Volunteers, often without enough rifles to equip a flying column, trained and drilled with them.
It is no coincidence that the Brits, reeling from the stunning IRA victory on the morning of November 21 1920, later that day took their anger out on the crowd at Croke Park.
These words blink to life under the gaze of some hurlers from 1940s Mayo.
In the back row, there’s an earnest young fella, determination looking out of him, the third player in from the left.
That’s my father.
By that time, the Tans had gone from there.
Gone but not forgotten.
Lest we forget and all that…
Solidarity with those experiencing oppression can take many forms.
It’s an all of the above approach.
The struggle against the Zionist oppression of the Palestinian people is the anti-Apartheid movement of this century.
What I wish to share with you now is, in my opinion, a brilliant effort to connect the cause of Ireland with the struggle of the Palestinian people.
Like many strands of the Irish story, it originates in our own diaspora.
The following statement is from GAA Palestine, and I’m happy to share it with you, dear reader.
Full disclosure: Stephen Redmond, mentioned therein, is a friend and comrade of your humble correspondent.
I’m not neutral in this matter and, dear reader, neither should you.
GAA Palestine.
This year, 2024, will be remembered as the year GAA took hold in Palestine and began its incredible growth. GAA Palestine took shape from a small group of Irishmen and
women who saw that. A New Dawn for Gaelic Games in the West Bank. It all started in January 2024, with an Irish man living in England, deciding he just couldn’t sit and do
nothing anymore about what was happening in Palestine.
So, Stephen Redmond hastily packed a bag and stuffed an Irish tricolour, hidden as best he could, into his case, bade farewell to his wife and children, and set off to a war-torn
Palestine. When finally, with some difficulty, getting to the West Bank, Stephen quickly convinced some people there of his genuine concern and his desire to help the people suffering as they were.
When asked why, he told them about Ireland and its tragic history under oppressive colonisation. It was then, in Ramallah, that Stephen had his inspiration and the vision
of bringing the spirit of Gaelic games to the heart of the West Bank.
Rather like a man possessed with this one burning desire to help and bring hope with hurl and a sliotar, or a ball, he would bring the spirit of Ireland in the form of his
country’s cultural sports there.
He knew he had to bring Gaelic games to Palestine and give hope to the beleaguered, oppressed people there.
How to do it may be another matter.
Soon after returning to London, he was lucky enough to bump into an old Irish friend on a Palestine march, Denis Grace, who he knew from years before, who had been a longstanding worker for Irish human rights, and passionate about Irish culture.
When Stephen told Denis his vision, he was on board with enthusiasm.
From there, step by step, others came forward to help, and soon, the group, now named “GAA Palestine” took real shape in the shape of a simple WhatsApp group.
Within a couple of months, on board was now Irish Sports for Palestine, Gaels against Genocide, Dubs for Palestine and many other supporters who joined ranks with GAA
Palestine to bring it to the level it has reached and continues to grow. This includes such professional advisors as: Ken McCue, Director of ‘Dr Harry Edwards International
Foundation on Sport for Social Change’, and Perry Ogden of ‘Sports Against Racism Ireland’. With contacts now in the Palestinian Olympic Committee and the Palestinian
Football Association, it appears that much is yet to come.
Ramallah Hurling Club, was the first to be launched, being initially coached on the ground in the West Bank by Clare Liddy who had travelled from Ireland with much needed equipment donated by a generous club.
Building on this success and joined by other members of the organising committee, including Noel Daly, Paula Sands and Mariam Kiely interest, the organisation has now
established itself firmly, and the name and the mission plan are generating lots of social and media attention.
Clare woman Claire Liddy, a committee member of GAA Palestine, is a social care worker and humanitarian volunteer. She explained how this project is vital in so many
ways:
“ I am a great believer in play therapy and distraction with the children, and they are resilient. You could not imagine what they have to endure on a daily basis, what they are living through,” she said.
The Ramallah club is now proudly boasting 28 passionate members who have embraced the sport with enthusiasm and determination. The coach is a local man.
This club represents not just a team but a beacon of hope, community, and empowerment, providing a safe space for young people to learn, grow, and compete in a supportive environment.
Please give what you can.
whydonate.com/en/fundraising/
They can be contacted on X @GAA_Palestine
draw down’
I am as passionate and saddened as any of my ilk about the carnage and terrible suffering of the Irish people. The one thing that I cannot agree on is the conflict in the middle east…The difference with these two tragedies though is as such….
The Irish were never ever a threat to the Brits and only took up arms to protect themselves.
Hezbollah and Hamas would do the exact same to Israel given the resources the Jew has….I cannot take a side here in a conflict that has biblical history…This world will never see peace no matter how hard we try to avoid war and the terrible consequences put upon the ordinary citizens..😪
I’d agree, apart from the genocide thingy.
There is a world of difference between the historical struggles in Ireland and the present ones in the Middle East.
Neither were/are an acceptable part of victims lives.
🇵🇸🇱🇧🇮🇪🍀🤍
Alas, with Trump re-elected, I’m sure we can look forward to a doubling down on genocide, and amplification of attempts to spread it to Lebanon and further afield .
Trump has already stated he wants to see a draw in funding by America and has demanded that the other NATO Nations take up the slack as America does so.
He is far more concerned about the financial state of the US than increasing its involvement in Wars many ,many thousands of miles from American shores.
Either people aren’t or weren’t listening to him or their ears have shut down whenever his name is mentioned.
I’ve said this before Jim Trump is many things to many people but a war mongering psycho isn’t one of them.
Now could you say that about Bush or Obama?
The US after inflation is pending more now on Defence that it did during the Cold War period.
If you think the only plausible alternative to Trump was going to secure peace in Ukraine or the Middle East then sorry again you haven’t been paying attention.
As for slow Joe well he was signing paperwork that may as well have been written in Klingon hieroglyphs.
Let’s hope history isn’t kind to the aggressors in this humanitarian outrage