From the diaspora to our boys in green – Make us proud, stop the game

Formula One / 23 September 2026 Hamilton ‘hopes’ Middle East finale goes ahead despite conflict 23 September 2026 Men’s Football / 23 September 2026 MLS club sack coach after ‘this is a man’s game’ remark to female referee 23 September 2026 Women’s Football / 23 September 2026 Champions League returns as City rally from two down 23 September 2026 Round-up / 23 September 2026 Sport in brief: September 23 2026 23 September 2026 Snippets of news from the sporting world with JAMIE J

From Steve Staunton to Shane McGowan, from the terraces of Celtic Park to Ruislip, for many here in Britain the fact that our feet happen to stand outside Ireland’s isle has never dampened our pride in our Irish identity.

Some of us are “just off the boat,” some of us born here and grew up with shamrocks on our chests where our classmates had three lions or saltires.

Some might be here for just a fleeting spell, some settling but with distant plans of returning, or some that have accepted that their lives will end on this side of the Irish Sea.

One shared experience we all have, however, is the nights spent gathered around in sitting rooms and Irish bars with family, friends and fellow wanderers to add more distant voices that push on our boys in Green.

The highs of that night in Budapest or that morning in Japan to the lows that didn’t shake our grá. Core memories, having that little piece of home for 90 minutes, and for the verses of lonely Athenry fields that follow.

Proud of who we are, proud of where we come from, proud of our Boys in Green. This Sunday though, for the first time this won’t be true.

How can we shout on as if it was any other game when our opponents represent a country that has destroyed every football pitch in Gaza, that has teams on stolen land in the West Bank and with players who openly support a genocidal army.

We cannot. We will not. We will not ignore the calls of the Palestinian FA, the Palestinian people or the thousands around Ireland who have raised their voices demanding that the game is stopped, the athletes and artists who have used their platform or withdrawn from tours for humanity’s sake.  

Over here in Britain we’ve remembered our history, marched, organised and raised our voices against an oppressor as if they were keeping our people down — because often they do.

This should not rest on your shoulders — Fifa, Uefa and the Football Association of Ireland have all failed to apply their own standards and basic human dignity.

This injustice however is one that you have the opportunity to remedy, an opportunity that very little of us will ever have.

When the players meet on Friday morning, hopefully after a victory in Pristina, we ask you to remember the thousands at home that wear the green and have made their voices clear.

We ask you to remember all those here in Britain who proudly wear the green in a sea of red, white and blue.

We ask you to remember the children of Gaza whose dreams are of surviving tomorrow as they dribble a ball around the ruins of their homes.

Make us prouder than ever. Make the right choice. Stop The Game.

Cathal Ó Gaillín - Donegal / AberdeenTommy Campbell - Fermanagh / Aberdeen & President Aberdeen TUCJames McLelland - Armagh / Hereford & Secretary Leominster & Hereford RMT Ruairí Lennon - Antrim / ManchesterSiddharth Pandey – Derry / CardiffConor Woods – Tyrone / GlasgowDamien McGrane – Armagh / EdinburghChris Cullen – Dublin / EdinburghRachel Fleming – Cavan / ScotlandPat Cremin Kerry / GlasgowRachel Kelly – Donegal / East Kilbride Ferghal Molloy – Donegal / AberdeenBarra Ó Fianna – Armagh / DundeeJospeh McMonagle – Tipperary / CoventryBenjamin Little – Donegal / Shrewsbury & RMT RepElla Kenny – Dublin / Birmingham Patrick Kenny – Cork / BirminghamKyle Du Heaume – Dublin / Hereford & Chair Hereford Palestine Solidarity CampaignElizabeth Kenny – Roscommon / BirminghamMartin Kenny – Cork / BirminghamEileen Larvin – Kerry / Oxford & RMT RepJoe Ryan – Armagh / WakefieldShaneagh Moriarty – Antrim / HerefordVictoria Marie Holmes – Laois / LiverpoolGerrard Gough – Meath / GlasgowGretta Connell – Longford / AberdeenJames Connolly League

All above signees with positions named are signing in a personal capacity.