Mayo IPSC vow to continue protest until GAA drop Allianz as sponsor

THE Mayo branch of the Ireland Palestine Solidarity Campaign (IPSC) held a protest outside MacHale Park in Castlebar on Sunday, ahead of the Allianz National Football League fixture between Mayo and Dublin.

Protesters gathered to call on the GAA to end its sponsorship relationship with Allianz, citing the company’s financial links to Israel’s genocide in Gaza. And they have vowed to continue their protest until the GAA drops Allianz as a sponsor.

The protest was organised by the Mayo IPSC to raise awareness among GAA supporters about Allianz’s role as title sponsor of the National League. Protesters, many of whom are themselves GAA supporters, joined similar actions taking place at games across the country this weekend and in recent weeks.

“We’re highlighting why Allianz is in the spotlight at the moment for all the wrong reasons,” said Aoife Durkan of the Mayo branch of the IPSC. “We’re calling on the GAA to drop Allianz.”

Said the Swinford woman: “Allianz is the title sponsor of our game, so it’s very relevant to this situation, and to the league today.

“The GAA is a fantastic organisation developed from the grassroots up. Its ethos and values are rooted in community, integrity, respect, and justice - all completely at odds with sponsorship linked to genocide.”

She pointed to the recent UN report From Economy of Occupation to Economy of Genocide, which identifies corporate entities enabling and profiting from Israel’s actions in Gaza.

“The damning evidence in that report obliges the GAA, as a corporate entity, to promptly cease all business activities contributing to international crimes against the Palestinian people,” she said.

Protesters also highlighted the devastating impact of the genocide on children.

“The GAA does so much for children throughout this country, yet we think of the tens of thousands of children who have been killed in Gaza,” Ms. Durkan said.

“There should not exist a hint of any link between the GAA and the appalling human rights abuses currently being inflicted on the Palestinian people.”

During the protest, campaigners handed out information leaflets to supporters attending the match. Supporters were asked to bring this information to their local clubs to be raised at county board level, to share the Drop Allianz campaign on social media, to boycott Allianz, and to let the GAA know: Our Games. Our Values. Drop Allianz Now.

Protesters received great support and words of encouragement from Mayo and Dublin supporters alike and were even joined by Dubs for Palestine supporters on the day.

Mayo IPSC also referenced commentary by former GAA manager and Sunday Independent columnist Colm O’Rourke, who wrote this weekend:

“It goes back to what the ethos, or ethics, of the GAA should be about - respect, tolerance, inclusiveness, loyalty, and honour. None of these things apply in the Gaza occupation, nor with the companies who profit from it and are not called out.”

The Mayo branch of the IPSC says it will continue to protest and raise the issue with GAA supporters and officials until Allianz is dropped as a sponsor.

Ten counties passed motions calling for the GAA to cut ties with Allianz, but in December the association's management committee decided to maintain the sponsorship agreement.

In a statement, Allianz plc said Allianz SE is not an investor in Israeli government bonds.

"References to bond holdings relate to PIMCO, an asset manager within the wider Allianz Group that manages assets on behalf of third-party clients.

"Allianz Ireland/Allianz plc does not hold Israeli government bonds."