gspain
29/05/2003, 12:42 PM
Sinn Fein are sponsoring Donaghamede Celtic - see report below from Sunday Times.
Frankly I think it is disgraceful to allow any political involvement in sport but particularly given SF/IRA's record on terrorism (aslbeit drastically reduced at the moment).
I'vwe written to the AUL to complain.
aul@clubi.ie
Hopefully it will be stopped like the attempt by the BNP in England to sponsor a club there. Imagine the outcry if some Loyalist terrorist group sponsored Linfield.
Sinn Fein plays political football
Scott Millar
SINN FEIN is getting shirty. Gerry Adams’s party is set to join Vodafone, O2 and Nike as football sponsors, putting its logo on the jerseys of a Dublin team.
Donaghmede Celtic will line out next season with the party logo and the name of a Sinn Fein local election candidate embossed across their traditional green and white hoops. Sinn Fein is paying the club more than €1,000 for the privilege.
Killian Forde, the Sinn Fein representative whose name will appear, said: “All political parties spend a large amount of money on leaflets and posters which end up as waste. This form of advertising not only gets the party name out there, but also helps fund an activity which is good for the well-being of the local community.”
Officially supporting a British game is a huge departure for the IRA’s political wing, but Forde says this was not an issue. “If these guys were playing tiddlywinks and it was good for the community and raised the party’s profile, we’d sponsor it,” he said.
The deal came about after the football club, which plays in Dublin’s premier amateur division, asked the party for financial support. John Joe Tealing, Donaghmede Celtic’s treasurer, said: “We really appreciate this move by Sinn Fein. There are not many grants out there for soccer clubs and we rely on sponsorship for jerseys, tracksuits and travel expenses. We see no problem with the fact that this deal is with a political party.
“The current sponsorship agreement is for one year but we hope that the relationship can develop. It’s good for the club and the 100 people directly associated with it.”
League officials do not share the club’s enthusiasm for this new form of political advertising, however. Michael Shakespeare, president of the Athletic Union League, said: “To the best of my knowledge there has never be a situation where a political party has had its name on a football team’s jersey either here, in Britain or anywhere else. The league is a non-political organisation. We are purely concerned with sport and anything like this that might confuse is, in my opinion, not welcome.”
Local politicians believe the sponsorship is divisive. Richard Bruton, a Fine Gael TD, said: “Politicians have helped teams in the past but none have had the neck to put their names on the jersey. This is bad for football. Sport is meant to bring people together.
“There are enough rows on the football field without adding a political dimension to it.”
Brian Hanley, a historian who has written about the republican movement, said Sinn Fein’s relationship with soccer has changed over the decades, along with its support.
“In the 1920s it was not uncommon for members of the IRA to be players in soccer teams,” Hanley said. “By the 1950s, Sinn Fein felt that the ban on playing so-called ‘foreign games’ of soccer and rugby did not go far enough and a member would have been expelled for taking part in them.
“A number of GAA teams have been involved with republican politics but Sinn Fein members are as likely as anyone else to be avid followers of British teams, such as Manchester United, Liverpool and, of course, Glasgow Celtic.”
Sinn Fein’s name has previously appeared on replica Glasgow Celtic jerseys, put there unofficially by supporters of the Scottish club who were eager to show their approval for the IRA’s political wing.
The Donaghmede jersey will be unveiled in time for the new season, which starts in July. Sinn Fein is in the process of redesigning its logo.
:mad: :mad: :mad:
Frankly I think it is disgraceful to allow any political involvement in sport but particularly given SF/IRA's record on terrorism (aslbeit drastically reduced at the moment).
I'vwe written to the AUL to complain.
aul@clubi.ie
Hopefully it will be stopped like the attempt by the BNP in England to sponsor a club there. Imagine the outcry if some Loyalist terrorist group sponsored Linfield.
Sinn Fein plays political football
Scott Millar
SINN FEIN is getting shirty. Gerry Adams’s party is set to join Vodafone, O2 and Nike as football sponsors, putting its logo on the jerseys of a Dublin team.
Donaghmede Celtic will line out next season with the party logo and the name of a Sinn Fein local election candidate embossed across their traditional green and white hoops. Sinn Fein is paying the club more than €1,000 for the privilege.
Killian Forde, the Sinn Fein representative whose name will appear, said: “All political parties spend a large amount of money on leaflets and posters which end up as waste. This form of advertising not only gets the party name out there, but also helps fund an activity which is good for the well-being of the local community.”
Officially supporting a British game is a huge departure for the IRA’s political wing, but Forde says this was not an issue. “If these guys were playing tiddlywinks and it was good for the community and raised the party’s profile, we’d sponsor it,” he said.
The deal came about after the football club, which plays in Dublin’s premier amateur division, asked the party for financial support. John Joe Tealing, Donaghmede Celtic’s treasurer, said: “We really appreciate this move by Sinn Fein. There are not many grants out there for soccer clubs and we rely on sponsorship for jerseys, tracksuits and travel expenses. We see no problem with the fact that this deal is with a political party.
“The current sponsorship agreement is for one year but we hope that the relationship can develop. It’s good for the club and the 100 people directly associated with it.”
League officials do not share the club’s enthusiasm for this new form of political advertising, however. Michael Shakespeare, president of the Athletic Union League, said: “To the best of my knowledge there has never be a situation where a political party has had its name on a football team’s jersey either here, in Britain or anywhere else. The league is a non-political organisation. We are purely concerned with sport and anything like this that might confuse is, in my opinion, not welcome.”
Local politicians believe the sponsorship is divisive. Richard Bruton, a Fine Gael TD, said: “Politicians have helped teams in the past but none have had the neck to put their names on the jersey. This is bad for football. Sport is meant to bring people together.
“There are enough rows on the football field without adding a political dimension to it.”
Brian Hanley, a historian who has written about the republican movement, said Sinn Fein’s relationship with soccer has changed over the decades, along with its support.
“In the 1920s it was not uncommon for members of the IRA to be players in soccer teams,” Hanley said. “By the 1950s, Sinn Fein felt that the ban on playing so-called ‘foreign games’ of soccer and rugby did not go far enough and a member would have been expelled for taking part in them.
“A number of GAA teams have been involved with republican politics but Sinn Fein members are as likely as anyone else to be avid followers of British teams, such as Manchester United, Liverpool and, of course, Glasgow Celtic.”
Sinn Fein’s name has previously appeared on replica Glasgow Celtic jerseys, put there unofficially by supporters of the Scottish club who were eager to show their approval for the IRA’s political wing.
The Donaghmede jersey will be unveiled in time for the new season, which starts in July. Sinn Fein is in the process of redesigning its logo.
:mad: :mad: :mad: