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LAST UPDATE | 30 mins ago
GAA PRESIDENT JARLATH Burns has condemned the protest which disrupted Saturday’s session of the association’s annual Congress in Croke Park. He said security guards were injured in the protest.
Burns described the incident as “totally unacceptable” and said that some volunteers and members of the security team at Croke Park sustained injuries as a result of the events.
Campaigners protesting against the GAA’s continuing relationship with Allianz disrupted Congress at Croke Park, forcing it to be temporarily adjourned.
Delegates were considering motions when protesters arrived into the room, calling on the GAA to end its sponsorship ties with Allianz. Congress was adjourned shortly after their arrival and resumed later in the day.
“We’ve always facilitated peaceful protest,” Burns said after the conclusion of the 2026 Congress.
“But there are almost unwritten rules of engagement between peaceful protest and the allowance of peaceful protest. And I think there was a line crossed today. Coming into our property and disrupting our Congress is unacceptable.
“We have members of our security team and volunteers injured today as a result of people trying to get in. That is totally unacceptable.
“And I would urge people who were involved in that protest to speak about it, and condemn it, because we have a right to carry out our Congress unfettered. That is a democratically convened gathering every year. I would urge those people to use the same methods.
“Finally, I would praise the restraint shown by our delegates. A lot of them put themselves in harm’s way to try and keep the protest out, and maintain it. I was very proud of everyone who was at Congress today.”
A statement sent to The Journal earlier today from People Before Profit confirmed that the protest was organised by the Ireland Palestine Solidarity Campaign, Irish Sport for Palestine and Gaels Against Genocide in Gaza. Protesters gathered at 11am before activists filed into GAA headquarters demanding that the organisation end its sponsorship relationship with Allianz.
A United Nations report published in July identified Allianz’s German parent company, through its subsidiary PIMCO, among the companies and corporations which hold Israeli government bonds.
Eoghan Ó Ceannabháin, a People Before Profit candidate in the upcoming Dublin Central by-election, explained that the demonstration began as a march before escalating into an occupation.
“People occupied and managed to actually break into the conference and confronted Jarlath Burns about the Allianz sponsorship of the National League,” he said.
“The Congress meeting adjourned when the protesters got into the meeting.”
Ó Ceannabháin said he was part of a group occupying the lobby area, while others entered the main Congress hall.
“I didn’t manage to get in, I was part of a group occupying the lobby there, but a few people managed to actually get into the thing itself.”
The GAA has repeatedly come under pressure to sever its ties with Allianz, who currently sponsor the hurling and football league competitions. The association said in December that it will retain its sponsorship deal following an Ethics and Integrity Commission report.
However, Ó Ceannabháin described the Ethics and Integrity Commission as “a sham” and criticised its findings.
He also pointed to an open letter signed by approximately 800 current and former players opposing the sponsorship. The call to cut ties with Allianz has been backed by inter-county players and prominent GAA figures, including former Dublin footballer David Hickey and Meath legend and pundit Colm O’Rourke.
“There’s huge opposition from this among the grassroots,” he said. “There was a massive protest today. People coming from all over the country.”
According to Ó Ceannabháin, protesters want a clear commitment from the GAA leadership.
“Very simply that they’re going to drop the deal with Allianz, that they’re going to remove Allianz as a sponsor,” he said.
“It’s about taking a decent and moral stance of not standing for that and just withdrawing the partnership with Allianz,” Ó Ceannabháin added.
Additional reporting from Andrew Walsh
Written by Sinead Farrell and originally published on The 42 whose award-winning team produces original content that you won’t find anywhere else: on GAA, League of Ireland, women’s sport and boxing, as well as our game-changing rugby coverage, all with an Irish eye. Subscribe here.
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