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ACCORDING TO figures provided last month by the Ministry of Health in Gaza, more than 45,000 people have now died as a result of the conflict with Israel.
That number included 17,000 children and as the conflict enters its 15th month, there appears to be no end in sight.
Given the experience of bloodshed under British colonial rule, it is a conflict that has resonated with Irish citizens.
Inevitably, many people prefer not to speak on this issue – several individuals approached for this article either declined or did not respond to requests for comment.
But some within the Irish sporting community have refused to stay silent.
Shelbourne assistant boss and former Irish international footballer Joey O’Brien is one man who has consistently protested the treatment of Palestinians in recent months, wearing t-shirts, hats and badges to show solidarity with the oppressed nation.
“It’s a personal thing,” he tells The 42. “It’s not tied in with anyone else at the football club.”
O’Brien says he understands why many within Irish football and beyond are reluctant to speak about this controversial issue.
“When you start getting into the politics of it, if you take yourself down that road, it can open yourself up to being labelled with certain things and taking certain sides.
“But I’ve never gone into the politics side of it, I just see the humanitarian side of things, and what’s going on to a people, what’s going on to men, women and children.
I just see what’s going on. It’s an absolute disgrace, they’re trying to wipe out a population.”
The former West Ham and Bolton player has been following the conflict for years but one story in particular hit home.
It concerned a husband whose wife had recently given birth to twins. He left home to get their birth certificates and while travelling, got a phone call to say his apartment had been bombed, resulting in the death of these babies.
O’Brien is also a parent to twins and can vividly recall the joy he felt in the days after their birth.
“I’m sure that chap probably had that same feeling to me,” he says. “[That story] just really touched me.
“At that stage, I didn’t care what people thought. Whether people thought: ‘Jaysus, he shouldn’t be talking about this. He’s involved in sport. He shouldn’t get involved in that.’
“For me, it was more important than anything at that moment.”
O’Brien is aware that the war has produced countless similarly tragic stories and is grateful to have been able to have avoided such hardship in his life.
Without wanting to pressure others in football to follow suit, he is hopeful his voice can make a small difference.
“I wouldn’t say: ‘People should be doing this and that.’ Everyone has their own opinion on it or no opinion on it — it doesn’t affect [some] people at all.
“But it’s important to me. And luckily, I have a small platform. So it allowed me to do something, to raise awareness and keep it out there.
“And I think it’s important to keep out there because it hasn’t stopped and hasn’t changed and it’s still going on into the winter months. And there’s a feeling that they’re being left to die.
“What can I do? Not a lot. But if we keep it out there, maybe one or two more people might get on board, and [increase] the attention on it.”
O’Brien is far from the only sports personality unwilling to stay silent.
It is just under a year since an open letter was published declaring solidarity with the Palestinian people and calling for “an immediate and permanent ceasefire in Gaza”.
It was signed by over 200 athletes including All-Ireland winners, as well as rugby and soccer internationals.
Twelve months on, over 350 sports personalities have signed this letter as the crisis deepens.
Irish Sport for Palestine, established a little over a year ago, were the organisation behind this initiative.
“It is essentially a group of athletes present and past who came together and said they can’t be silent on what’s going on and need to speak out, use a platform, basically put pressure on Israel wherever we can,” says ex-Irish basketball international Rebecca O’Keeffe who has also played in the Superleague with Trinity Meteors.
O’Keeffe has similarly played GAA to a high level, winning county and provincial club football titles plus reaching an All-Ireland semi-final with Na Fianna of Meath, and getting to the same stage in camogie in 2023.
In addition to regularly competing in amateur sports, O’Keeffe is an author, researcher, and activist specialising in feminism, civil resistance movements and transitional justice.
“Essentially, organisations or individuals will hire me to carry out various work,” she explains.
“I think being a woman in sports, you are exposed to a lot of injustices and unfairness. But even just being a woman in society, I always had kind of a social justice head.”
After undertaking an English and Sociology degree at undergraduate level, O’Keeffe also completed a master’s in International Peace Studies at Trinity College.
While activism and sport might not appear a neat fit, these two passions intersected for the Meath native in November 2023.
Initially, she called on the International Basketball Federation [FIBA] to suspend Israel from competing – citing a similar punishment previously enforced on Russia and Belarus owing to their roles in the war in Ukraine.
Then, she called on Basketball Ireland not to fulfil a EuroBasket qualifier, which took place last February in Riga, Latvia, after they took a similar stand for a match against Belarus.
Basketball Ireland CEO John Feehan publicly defended the decision to proceed with the fixture, claiming a boycott would not “make a blind bit of difference”.
Israel eventually won the controversial clash 87-57, which was played behind closed doors amid security concerns.
Ireland were subsequently issued an official warning by FIBA Europe for “unsportsmanlike conduct”.
It had been a tense occasion. After Israeli player Dor Saar accused the Irish side of being “quite anti-Semitic,” Ireland refused handshakes with their opponents and stood by their bench during the national anthems.
O’Keeffe initially felt her calls to boycott the fixture were being largely ignored. However, when groups such as Irish Sport for Palestine and IPSC (Ireland-Palestine Solidarity Campaign) got involved, the situation attracted substantial publicity.
“And so I became more involved in Irish Sport for Palestine [as a result],” she adds.
Her close ties to the Irish basketball community made it tough for O’Keeffe to challenge the decision to persist with the Israel fixture.
“Morally, it wasn’t difficult,” she says. “I could speak out, but I also was not on the international team, so I had less to lose by speaking out because I wasn’t on the team. But it is a small community, and I felt a bit isolated. I mean, some people did support [me] but were quite private in some of their support.
“I got a lot of abuse for it. But I will say this, whatever I go through, or whatever anyone else goes through is nothing compared to people in Palestine, nothing compared to people in Lebanon.
“I would do everything all over again if it meant it raised some awareness or moved the dial even a little bit because I don’t think we can be silent and we need to do something, and that’s just what I believe in.”
O’Keeffe says she has been met with silence any time she has tried to communicate with the sport’s authority figures.
Still, she has been heartened by the response from some within the game — five Irish stars refused to participate in the Israel fixture.
“Those players who boycotted were amazing, and there was a return fixture in November, and that was fulfilled. Again, certain players were not playing, which, we can commend if it was for the political reasons of the boycott.
“I also don’t want to judge the players who did play, because they were in an awful position. And I’ve always said it should have been the organisations who should have acted decisively.
“But we did contact FIBA based on the behaviour that Israel had displayed because it violated so many different regulations and rules of sporting charters. But we were met with silence again because the player who falsely accused us of being anti-semitic was rostered — she was playing. So where was the procedure? Where was the sanctioning there?”
Aside from the open letter, O’Keeffe and her colleagues at Irish Sport for Palestine are working on several other initiatives.
They have helped organise cycles in Dublin, Cork and Belfast with the Gaza Sunbirds, a Palestinian para-cycling team.
Last month, they arranged a Run for Gaza with Right to Movement Palestine, a social running group.
There is also a push to rename Rathgar-based Herzog Park to Hind Rajab Park — after a five-year-old girl killed by the Israeli military on 29 January last year along with several of her relatives.
The plan also encompasses using the name Bakr Family Football Pitch after four young boys killed by the Israeli military as they played football on a beach in Gaza in 2014.
As the petition explains: “The park is currently named after Chaim Herzog who grew up in Dublin and later emigrated to Mandatory Palestine where he joined the Haganah Zionist Paramilitary Group in 1935. Herzog played a role in suppressing the Palestinian Revolution and served in the Israeli Occupying Forces (IOF) after the Nakba where he rose to the rank of Major-General. He was the president of Israel from 1983-1993.”
The proposal has attracted significant support, including thousands of signatories.
Meanwhile, Lajee Celtic, a football academy based in Palestine, and the Green Brigade fans’ group have been hosting public talks around Ireland.
In addition, GAA Palestine set up various clubs across the West Bank, while Gaels Against Genocide in Gaza last month hosted a hurling match.
While the situation in Palestine remains bleak, O’Keeffe is optimistic that meaningful change can be enacted, and like O’Brien, hopes to play a small part in this growing movement.
“Of course, we’re despairing. Of course, we’re angry and upset, we’re every single emotion.
“But we also have to keep showing up, because Palestinians don’t get that luxury. If someone is despondent, there’s a whole community around you to bring you up again. We all lean on each other.
“And I guess that’s what we learn from sport. Sport is such a lovely community of people working together. Dedication, values and principles — that’s what community is. And we need to lean into that more than ever.
“We need to double down on our efforts more than ever, because this isn’t ending anytime soon, and we can see blatantly the hypocrisy of all these leaders and organisations, and if we don’t demand change, nothing is going to happen.”
Written by Paul Fennessy 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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Having driven through the snow in South Tipperary, and up through Limerick and Clare on the new Limerick-Galway motorway last Sunday, I can say that a red warning was absolutely required for the conditions that the region was inflicted with.
@Garry Coll: yes red should have been given very dangerous condition and met eire failed many many people dangerous lives
Warnings should only come from Met Eireann
@I’m a robot Robot: why would you even have to ask. It’s like saying amateur traffic channels should be able to set speed limits
@Laois Weather: One model for all, the weather says no
Amateur forecasters have no precedent to issue weather warnings. They should be ignored.
@John Doe: precedent? What’s dat mean,
@John Doe: Methinks you do not understand the words you use! Check out the meaning of “precedent”.
Peadar Tóibín being populist again. Imagine giving out about a weather warning!!! What a joke of a TD
@Caoimhin O’Connor: He’s not wrong though. We had no snow but most schools closed around us last week on account of this low temperature warning and it was simply a case of icy by roads, which are generally fine if you take it easy on them. Issuing warnings for what should be standard winter weather is excessive.
@Caoimhin O’Connor: Yup. Absolutely they should give a warning, granted most don’t need them, and may (myself included) will ignore them in favour of whatever they choose to do… but for that one octogenarian who had the first appointment in a clinic 50 miles away maybe it helps. People no offended by information thats not even FOR them!! Tobin is harming his core voter here.
@Longlin: How many people would have gotten hurt with the school open?
they took the safety first approach!
Wow riveting journalism lads
@Trump24: You probably don’t live here if this doesn’t interest you, having a disability it is essential to know the weather, especially this week.
@Brian D’Arcy: Well incorrect I do live here for a portion of the year but for tax purposes I can only be here a certain amount of days.
@Brian D’Arcy: look at the username, all you need to know about the caliber of person you’re dealing with
@Trump24: No. you can be here for as long as you choose to be. You choose to avoid paying tax here.
@Trump24: Hahaha nice bit of fantasy there, as if you reside anywhere apart from your mammys box room. You’ll need a PPS number and wash before you start paying any tax
@Minnie Mouse: Absolutely I do and it’s all above board it’s called financially smart.
@Freda Peeple: Do I care if you believe me absolutely not. Enjoy being poor.
@Trump24: it’s called talking out your hoop you big spoof. I have my own building company I’m doing ok. I can afford to pay tax here.
@Freda Peeple: Well clearly nothing worth becoming non dom for.
@Trump24: Ken/buster/chutes is another who made his fortune in America but chose to spend his life taking rot on all day on a poxy news app, what are the chances?
@Tired Jim: My jacks smells funky, I’m ok with that
@Freda Peeple: Never made my money in America
@Trump24: You don’t have a bean, be honest. if your mammy didn’t put credit on your phone we wouldn’t be having this conversation.
@Freda Peeple: You believe what you wish enjoy getting up for work tomorrow.
@Trump24: Yes I will, like I do everyday! I’m sure you won’t be thinking of me on your hammock making big business decisions.. on your bike Rodney haha
@Robert: ah hear, maybe his parents could see the future and at the same time didn’t particularly like him so gave him that name so that he would be laughed at and made fun of for his whole like till 24 when like a dream it all snapped into place and made sense well, at least till the clock struck midnight on new years and the carriage turned into a fat pumpkin with a dodgy wig.
@I’m a robot Robot: Silence troll
@Freda Peeple: Nice round of golf this morning for me hopefully the rain stays away then a light lunch in the club. Enjoy your sambos and tea.
@Trump24: Pitch and putt followed by home packed corned beef sandwiched from your mammy, enjoy! Hopefully you don’t get roasted on the course like you did on the Journal
@Trump24: Just mute these bottom feeders folks, it makes them go away.
@Tezmond McVicar: Indeed Freda is definitely a bottom feeder 100%.
@Freda Peeple: Unfortunately did rain a slight bit today but lunch was delicious in the club. Lovely crab claws today.
In fairness met eireann and experts kept telling us complete with blood red heat maps that Ireland was gonna cook during last summer from May till the end of August….there wasnt a week with the tabloid trash MSM who are more responsible than anyone for people getting angry with weather predictions when they post clickbait headlines and then the actual article is completely different. No wonder so many go elsewhere for information. Covid was a winner for the media between all the free advertising money they got and realising fear mongering headlines are actually a better thing to survive than acfual balanced reporting
@Patrick Newell: I don’t remember any expert or Met Eireann employees giving any such warning last summer.
Perhaps you imagined this due to consumption of vast quanties of illegal hallucinogenic narcotics?
@donal O’brien: Correct me if I’m wrong but every month last year was trumpeted as the hottest month on record ever on RTE on every single news cast every day. It was absolute and utter codswallop. The summer was the coldest wettest summer i have ever witnessed in Ireland in my 50 years on this earth. When people rightly questioned the validity of these claims they were told it was roasting at night when you were asleep, you couldn’t make this c r a p up.
@Michael McGrath:
On a world wide basis some group of international experts said 2024 was the hotest year on record for the world.
Met eireann said last May was the honest May on record in Ireland
They then said June was the coldest June in Ireland for the last 10 years.
March was the second wettest March on record in ireland, after March 2023.
Those I think are the monthly records exceeded in ireland last year.
@donal O’brien: I drive to work every morning in a car pool with 3 others and i can tell you it was a source of much incredulity and laughter in the car when the newscaster duly without fail reported each month as the hottest on record, that may not be what the official records state but thats what was reported on the radio, and also the statement that it was warmer at night and thats why we didnt realise it was so hot
@Patrick Newell: It absolutely should have been a red warning in the likes of North Cork, Limerick, Kerry, Kilkenny ,Tipperary and North Waterford, I live in Tipperary and I only eventually got out on Friday and even that was only after we cleared 20 yards of my drive with a shovel and rake. We got 14 inches of snow and many areas of high ground got similar. They are reluctant to issue red warnings because it has a direct implication on business and their obligations towards their workers. I heard of several stories that some employers disciplined their employees because they could not get into work because of the snow if it was a red they couldnt do that
Weather forecasts for snowflakes
They’ve studied meteorology, right?
@Robert: Yep, from Mrs Miggins’ Facebook page, like every dim bulb who DoEs HiS oWn ReSeArCh
No more frost till the end of the month, warm air from the bay of biscay
Q? What are all the snow-men on here all the week telling tall tales called? A. Snow-flakes.
LMAO, people offended by information about the weather!! if you don’t like then jog on
Because they are more accurate than met Éireann. They are a joke. Should be disbanded and their fancy building turned into apartments.
If it happens at the weekend forget about it. It seems like Met Eireann don’t work the weekends.
Both Irelands Weather Channel and Carlow Weather LOVE the attention when they get their predictions right – but can’t deal with criticisim when they get it wrong. They’re like a big sulky child. And if you criticise them on social media and call them out over duff forecasts, you just get blocked like I did. Childish behaviour IMO. Anyone can predict the weather, eventually you will be right at some stage. But Met Eireann are an absolute disgrace and should be shut down.
Met Eireann if anybody bothers to go to their website give detail explanations to all of the different situations countrywide.
I was helping a friend who was painting a pub. I was able to tell him when to go on lunch or to have a cup of tea as we were going to get rain. I had it down so well we never got wet.
If all you read are the headlines, it is your own fault if you get caught out!
have your say