All-Ireland winners to address anti-Allianz demo at GAA Annual Congress
THREE All-Ireland-winning footballers will be among the speakers at an anti-Allianz demonstration to coincide with GAA Annual Congress on Saturday morning.Down’s Colm McAlarney, Dr David Hickey of Dublin, and former RTE pundit Colm O’Rourke of Meath will address the gathering.Down great Colm McAlarney addressed the anti Allianz demonstration at Pairc Esler, Newry before Down's opening league match with Clare. Photos Pat O'Hare Organised by Gaels against Genocide, Dubs against Palestine, Irish Sport for Palestine, and the Ireland-Palestine Solidarity Campaign, the protestors oppose the GAA’s continued links with the insurer, whose global group has been named in a UN report as among companies “profiting from genocide” in Gaza.Michael Doherty of Gaels against Genocide said: “The GAA is a volunteer-led, democratic organisation, yet the hierarchy has shown scant regard for the grassroots on this important humanitarian issue.“Motions approved by county boards have been effectively censored and will not be on the agenda.“The report of the Ethics and Integrity Committee released just before Christmas was an attempt to justify the relationship with Allianz as opposed to assessing whether the conduct of Allianz is ethical.#Michael Doherty from Gaels against Genocide at the launch of “This is not a War Exhibition” by Irish News Picture Editor Mal McCann.
PICTURE COLM LENAGHAN “The GAA should be more concerned about protecting the reputation of our GAA than shielding a genocide enabler.”The GAA has claimed Allianz’s Ireland arm is not involved in the war by Israel.The meeting point for the demonstration is Gill’s Pub on the North Circular Road in Dublin at 11am and there will be a march to the Hogan Stand entrance at Croke Park.McAlarney, Hickey, and O’Rourke, who will be joined for former Donegal forward Brendan Devenney, were among 800 former and current inter-county players who signed an open letter in August 2025 calling on the GAA to promptly cease its relationship with Allianz - in line with a key recommendation of the report by Francesca Albanese, UN special rapporteur on human rights in occupied Palestine territories, on the ‘economy of genocide’. Allianz was one of 45 companies identified in the report.
