Solidarity Limerick

*** Socialist Reading Group***

Over the course of October & November Solidarity will be holding a reading group. Our current reading is 'End Times Fascism and the Fight for the Living World' which we'll discuss a section at a time across 4 separate meetings.

In this period of ecological collapse, endless genocides & war, femicide, technological weaponisation, oppression & exploitation we must understand the systemic & powerful forces which cause them. The need to understand the 21st century manifestation of fascism is crucial to fighting back against it.

If you are interested in socialism & the anti-fascist struggle you are welcome to join us. In our first session will discuss part one of the book on Tuesday 20th October at 7pm at a venue in Limerick City Centre - V94 CH29.

Feel free to DM us with any questions. We will also be raffling a copy of the book very soon - stay tuned for more details to follow.

Image description: the heads of Trump, Musk, Peter Thiel, Netanyahu & Sam Altman float at the top of the image in blue monotone. They sit on a blue background with a circuit board pattern. The book 'End Times Fascism' sits on the left side of the image. Text in neon green & pale pink announce details of the first reading group as above. The Solidarity logo is on the top right of the image.

From socialist & historian Dominic Haugh - Historian

Has Israel been subjected to a boycott in football?

Yes -

In 1958 Israel qualified for the World Cup Finals without playing a game when Turkey, Egypt, Sudan and Indonesia refused to play the Israeli team. FIFA accepted the withdrawal of the other teams and did not impose any sanctions. In order to avoid a country going to the World Cup without playing a game FIFA ruled that Israel had to play in a play-off against Belgium. However, Belgium also refused to play Israel, leading to Wales, who won the play-off against Israel and went to the World Cup. No sanctions were imposed on Belgium.

The 1964 Asian Cup was hosted by Israel. Eleven of the sixteen countries due to play boycotted the competition. No sanctions were imposed on the countries who boycotted the competition.

In 1974 Kuwait and North Korea refused to play Israel in the Asian Cup. No sanctions were imposed on either country.

That year also saw Israel expelled from the Asian Confederation on a proposal from Kuwait. No sanctions were imposed on the Asian Confederation by FIFA.

Over the following 20 years Israel played in World Cup qualifiers in temporary arrangements in Europe , Eastern Asia and Oceania.

Israel was admitted as a member of UEFA in 1994 directly as a result of the signing of the Oslo Accords in 1993.

Israel has always regarded football as hugely important for its national identity. Even before the foundation of the Israeli state in 1948, Zionist organisations regarded football as it's path to international recognition and legitimacy. In 1929 FIFA acknowledged the Zionist Eretz Israel Football Association as the Palestine Football Association. In the eyes of the Zionists, this legitimised the Zionist claim to Palestine. Arab clubs were supposed to be included, but as a result of widespread discrimination by 1934 they all had withdrawn from the PFA. FIFA continued it's recognition of the Zionist PFA and banned teams from playing Arab clubs in Palestine without the permission of the PFA. The Zionists used this rule to prevent the Arab clubs from international participation. In 1948 the PFA was transformed into the Israeli Football Association and it inherited the FIFA membership that had been secured under the name of Palestine. It wasn't until 1998 that the Palestine Football Association was recognised by FIFA.

Accessibility text: The post consists of one graphic containing the following text: 'Irish players reportedly asked the FAI if anyone had ever refused to play Israel before. The FAI told them no, that the Irish national team would be the first team to boycott Israel. THIS IS NOT TRUE.'. This white text sits on top of a red background which fades into a bright pink foreground. On the bottom left of the image sits a blood-soaked football. The 'Solidarity - the socialist alternative' logo adorns the bottom right of the image.

Management at University Hospital Limerick (UHL) have managed to find a 'secluded area' in the hospital in case an 80-year old alleged pa******le & confirmed sexual assaulter needs medical care. They have also secured Trump's blood type which is being held on standby in case he might need it.

The multi-million dollar genocide enabler will receive medical treatment eons above and beyond that which locals who fund the service have or ever will receive.

Donald Trump doesn't believe in publicly provided healthcare, who is footing the bill of the measures already in place? And if there is a medical emergency, who will be funding that? Presumably, it will be taxpayers once again.

Staff at UHL are already under extreme pressure which has been well documented since the closure of services after the crash of 2007/2008. UHL need to answer how disruptive these measures are to staff, patients and families.

These measures are also an insult to families who have lost loved ones because of the extreme pressure that services are put under caused by decades of government policy.

We already have a two tier health system in Ireland, this proves once again that some lives are more important than others in the eyes of the state.

We cannot accept this!

Solidarity will be joining the protests today in Doonbeg, Shannon and Dublin. Stand with us and thousands across the country and say no to the oligarchs destroying human society and our planet.

Solidarity will support this vigil called by this evening at 7pm on Bedford Row.

RIP Jady Cristine Pereira Rosa and Annmarie O' Reilly and all victims of femicide on this island.

Image reposted from Rosa Limerick.

No generative AI is used in any of our material.

World frisbee championship in Limerick:

Stand up for victims of genocide —
Protest, boycott & refuse to play Israeli team ‘New Age’

At Solidarity’s Summer School, in Glendalough, Co Wicklow, Limerick activists raised that the world frisbee championship taking place this week on the University of Limerick campus features Israeli team “New Age, who have supported the Israeli state genocide of Palestine. The following appeal was issued on behalf of all attending the summer school and an additional comment from Ruth Coppinger, Solidarity TD:

“It is reprehensible that the World Flying Disc Federation, the World Ultimate Club Championship, UL Sport and UL, and event sponsors Limerick City and County Council have all failed to defend human rights by allowing New Age, a frisbee team from Israel, to participate in the WUCC event taking place at UL from 15-20th of August. New Age is part of the Israeli Flying Disc Association which has explicitly supported the genocide in Gaza and commended the actions of the brutal Israeli military, who have extended their attacks into Lebanon.

In contrast, we salute the frisbee teams and players who called for New Age to be immediately excluded from the event, and in particular those who state they will refuse to play New Age.

We know that these players and teams will come under pressure to reverse their stance, but we encourage them to stand firm — the people of Limerick and Ireland are with you. Undoubtedly it will be said you can protest while still playing the game against New Age. However, that would be meaningless and tokenistic, giving New Age, the IFDA and the Israeli state a victory in their quest to normalise their genocide!

It should not have been left to the players or frisbee federations — the Irish Government and UL should have acted. BUT we have to deal with the fact that they haven’t, and so we appeal to the players to be the voice of the voiceless, and offer some hope to the people of Palestine, by refusing to play.

Further, we call on all workers at UL, or in the Limerick area to boycott and refuse to facilitate the New Age team.

Lastly, we encourage the people of Limerick to:

Attend the protest tomorrow Sunday at 12:30pm, Pitch 19, University of Limerick

Phone John Moran, Mayor and Limerick City and County Council at 061 556000 and ask him to intervene to get the Israeli team removed from the competition.

Phone UL to protest at the decision of the college authorities to allow the competition to take place while New Age is allowed to participate.

Email [email protected] , phone 061 234271

Speaking at the Solidarity Summer School in Glendalough, Ruth Coppinger Solidarity TD said:

“The leadership, and indeed common decency, shown by some players at the world frisbee championship taking place at UL would put many politicians to shame, including minister Patrick O’Donovan!

48 teams are due to participate in the competition over the next week, including one - ”New Age” from Israel who have explicitly supported the genocide in Gaza. So far 20 teams have protested at the presence of New Age, and hopefully ‘player power’ will become a factor in the next days.

It shouldn’t be up to the players but various institutions in the sport globally and in Ireland have refused to act, so the Palestinians living in Ireland and their siblings in Palestine are now looking to the players to make a stand on their behalf.

So far several teams have said they will refuse to play New Age, and that is what is necessary, as it's the only effective protest. I would encourage those teams - which includes players from Ireland, England and Belgium - to resist any pressure to pull back. Think of the 1,000 Palestinian athletes who have been murdered over the last three years!

I would also appeal to the people of Limerick, who are always to the forefront in every good fight, to protest and to mobilise around this event, with a view to encouraging other players to also make a stand and put down a marker for real solidarity, defense of human rights and a celebration of what is truly great in sport.

This is obviously also taking place in the context of the Ireland v Israel football matches that are due to take place in September and October. But the most important context - for this event and for all those involved in and who love Irish football - is that the genocide is continuing in Palestine. We in Ireland have a unique opportunity to offer real solidarity and hope to the people of Palestine and the world.”

Treaty United supporters were kicked out of the Treaty United game at Markets Field Stadium in Limerick this evening for displaying a banner. This is at least the second time that a quiet protest against the sportswashing of genocide has been penalised by Treaty United officials. At the last game, a banner was taken down by officials & a dedicated volunteer was removed from their position for raising the banner.

A young volunteer was put in the position of asking our activists to leave which they promptly did. Apparently a “Stop the Game” banner , something which gets displayed on clubs across the country is not allowed inside the grounds of Treaty United.

It is a sad state of affairs when you can’t even openly show your solidarity with victims of genocide.

Banners such as this one are displayed on sidelines the length & breadth of the country. Why are Treaty United censoring the Treaty community, & who is making the decision to quash out free speech?

Protest against genocide is always justified.

Why is Treaty United doubling down on its suppression of widespread support for stopping the Ireland v Israel games going ahead?

This is going against the will of the majority of soccer fans.

Treaty United officials cannot be allowed to silence the fans, volunteers & players. A collective stance is needed - Treaty United has been built by the community, it belongs to everyone in the community. The quieting of free speech & any form of protest against genocide is not acceptable. Stand up & get involved in the campaign. DM for further information on how to get involved, join your local campaign, or start your own.

No sportswashing of genocide!

This year saw the grotesque development of the world's first trillionaire, albeit temporarily. Elon Musk is a walking advertisement as to why you should support a socialist alternative to this fascist saluting, vile tech bro & the class he represents.

2026 has seen turmoil around the world, from the war on Iran, waged by Israel & the US, to the ongoing genocide in gaza, to the extreme weather events we are facing, Solidarity continues to campaign on the issues, both local & national, that impact workers, the oppressed & our planet.

Solidarity played an important role in scoring a victory against the tech company 'Manna' and their delivery drones business. The constant noise and invasiveness was a constant nuisance in the affected communities and our TD Ruth Coppinger, along with others, consistent campaigning eventually forced Manna to abandon their operations in both Dublin and Cork.

Our work around the banning of fox hunting, fighting alongside other animal rights groups, have forced politicians and parties to shift their positions, like Sinn Féins, & we will continue to fight until this barbaric practice ends.

The FAI & government's attempt to normalise the barbaric, genocidal Israeli state by facilitating two football matches with Israel this Autumn is being opposed all the way by both fans and pro-palestine activists. Solidarity has helped organised opposition to these games through instigating campaigns in many areas and helped organise protests at the FAI and football matches to get these games stopped.

Locally in Limerick city a Solidarity activist in Janesboro helped with a campaign to save Boro Park & defeat the machinations of Mayor John Moran who wanted to build modular homes in the park, denying the community access to the only green space they had.

These are some small examples and significant victories we have managed this year, & we are proud of the fact that we are only funded by the people we fight for and fight alongside. Please support our work by purchasing a raffle ticket from any of our members and help build a fighting, socialist alternative this summer.

DM us here on the Limerick page or your nearest branch for your ticket.

Volunteer who publicly opposed the genocide In Palestine has had their volunteer status revoked by Treaty United!

Last Friday at a Treaty United FC game, a recognised club volunteer & supporter put up a banner reading 'Stop the Game' - a slogan which has garnered huge support across the country. The banner was removed by officials, reportedly by order of the managing director. Today we have learned that the volunteer has been removed from their position with the club entirely being told that political statements are not tolerated. Club officials callously said, “While we appreciate your willingness to help, we don’t feel the fit has been right for the culture and environment we are working hard to create…With immediate effect, you are no longer authorised to represent the club in any capacity”.

This is an absolutely outrageous move by Treaty United and is shameful treatment of a volunteer who has given 5 years of hardwork & dedication to local football. Nobody should be penalised for making a peaceful, principled & conscientious objection to an ongoing genocide. Is this not a breach of freedom of speech and the right to protest?

Time & time again the refrain 'sports is not political' is weaponised against those who take a stand against the sportswashing of genocide. There is huge support across society for the games to be cancelled, support which the FAI & now it would seem that includes local officials are intent on quashing. Where was this decision made? Were the members and supporters of the club consulted?

An IFSO survey this year found that 75.6% of football supporters do not support the Ireland/Israel games going ahead. While a PFA Ireland survey found that 2/3s of football players also did not support the games.

Football does not belong to investors, owners or managers. Football belongs to the people. It belongs to the players, the fans, and the communities that support them. The volunteer who put up the banner last week was merely putting words to the feelings of the majority locally.

Accessibility text: in the background of the graphic is an image of a football pitch as viewed from inside. A black & white football sits on the grass. Around the pitch are the darkened seats and above them the sky is comprised of burnt out & collapsed Gazan buildings. Sitting above the image reads the following heading 'Volunteer who publicly opposed the genocide in Palestine has had their volunteer status revoked'. Two tweets depict the banner mentioned above one with the banner hanging on the sideline of the pitch. The second, shows the banner being removed by a match official. The following slides display the text contained in the caption.

There was a strong turnout for the Limerick picket at the Markets Field Stadium this evening. Chatting to the fans it was clear that the majority of people do not want the Irish team to participate in the sportswashing of genocide by being coerced into playing the Israeli team.

We learned afterwards that a 'Stop the Game' banner hung by fans inside the stadium was removed by what appeared to be match officials. This is symptomatic of official Ireland's attempt at quashing dissent by those who take a stand against genocide.

In the midst of a genocide there is no neutral ground & no neutral cultural arenas. We must build on the resistance that exists by building the momentum to have the games stopped entirely.

Thanks to all of those who joined the picket and voiced their support for the campaign. DM if you'd like to get involved, find your nearest 'Stop the Game' campaign or start your own. Together we can make a difference but we must build solidarity now.