Socialist Republicans Hold Five-A-Side Tournament In Support Of Homeless Services

On Sunday 9th of August, socialist republicans and left-wing activists hosted a five-a-side football tournament and community day in the Michael Mallin Park in aid of Street Link Homeless Support. 

The organisers included Anti-Imperialist Action’s (AIA) Coiste Robert Emmet which is the branch for South Inner City Dublin, Starry Plough First Aid for on-site medical attendance, the Anne Devlin Community Center, 1815 FC, the Stop The Game campaign which was recently met with Gardaí violence, and the  Love Rovers Hate Racism group. 

The local community came out to watch the matches. There were at least 50 attendees. After a fierce battle, 1815 FC won the tournament, and lifted the Michael Mallin Cup. Michael Mallin was an Irish republican, Socialist and devout Catholic who took an active role in the Easter Rising of 1916. He was executed by firing squad on the 8th of May 1916, saying "so must Irishmen pay for trying to make Ireland a free nation”. 

“We want to give a big thank you to everyone from the local community who came out and supported the day, whether by taking part in the tournament, making a donation or coming along to show their support. The support and generosity we received throughout the day was greatly appreciated, “ said AIA on a social media post.

“Great to hear about football associations forming independently of the FAI/FIFA cartel. I hope this grows and spreads. Great work!, “ commented one internet user. 

Recently, the AIA also slammed Fine Gael’s utter lack of support for working class areas, stating that a public meeting by Fine Gael Senator Evanne Ní Chuilinn was “an attempt [by the party]] to absolve themselves of any responsibility regarding the issues the area faces. Let’s be clear, Fine Gael are largely responsible for the issues working class communities face all across Dublin. It is not by accident that areas like the Liberties are severely underfunded. It’s by design. This is another cheap attempt by Fine Gael to gain votes in the area. Let’s not forget that this is the same Fine Gael who launched their “welfare cheats, cheat us all” campaign in an attempt to demonise the poorest people in society”. 

The upcoming Ireland versus Israel game has seen mass resistance from the working class, with many citing concerns about playing the settler-colonial genocidal country of “Israel” being used to legitimize its ongoing occupation of Palestine. Equally, it has seen the intensification of oppression and co-optation, with volunteers being removed from soccer clubs over expressing pro-Palestine sentiment, and the FAI voting to allow the matches despite opposition from rank-and-file membership, while Gardaí were seen cracking down on peaceful protests on the matter.

In response to the Russian invasion of Ukraine, FIFA and other global sporting bodies put in place and enacted sanctions and boycotts on Russian teams and athletes playing and competing, which started on the 24th February 2022, but did not sanction Israel, exposing the double standards of Western hypocrisy.