Tesco bag-packers sent home for wearing GAA kits

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Tesco bag-packers sent home for wearing GAA kits


Tesco has admitted that it asked charity bag-packers at its store in Antrim to remove GAA jerseys following complaints from the public.

Children as young as nine were collecting money for a GAA club on Sunday when they were asked to go home and change out of their club jerseys.

Tesco says the decision was taken following vociferous complaints from the public, including one from a local Ulster Unionist councillor.

The retailer normally asks bag-packers from sports clubs to wear their jerseys so the public will now who they represent and will have a choice whether to donate or not.

Did you ever hear the likes?!!! Ridiculous!

JonathanAnon

I was just listening to Gerry Adams on with Gay Byrne the other night saying that the reason he became aware/involved in republicanism was in 1964 the was a local Sinn councillor going for office who had a flag of the tricolour in his campaign office. Ian Paisley rang the RUC to demand that it be taken down or that "he would take it down himself" (which I would have liked to see tbh). The RUC went around to the office, broke the window and took it down. Things havent really changed that much.

Well done to the Unionist councillor for ensuring that the young Nationalist community will grow feeling the oppression that their parents felt. What an idiot.

gurramok

A case for discrimination there. No-one should wear a sports jersey in a Tesco and Tesco should not sell sports jerseys based on their logic!

jimmmy

To be devils advocate...suppose the boot was on the other foot...suppose they wore celtic or rangers jumpers....suppose a gang of lads wore rangers jumpers in west Belfast packing bags there ...how would that go down with some locals there ?

junder

Most business in northern Ireland have to promote a neutral environment so all football/GAA tops are banned. However some stores take it to far last year TK max banned the wearing of poppys. However for the whingers amoung you its a good idea to cheack your facts before launching into MOPE mode

keane2097

Why does the Councillor object to the GAA?

dvpower

jimmmy wrote: »

To be devils advocate...suppose the boot was on the other foot...suppose they wore celtic or rangers jumpers....suppose a gang of lads wore rangers jumpers in west Belfast packing bags there ...how would that go down with some locals there ?

If they were members of Rangers football club then why wouldn't they wear Rangers jerseys?

But, if they were members of Rangers football club then wtf would they be doing in West Belfast?

murfie

dvpower wrote: »

If they were members of Rangers football club then why wouldn't they wear Rangers jerseys?

But, if they were members of Rangers football club then wtf would they be doing in West Belfast?

And to add to that this was a local GAA Club not a club who had no connection to the town. And as being a local GAA Club they are part of the community, the community that shops in Tesco.

Just another reason to boycott Tesco in my opinion.

Grudaire

junder wrote: »

Most business in northern Ireland have to promote a neutral environment so all football/GAA tops are banned. However some stores take it to far last year TK max banned the wearing of poppys. However for the whingers amoung you its a good idea to cheack your facts before launching into MOPE mode

Thats very true sure the GAA is clearly very bigoted - I mean games on Sunday - thats exclusionism that is.:rolleyes:

oscarBravo

Advance notice: I'll be keeping an eye on this thread, and if the usual suspects start digging their trenches, there will be repercussions.

Here's a crazy thought - before posting something, stop and think about what you're planning to post. Is it informative? Is it thought-provoking? Is it likely to make someone reading it think "hm, now that's an interesting point..."?

Or is it likely to make the average reader think "oh ffs, build a bridge"? If the latter, please don't bother posting.

Firetrap

I'm not trying to defend Tesco but I can see why they would ban GAA jerseys. Unfortunately, there are a lot of people in the north who are hostile to the GAA. The organisation carries certain connotations that it perhaps doesn't carry down south. I think the Rangers/Celtic analogy is a good one. Unfortunately in too many cases, a Celtic or a Rangers jersey isn't just a hooped or plain blue shirt. It can be statement about political allegiance.

I guess the people in Tesco were trying not to offend their unionist customers. It's no different really to pubs banning soccer jerseys - I've seen this especially in the UK. Again, people look beyond the football shirt to meanings that may or may not be behind them.

Grudaire

Firetrap wrote: »

I guess the people in Tesco were trying not to offend their unionist customers. It's no different really to pubs banning soccer jerseys - I've seen this especially in the UK. Again, people look beyond the football shirt to meanings that may or may not be behind them.

As an active member of the GAA (In the Free State) I really don't understand this. Especially when the GAA club gets targetted as a reprisal for Orange Order lodge attacks

It's not as if there's sectarian riots at GAA games - where does this come from?

Breezer

Cliste wrote: »

It's not as if there's sectarian riots at GAA games - where does this come from?

It comes from the fact that the GAA was set up more or less as the sporting wing of Irish nationalism, flies the Tricolour at its matches, plays Amhrán na bhFiann as its anthem and heavily promotes the use of the Irish language. Some people are deeply offended by this ideology and these symbols, which is understandable when you consider they may have had family or friends murdered in the name of the same ideology by groups using the same symbols. Other people are just scumbags looking for a fight.

I think the GAA will eventually have to make some compromises on these issues if it wants to become a truly all-embracing community organisation in the North the way it is in the South. As a GAA fan and proud Irishman who completely rejects the IRA and wants to see a deep and lasting peace in Northern Ireland, I have very mixed feelings about this. It's not the GAA's fault that dissident republicans use the same symbols as it does. But until some sort of compromise is reached, this sort of thing will keep happening.

Grudaire

Breezer wrote: »

It comes from the fact that the GAA was set up more or less as the sporting wing of Irish nationalism, flies the Tricolour at its matches, plays Amhrán na bhFiann as its anthem and heavily promotes the use of the Irish language. Some people are deeply offended by this ideology and these symbols, which is understandable when you consider they may have had family or friends murdered in the name of the same ideology by groups using the same symbols. Other people are just scumbags looking for a fight.

I think the GAA will eventually have to make some compromises on these issues if it wants to become a truly all-embracing community organisation in the North the way it is in the South. As a GAA fan and proud Irishman who completely rejects the IRA and wants to see a deep and lasting peace in Northern Ireland, I have very mixed feelings about this. It's not the GAA's fault that dissident republicans use the same symbols as it does. But until some sort of compromise is reached, this sort of thing will keep happening.

For that matter I also don't understand the problem that Unionists have with the Irish Language either.

Breezer

Cliste wrote: »

For that matter I also don't understand the problem that Unionists have with the Irish Language either.

I don't think it's the language itself, but what they see it as being connected with, i.e. terrorism and the murder of innocent people. I love the Irish language and the GAA, and there's no way I'm going to give them up because terrorist groups abused them. But I can see where Unionists whose lives have been ruined by those people are coming from, even if I don't agree with them.

murfie

So what are you saying then we should call the GAA the AA in case Gaelic offends somebody!! I find it a ridiculous suggestion that the GAA would remove the very things that its based on to please a section of the community that wouldn't want to have anything to do with the GAA anyway.

The GAA is not the UN and if you don't want to join or participate in the association they are not forcing you to. Your suggestion is actually offencive to what the GAA is all about and set up for.

Grudaire

Ah here now how can they consider any of that offensive when they insist on marching down streets celebrating an (allegedly:rolleyes:) gay Protestants victory over the Catholics

Breezer wrote: »

I don't think it's the language itself, but what they see it as being connected with, i.e. terrorism and the murder of innocent people. I love the Irish language and the GAA, and there's no way I'm going to give them up because terrorist groups abused them. But I can see where Unionists whose lives have been ruined by those people are coming from, even if I don't agree with them.

But how can the language be associated with terrorism!?

gmb

I find charity bag packers a pain in the arse regardless of what they are wearing and wish Tesco would ban them completely

Breezer

murfie wrote: »

So what are you saying then we should call the GAA the AA in case Gaelic offends somebody!! I find it a ridiculous suggestion that the GAA would remove the very things that its based on to please a section of the community that wouldn't want to have anything to do with the GAA anyway.

The GAA is not the UN and if you don't want to join or participate in the association they are not forcing you to. Your suggestion is actually offencive to what the GAA is all about and set up for.

Are you referring to me? I suggested nothing of the sort, let's get that clear from the start.

But I think it's important to question why that section of the community wants nothing to do with the GAA. It's not the games themselves, it's the symbols, what those symbols are often linked to, and the refusal to accommodate a tradition that has existed on this island for twice the length of time the GAA has been in existence.

I'm not trying to offend anyone. I love Gaelic games. And I love the fact that throughout its existence, it has promoted Irishness and being proud to be Irish. But I'd question whether 'Irishness' has the same meaning now as it did when the GAA was founded. A majority of people on this island voted for the Good Friday agreement. Rugby fans (and people who normally couldn't care less about rugby) North and South celebrated Ireland's recent grand slam. Does 'Irish' have to mean 'anti-British'?

The GAA also stands for community, volunteerism, inclusiveness, and the love of sport as a great unifier. Would it not be better for it to tone down (not necessarily scrap) the overt Irish nationalism and promote these traditional Irish values?

Cliste wrote: »

Ah here now how can they consider any of that offensive when they insist on marching down streets celebrating an (allegedly:rolleyes:) gay Protestants victory over the Catholics

True, there's two sides to this story. But expecting the other side to change first never got us anywhere before.

But how can the language be associated with terrorism!?

Because of the people that used it and identified with it while murdering Unionists. It's ridiculous, it's not the GAA's fault, but it's fact.

ardmacha

This has nothing to do with poppies, easter lilies or the like, which are indeed political symbols. It is to do with a local sports team, not a distant one where people wear the colours to show off. Tesco would not have treated a rugby team like this, they are clearly showing bias. I am not a great admirer of back packers in general but they must be treated equally. This group must be invited back to pack bags, in their jerseys and Tesco should issue a public apology to the GAA club and contribute to the charity too.

IIMII

Breezer wrote: »

flies the Tricolour at its matches, plays Amhrán na bhFiann as its anthem and heavily promotes the use of the Irish language.

Hmmm. Flies the Irish flag, plays the Irish national anthem and encourages the Irish language you say? Hey, so does the Irish state and we are hardly a rogue nation

Daithinski

jimmmy wrote: »

To be devils advocate...suppose the boot was on the other foot...suppose they wore celtic or rangers jumpers....suppose a gang of lads wore rangers jumpers in west Belfast packing bags there ...how would that go down with some locals there ?

First you start an Irish bashing thread under the pretext of "the ESB wasting paper" now you are defending (in your usual roundabout, indirect manner) the decision on Tescos to stop a child from wearing his gaelic jersey in Tescos while collecting money.


There is a definite pattern to your posts. ie Anti-Irish. You appear to me to be a bit of a closet sectarian.

PS: By the way, your devils advocate scenario is a load of nonsense, what you are suggesting is not a like-for-like situation, its an nonsensical exaggeration.

IIMII

Breezer wrote: »

It's not the games themselves, it's the symbols, what those symbols are often linked to, and the refusal to accommodate a tradition that has existed on this island for twice the length of time the GAA has been in existence.

Pity that the thoughts of Irish people living in Ireland is so offensive to British people living here. I wonder do they behave like that in other British enclaves like the Costa del Sol and the Canaries?

Breezer wrote: »

Because of the people that used it and identified with it while murdering Unionists. It's ridiculous, it's not the GAA's fault, but it's fact.

One of the most ignorant comments I have come across in a long time. Plenty of the Wolfe Tones barbaque brigade have next to no knowlege of Gaeilge

By the way, I have soccer jerseys thrust in my face all the time, and I don't lose sleep over it. If a kid was packing my bag wearing either a celtic or a rangers jersey, I couldn't care less - I have no more interest in any of the teams across the water than I do those in Germany or Italy. I'd support an Irish team like Linfield ahead of either of them

Breezer

IIMII wrote: »

Hmmm. Flies the Irish flag, plays the Irish national anthem and encourages the Irish language you say? Hey, so does the Irish state and we are hardly a rogue nation

But the Irish state doesn't do any of that in Tesco in Antrim, which they see as their country.

Blazer

And they expect "Love Ulster" parades to pass off peacefully in Dublin? :rolleyes:
Some cheek really.. :mad:

seanybiker

gurramok wrote: »

Tesco should not sell sports jerseys based on their logic!

good point. gurramok for president.

Daithinski

Breezer wrote: »

Because of the people that used it and identified with it while murdering Unionists. It's ridiculous, it's not the GAA's fault, but it's fact.

EH?

I guess you picked the wrong day to give up sniffing glue.

Breezer

Mathew Reilly wrote: »

And they expect "Love Ulster" parades to pass off peacefully in Dublin? :rolleyes:
Some cheek really.. :mad:

That was pure insanity alright.

ardmacha

The GAA also stands for community, volunteerism, inclusiveness, and the love of sport as a great unifier.

Exactly. The principle of the GAA that people belong to a place, and that place is part of a county and ultimately the country. This is inclusive of everyone, it does not ask you where you came from or who your ancestors were, but if you live somewhere it brings you together with your neighbours, albeit in friendly rivalry with those living in the next place. It is the antithesis of NI sectarianism which divides people into sectarian communities which look to similar communities in Glasgow rather than those in their own neighbourhood.

couerdelion

IIMII wrote: »

Pity that the thoughts of Irish people living in Ireland is so offensive to British people living here. I wonder do they behave like that in other British enclaves like the Costa del Sol and the Canaries?

As per the Good Friday agreement surely until a referendum takes place they are Irish people living in the United Kingdom albeit on the ireland of Ireland?


As a Brit I would have had no problem with people wearing GAA shirts, Sport should transcend politics.

Breezer

IIMII wrote: »

One of the most ignorant comments I have come across in a long time. Plenty of the Wolfe Tones barbaque brigade have next to no knowlege of Gaeilge

Plenty don't. Plenty do. I'm not tarring everyone with the same brush. Like I said, I love the Irish language. I can just understand other people's point of view, without necessarily agreeing with it.

Tesco would not have treated a rugby team like this

The IRFU has taken huge steps to include both traditions on this island. 'Ireland's Call' is a load of rubbish but the sentiment behind it is a good one. So Tesco would have felt no need to do this with a rugby team, since rugby offends very few people.

I probably should have stated earlier that I'm not condoning Tesco's actions. If an agreement was made in advance, and the usual policy is that jerseys are worn, then that shouldn't have been changed on the day. My original reply was in response to Cliste's question, and took me off the matter of this particular incident.