Latest news with #SarahKeane
Irish Times
10-07-2025
- Politics
- Irish Times
More than 300 sportspeople sign letter urging Central Bank to change stance on approving Israel bonds
More than 300 sporting figures have signed a letter to Swim Ireland chief executive Sarah Keane asking that she use her role as a commissioner of the Central Bank of Ireland to push for a reconsideration of its position in relation to Israeli state bonds. Former rugby internationals John Robbie, Tony Ward and Trevor Hogan along with soccer international Ruesha Littlejohn and Dublin footballer Leah Caffrey are among those to sign the letter. It urges Ms Keane to 'raise the ending of regulation of Israel bonds as a matter of the gravest urgency with the Central Bank of Ireland banking commission or demand an emergency meeting of the banking commission before the renewal date at the end of August'. International footballer James McClean , Olympic boxer Paddy Barnes and former rugby international Jenny Murphy are among the signatories. READ MORE The Central Bank's approval for the prospectus of the bonds is due to be renewed by that time. Helen Mahony, of Ireland Palestine Solidarity Campaign , said on Thursday the group had written to the Central Bank's commission and each of its individual members three times, but had no response other than a letter from its secretary. This reply acknowledged the correspondence, but said it stood by Gabriel Makhlouf's view that the regulator 'has to approve a prospectus for the offer of securities to the public where it meets the required standards of completeness and consistency'. Bonds are types of financial securities. He said the law 'is also clear that our approval should not be considered an endorsement of the issuer or of the securities'. There is particular disappointment, the Palestine support groups say, that neither Ms Keane nor former senior trade unionist Shay Cody, who is also on the commission, has done more to raise concerns about the bank's position. In their letter, the sporting figures argue the Bank is subject not only to EU banking financial regulations but also to the Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide. 'This is encoded in Irish law in the Genocide Act, 1973,' the letter states. 'Persons contributing to and in the knowledge that genocide is happening are punishable under the Act, whether they are constitutionally responsible rulers, public officials or private individuals. 'The link between dead Palestinians and the Central Bank is a straight line.' Former rugby international Trevor Hogan said on Thursday: 'For me, it feels like they're hiding behind the regulations. 'There's a wider legal interpretation that they could take, and I also think there's a sporting and human angle [against which] they could reconsider what they're doing here. They could just take a stand and say, 'Sorry, no, we're not going to sign this'.' People need to 'push hard like we did with South Africa in the apartheid era,' he said. 'Everyone knew the kind of right and wrong there and we're at that stage now.' The appeal to Ms Keane, he said, was not intended to personalise the issue, but was based in part on her connection to sport and appreciation of the way it, along with so many aspects of normal daily life, has been completely devastated. Former basketball international Rebecca O'Keeffe said: 'Over 800 athletes and sports personnel have murdered so far in the West Bank and Gaza , since October 2023, over 470 of them football players, yet we see Fifa saying nothing.'
The Irish Sun
10-07-2025
- Politics
- The Irish Sun
‘This isn't right' – Ex-Irish Olympics boss urged to stop Central Bank's ‘genocide bonds' amid Israel siege on Gaza
A DIRECT appeal has been made to former OFI President Sarah Keane to stop the Central Bank facilitating Israel bonds. The Central Bank of Ireland is the sole authority which facilitates the sale of so-called 'genocide bonds' in the 2 Former Olympic Federation of Ireland President Sarah Keane Credit: Sam Barnes/Sportsfile 2 A Palestine flag amongst Derry City supporters during the Sports Direct Men's FAI Cup Final match against Drogheda Utd at the Aviva Stadium Credit: Ben McShane/Sportsfile This is set to be renewed in September but more than 300 sports people - including football captain Con O'Callaghan and former Keane was the President of the Olympic Federation of Ireland between 2017 and 2024 and is credited with overseeing much-needed reform in the organsiation. She remains the CEO of Swim Ireland and is a Central Bank board member which has prompted Sport for Former Leinster player and prominent activist Trevor Hogan said: 'Without trying to make it personal to Sarah but Sarah is involved in Read More on Palestine 'For my own self, it really hits home when I think about what's happened to sport on top of everything else, on top of the starvation, the forced displacement and everything. 'There's no sport, it doesn't exist, every facility has been destroyed and all sporting teams have been either subject to killings or just shut down so, from that, how can we not have some sort of sanction on the people who are doing that, which is the Israeli state, who are still involved in all sorts of sporting activity, they freely . 'We have a chance to say, 'No, we're not going to contribute to that continuing genocide', and we can actually appeal to Sarah from a sporting point of view. 'It's not necessarily even a sanction, it's just a little bit of a signal to say, 'Hold on, we need to Most read in Sport Sport for Palestine said they had written to all 10 members of the They also contacted the commission itself. The only response it received was in relation to that communication. Palestine GAA players watch camogie match on laptop It referred to its governor Gabriel Makhlouf's statement in front of an But Hogan added: 'They maybe thought they could put it to bed and hide it. For me, it feels like they're hiding behind the regulations, whereas there's a wider legal interpretation that they could take. 'Most reasonable people would say 'Yeah let's do that and let's take a step'.' Hogan took part in an attempt to break the Israeli blockade of Gaza in 2011. Asked if he could have seen things worsen to the extent they have, the four-times-capped Ireland international said: 'I probably didn't think it would be this bad. 'I didn't think that the genocide would have got to the level where they wiped out every 'I didn't anticipate that but I do think that has brought it to a turning point in a way. The mask is off on what they're trying to do, the mask is off in who is supporting them in terms of America and 'It's 'right where do we stand now?' so it's not this 'both sides' anymore, 'Well if I say this about Palestine, I have to balance it with this'. 'No one needs to do that anymore, they know where to stand so let's push hard like we did with Hogan also voiced his dismay at the next Wednesday. He said: 'We got a Gaza kids group here in 2015-16. A lot of those obstacles were put in place but we managed to get through and it was just so uplifting to see the outcome of that when the kids came over. 'Show a little bit of leeway, it feels like they're artificially making it difficult but we keep going, keep appealing to them because there is time for it to still happen.'
