A SCOTTISH Gaelic football team has decided to stage a boycott of the Puma brand in solidarity with the people of Palestine.

Puma, which sponsors Israel’s national football team, is one of the brands on a list produced by the Palestine BDS National Committee, which has asked for organisations to boycott Israeli and international companies that are complicit in violations of Palestinian rights.

The male players for Scottish GAA team Dalriada – based across Dundee and Aberdeen – agreed at an AGM to avoid wearing Puma clothing to training where possible as part of showing support for Palestinians caught up in the Israeli bombardment of Gaza.

The team also chose to set aside its rivalry with Glasgow-based Tír Conaill Harps at the weekend as the clubs joined together for a photo after their intermediate championship final fixture where they held up a banner stating “Stop Gaza Genocide”.

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Dáire Magorrian, who is a committee member at Dalriada GFC, told The National how many players had felt an emotional connection to the people of Palestine.

He said: “Everything that has been going on has felt quite close to ourselves and we wanted to make an impact in any way we can.

“I think it comes from that fact Irish people and the Irish diaspora have an acute awareness of the impact of colonialism and imperialism and everything that comes with that and how a displaced people can be treated in such a way.

“I think it hits home with quite a lot of people. Protests in Ireland have been extremely well attended and I think even before recent events there was quite a strong solidarity with the people of Palestine.”

On the boycott of Puma, Magorrian added: “As a sporting organisation it made sense as something for people to target and be a bit more conscious of.

“The boycott we’re doing is being done by the men’s team and it’s not something to be policed as such, but the idea is to try and not be buying Puma stuff if you can avoid it, like avoid wearing Puma stuff to training for example. It’s just what we think we should be working towards.”

The move echoes one made by staff at The Stand in Glasgow in November where hospitality staff began staging a worker-led boycott of PepsiCo products.

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The joint photo was inspired by some of the other GAA teams in Ireland who have made statements of solidarity, such as the Dublin Ladies team who held a demonstration ahead of one of their matches.

Dalriada club member Cathal Ó Gaillín, who organised the action along with fellow Magorrian, said: “With our shared histories of oppression, genocide and erasure it’s logical our solidarity goes out to Palestinians in Gaza, the West Bank and across 1948 Palestine.

“Given the significance of this Scottish final we felt it important to make a public stand and expression of this solidarity. The struggle must extend into all spheres of life including the cultural and the sporting and we encourage any other team thinking about doing similar to follow suit at the local, national or international level.”

There are plans in the pipeline too for GAA teams across Scotland to stage a Darkness to Light Walk on the May bank holiday weekend, which will see each club walk through the night to a specific landmark in their local area to raise money for Medical Aid for Palestinians.