Offaly passes motion calling for the GAA to cut ties with Allianz

By Kevin Egan

Growing grassroots unease at the GAA’s relationship with Allianz Insurance was in evidence last night (Tuesday) as Offaly GAA passed a motion asking the association to “begin the process of ending all commercial involvement” with the German financial services company.

In August, a petition signed by close to 800 current and former Gaelic games stars calling on the association to drop Allianz Insurance as a sponsor was handed into Croke Park, which led to the GAA referring the issue to their newly-constituted Ethics and Integrity Commission last month. So far there has been no update to members on that group’s deliberations.

However parallel to this, at the Offaly County Committee meeting last night, a motion was brought forward by Ferbane GAA urging Croke Park to end the GAA's association with Allianz Insurance based on the findings of a UN report. The report, 'From economy of occupation to economy of genocide', highlighted Allianz's role in the illegal occupation of Palestinian territory.

In this report, Allianz Insurance, one of GAA's most high-profile sponsors, is identified as one of the corporations that has "continued to support, profit from and normalize an economy operating in genocidal mode".

The report details the purchase of Israeli war bonds ($960 million) by Allianz Insurance and their investment in shares and bonds implicated in the occupation and genocide.

The current sponsorship deal with Allianz is set to continue until 2030, making it one of the longest-running sponsorships in Irish sport, having been in place since 1993. Allianz Insurance are also the underwriters for all the GAA's clubs and grounds.

The motion presented to Offaly County Board delegates, proposed by Brian Flynn of Ferbane GAA club, read as follows: ‘In light of the findings of the recent UN report that Allianz Insurance is profiting from the illegal occupation of Palestine, the GAA should begin the process of ending all commercial involvement with Allianz Insurance’.

A healthy discussion took place on the matter, with the GAA's previous track record in distancing itself from the smoking, alcohol and gambling industries highlighted as evidence of adopting ethical positions in the past, despite cost implications to the organisation.

In the main there was consensus on the principle of the motion, but a view also emerged that any decision should be deferred until the Ethics and Integrity Committee had issued its findings.

Offaly CCC secretary Pat Teehan, also a former Leinster GAA chairperson, made a counter proposal to defer a decision on the motion until after that committee’s findings were issued. However, that counter proposal was defeated and so the motion was adopted.