Gaelic Football Legend David Hickey Wants War Profiteers Out Of His Sport

DUBLIN — David Hickey was built for Gaelic football, the sport that can’t stick to sports. Hickey, who was a two-time GAA all-star and four-time All-Ireland winner as a half-forward for Dublin, used football’s biggest weekend as a platform for protests. 

First, Hickey loudly refused to show up for a so-called Legends Lunch at storied Croke Park on July 24, where he was to be honored alongside other members of the Dubs’ 1976 championship side. Hickey’s boycott was aimed at the Gaelic Players Association (GPA), the event’s organizer and primary football player advocacy group, for what he called its “failure to take a stance” against Allianz, a Germany-based insurance giant with a fetish for profiting from crimes against humanity. The transnational underwriter has been the preeminent sponsor of Irish games, hurling and football, since 1993, when it acquired naming rights for the national leagues in both sports. Allianz also invested billions of dollars in Israel’s invasion and occupation of Gaza. 

“I do not want the memory of that team associated in any way with the GPA, who have failed miserably to stand up for anything worthwhile apart from money,” said Hickey, who became Ireland’s leading transplant surgeon and a high-profile social activist after leaving the game.