We live in a multi-cultural society which in recent years has seen a steady influx of immigrants from all over the world.
The reasons for the increase in immigration are manifold but this new multi-ethnic slant to our society has forced the country to go through some significant changes in recent years.
And doubtless there are further changes ahead as we continue to find more suitable ways to adapt our legislation to accommodate other cultures and to extend our culture to newcomers to help them to assimilate into Irish society.
But in this day and age it beggars belief that we should still be hearing about ugly, racist incidents like the one which marred a juvenile GAA football match in Carlow recently.
Teboga Sebala (13 ), who hails from a Nigerian background, was reportedly taunted throughout the match by a group of young girls. The incident was taken up by the national press and there was something of a national outcry over the treatment of such a young boy on the sporting field.
Perhaps the coverage that has surrounded the incident was disproportionate to what actually happened on the day. I’d be inclined to suggest that the slurs aimed at Teboga were a case of a sickening ignorance rather than any deep-seated hatred towards his ethnicity.
In most aspects of his life it appears Teboga enjoys a very normal life. A talented sportsperson, he is one of a number of young players from different ethnicities who have taken up Gaelic games and to hear him speak on local radio it would be very difficult to believe he comes from an African background, so thick was his Carlovian brogue.
But this obviously wasn’t the first time he had been taunted on the sports field because of his skin colour and sometimes it takes an incident like this to highlight a genuine problem.
The GAA, and pretty much all of the sporting bodies in Ireland, have been highly influential in helping young children from immigrant families assimilate into Irish society through sport. And with their ‘Show Racism the Red Card’ initiative, Ireland’s major sporting bodies have shown their willingness to stamp racism out of sport.
But abuse remains a common part of most sports, whether it be from supporters or from competitors, and it is not solely of a racist nature. Derogatory comments reffering to aspects of a person’s life are unfortunately commonplace on the sporting field in all age groups.
But surely the answer is not to accept that this is the harsh reality and suggest that young athletes like Teboga will need to grow a thick skin if they are to push on and succeed in their sport at a wider level.
First off people need to be educated from a young age so that they understand that these sorts of comments are not acceptable, in spite of the fact that they may often be hurled because of a misplaced sense of loyalty of competitiveness.
There is no humour in taunting someone about the colour of their skin, their accent, their religion, their sexual preference, or their home life and the sooner people realise this the better life will be for everyone who lives in this country.
City mourns a favourite son
Kilkenny was in mourning this week after the untimely death of one of the most popular men to have graced the local political scene and politicians from all parties were united in their grief for Joe Cody, a man who proved virtually peerless during his more than 30 years as a councillor.
Joe’s sharp wit and quick intelligence were the stuff of legend among councillors and even during his illness his rare appearances at city hall before his retirement earlier this year were punctuated by good humour.
No doubt his presence will be sorely missed in the chambers and by the general public. Our most sincere sympathies are extended to his wife Noelle and family.
