Cork's county board chairperson, Tracey Kennedy, has reiterated the board's opposition to the flying of the Confederate flag at Cork GAA matches and said they will be confiscated should anyone bring them to a ground in Cork.
In 2017, former chairperson Ger Lane condemned the use of the flag, and his successor has told the Irish Times today "As far as I’m concerned, the Confederate flag is banned. Ger’s statement in 2017 was very clear when he asked our supporters not to bring the flag to our grounds, not to use the flag, so as far as I’m concerned, it is banned."
The flag had long been used by some Cork supporters but given its links to slavery and racism, Kennedy is reminding the public of the county board's stance:
“I’m happy to make that position explicit and say it’s banned from our grounds. It has no place in our grounds or in supporting Cork teams. We’re a community association and every part of the community is welcome in the GAA.”
In the States this week, NASCAR annouced that they were formally banning the use of the flag at all of their events, with a statement saying: "The presence of the confederate flag at NASCAR events runs contrary to our commitment to providing a welcoming and inclusive environment for all fans, our competitors and our industry."
While the Cork County Board cannot control what happens at Cork matches outside of the county, and they do not have the power ban fans, Kennedy told the Irish Times anyone who brings a flag to a match in Cork will have it taken off them and she woud be happy to bring a motion to the board to formal ban it if that was deemed neccessary.
