INTO calls on GAA to cut links with Allianz in solidarity with Gaza

Tue, 07 Apr, 2026 - 20:47

Jess Casey

The Irish National Teachers Organisation (INTO) has added its voice to calls for the GAA to cut ties with insurer Allianz in solidarity with teachers and children in Gaza.

Allianz is the main sponsor of the voluntary, teacher-led primary schools GAA initiative Cumann na mBunscol.

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At the union’s annual congress, delegates passed a resolution in private session expressing strong solidarity with Gaza, and noting “the continued failure of Government to pass the Occupied Territories Bill to include services”.

It also calls on the union to add its voice to “the calls from within the GAA to demand an immediate end to Allianz’s sponsorship of GAA activities”, and notes the “ongoing presence of other multinational corporations associated with human rights abuses within the educational system”.

The union said the motion was passed with “overwhelming” support by those in attendance.

Education minister Hildegarde Naughton was greeted by members of the INTO Palestine Action Group as she arrived at the congress in Killarney, bearing signs highlighting the ongoing genocide.

Ahead of the minster’s address to congress, a crochet blanket made up of 2,900 squares created by teachers and students across Ireland was displayed to delegates. Each crochet square represents 10 children murdered in Gaza by Israel.

In December, the GAA endorsed the recommendation of its ethics and integrity commission not to sever its commercial relationship with Allianz plc.

A UN-commissioned report found that a subsidiary of Allianz was complicit in the siege in Gaza by purchasing Israeli government bonds, though the commission found Allianz plc had no direct link to it.

A spokeswoman for Allianz plc said on Tuesday: "Claims made by certain campaigners are demonstrably false, materially overstated, and in some cases involve serious allegations that are not supported by any evidence.