Letters to the Editor: Irish soccer squad should not play Israel

With over a thousand Palestinian athletes killed by the hands of Israel, the Boys in Green should refused to play the fixture on October 4

Ireland's Troy Parrott celebrates after scoring his sides first goal of his side's first fixture against Israel in this Nations League international window. Picture: Ryan Byrne/Inpho

Members of the Irish soccer squad considering participating in the Nations League game on Sunday, should spare a thought for the many fellow footballers brutally killed in the genocide.

They include 'Palestinian Pelé' Sulaiman Al-Obaid — a legend of the sport who scored more than 100 goals in his career. 

In August 2025, he was shot dead when Israel attacked civilians waiting for humanitarian aid.

In December 2024, 20-year-old Muhammad Khalifa and his brother Mahmoud (members of the Palestinian national youth football team) were killed, along with their mother, in an Israeli air strike on a refugee camp in Gaza.

Muhammad, described as “a brilliant footballer”, full of fun and joy, visited Ireland in 2016 and 2017 and, with other Palestinians, played against League of Ireland clubs. 

They met former president Michael D Higgins who recalled the encounter with “the warmest of memories”.

Also dead is Hani Al-Masdar, a former midfielder for Al-Maghazi and Gaza sports clubs who was the coach of Palestine’s Olympic football team. He lost his life in an aerial assault on the village of Al-Musaddar.

In July, the Palestinian Football Association mourned the loss of 32-year-old goalkeeper Saleem Al-Ashqar who was shot dead during an Israeli attack.

Hanan Wael Al-Hawajri trained twice a week with the Ahli Club girls’ team in central Gaza. She and her family died in an Israeli bombardment. 

“She was one of the first to join the team and she loved football very much,” a devastated friend said. “She dreamed of winning a championship for the club. The occupation killed her.”

More than 1,000 Palestinian footballers and other athletes have been shot, bombed, or starved to death by Israel.

The Boys in Green must remember the murdered and the maimed and should refuse to play on October 4.

Philip Kiernan, Mullingar, Co Westmeath

Gift tax on people with a disability

Regarding inheritance tax and the Government avoiding the issue, there is also another form of abuse that has gone on far too long. Part of the silence is due to parents feeling vulnerable and unable to question the powers of authority, such as the Revenue Commissioners.

Parents of adult children who have a disability have a lifelong fear about the future for their sons or daughters after their parents die. Independent living with supports, or living in care close to their communities, is non existent due to poor planning.

To add insult to our most vulnerable, when they receive an inheritance from parents, Revenue makes no exceptions for their disabilities. They are also means tested for the medical card and their only source of income, ie, disability allowance, can be reduced or removed. 

This is no way to treat our most vulnerable. Life has robbed them of the aspirations and opportunities we take for granted, they live with daily struggles that can only be understood if you have first-hand experience.

Revenue treats adult children like a cash cow on receipt of receiving inheritance. This is never highlighted. Our special needs son or daughter will be at risk of losing the meagre supports such as their medical card and disability allowance. 

On the other hand, the Government has created so many loopholes for big corporate multinationals to apply for tax breaks, but if you are unfortunate enough to have a disability for life, no allowances are made when it comes to inheritance which has already been taxed by their parents over their lifetime.

Parents want to provide lifetime financial assistance for those who will never be in a position to create their own wealth. It is wrong and this needs to stop.

Siobhan O’Rourke, Dooneen, Castleisland, Co Kerry

Geometry matters in mathematics

Giving her reasons for resigning from the National Council for Curriculum and Assessment (NCCA) maths group set up to reform the LC maths syllabus, Professor Pauline Mellon stated inter alia that geometry, mathematical induction, and complex numbers were to be removed from the existing one; no reasons were given for discarding them. 

According to us, it makes no sense to exclude these topics from the syllabus, and at the same time aim to produce a mathematical curriculum that includes problem-solving techniques.

For generations, Euclid’s geometry served as the best model to teach such methods. Down the ages, geometry problems have been recognised as the best discriminator of mathematical ability — and it still is: Invariably two of the six problems that appear annually on the International Mathematical Olympiad papers are geometry questions.

Without mathematical induction, “the binomial theorem and de Moivre’s theorem”, in particular, cannot be proved or adequately explained.

A proper treatment of solutions of quadratic equations cannot be discussed without alluding to complex numbers. It is a real shame to omit complex numbers, and miss the opportunity to tell Irish students that they were first placed on a proper logical foundation by William Rowan Hamilton, an Irish mathematician. 

He defined them as pairs of real numbers (x,y), and showed how to add and multiply them so that (-1,0) is the square of (0,1). Hey presto, the existence of the square root of -1. 

His discovery of complex numbers inspired him to investigate similar ways to multiply triples of numbers, which led to his creation of quaternions.

Finbarr Holland and Eugene Gath, retired mathematicians, via email

Sensible spending

The money it will cost the taxpayer, and the Department of Finance, to give teenagers a €100 so-called ‘culture allowance’ in the budget, could be put to much better use by creating open spaces in green fields for families and children to exercise and play.

This would be far more sensible and beneficial.

Children, their families, friends, and communities having access to places where they can play, have fun, exercise, sit, and chat in open green spaces with fresh air would benefit the mental and physical health of everyone involved.

It would strengthen bonds between families, neighbours, and communities.

Families and neighbours who play together stay together.

The benefits would be long-lasting, and enjoyed by all. This would be taxpayers’ money spent sensibly and in a worthwhile way.

Fresh air, sitting on benches, reading, chatting, singing, socialising, enjoying the outdoors, appreciating the environment, biodiversity, and nature.

It’s life as it should be.

Margaret Walshe, Clonsilla Rd, Dublin 15