Comment: In a land of many one-eyed men, it falls on us not to be wilfully blind to racism and xenophobia

Ireland's Ronan Kelleher, Edwin Edogbo and Tadhg Beirne during the national anthems. Pic: Inpho

The first instinct was to ignore, to deny the oxygen that seems to feed the online hate and ignorance. Maybe that was the right call. Or maybe we need to keep calling out the racism and the sexism whenever or wherever we see and hear it.

The Six Nations weekend just gone was a paean to cosmopolitanism. Nowhere more so than in Dublin where thousands of Italian fans brought a vibrancy to the streets and Aviva Stadium stands that was matched by an Azzurri team that carried itself with class.

When the day was done, their captain Michele Lamaro made a point of praising referee Hollie Davidson on the day the Scot became the first woman to take charge of a men’s senior game in this great old Championship. Progress. Another step.

A video of Lamaro’s remarks posted by this writer on X has attracted almost 120,000 views, over 300 retweets and 4,000 likes. Much more significant was the layer of commentary underneath that was almost universally positive.

The few negatives coagulated around aspects of Davidson’s performance on the day, though not based on her gender, and a handful of Italian contributors eager to suggest that such respect wouldn’t be seen among the calcio community.

The very fact that a losing captain chose to highlight an official in such a positive way an hour after the final whistle was the perfect postscript to a fascinating game of rugby featuring an Ireland team reflective of the modern country at large.

Robert Baloucoune is a Fermanagh man whose father is a son of Senegal. Cormac Izuchukwu is London-born and Offaly-raised. His dad hails from Nigeria, which is where Cork’s Edwin Edogbo’s parents started life before making this country their home.

Robert Baloucoune father hails from Senegal. Pic: Billy Stickland/Inpho

“You’re playing for Ireland, you get a kind of nervousness that you never really experienced at club,” said Izuchukwu of the experience. “It's so much bigger, you know what I mean? Getting that bus in, everyone's waving at you and stuff. It's class, it’s good.” 

These are stories that enrich us. Most of us. Think of the roar around Lansdowne Road when Edogbo came on to make his debut against Italy with 70 minutes played. Think of the outpouring when Baloucoune dotted down for that superb third try.

Unfiltered joy.

If sport is, and always has been, a reflection of society then what we saw in Dublin on Saturday was of a piece with our national soccer teams, our Olympic athletes and the cities, towns and villages that produce them.

This is Ireland now and the gremlins lose their tiny minds over it.

News on Monday morning that the IRFU and Munster Rugby had to suspend comments on social media posts congratulating Edogbo on his big day will have come as no surprise. So, in a land of so many one-eyed men, maybe it falls on us all not to be wilfully blind.

“We’re aware of some targeted abuse online in recent days and continue to work with [data company] Signify and the relevant authorities to report it,” said an IRFU spokesperson when contacted by the Irish Examiner.

“We will also continue to fully support all affected by the cowardly actions of a minority and investigations are underway alongside our partners Signify. It is clear that racist abuse has no place in Irish society and the IRFU has a zero tolerance policy towards racism of any form.” The illogical nonsense that fuels all this racism and xenophobia still confounds.

Ireland's James Lowe was born in New Zealand. Pic: Billy Stickland/Inpho

It’s been said that a nation with our history of suffering and emigration should be the last to harbour these prejudices. History? A cursory glance at the Irish squad that wore the green jerseys last Saturday tells us we don’t even need to consult the past.

Emigration is still a staple of Irish life. Think of Jeremy Loughman, the Munster loosehead, who spent his first four years in the USA and then lived in Kent for eight more before the family returned to his father’s home town of Athy.

Tom O’Toole, the Ulster prop who replaced him, was born in Drogheda and lived in Meath until his family left for Australia when he was six. He returned a decade later. Dan Sheehan, the starting hooker, lived in Romania for three years.

Think of Harry Byrne and Tadhg Sheehan, players who worked and lived in the UK for six months and two years respectively having left home to further their careers in much the same way as thousands of Irish men and women before them and since.

Two of the starters, James Lowe and Jamison Gibson-Park, are New Zealanders who made Ireland their home and became Irish citizens. Bundee Aki, another Kiwi currently unavailable through suspension, followed the same path.

Ireland’s coaching staff is headed by Andy Farrell, an Englishman with Irish roots. Simon Easterby, an assistant, is English-born to a mother who played hockey for Ireland and he himself spent 15 years playing and coaching in Wales.

These lists go on.

As the world keeps making clear, logic is no antidote to fetid opinion. Gargantuan social media companies still act as reservoirs for the knuckle-draggers and the bot farms. Most governments do little or not enough to address the swamp.

That’s the bad news. The good news? There will be more Edwin Edogbos and Robert Baloucounes and Cormac Izuchukwus. More Hollie Davidsons. More Jeremy Loughmans and Tadhg Beirnes and Dan Sheehans.

This is life. This is Ireland.