Why does the Government deem it proper for RTÉ to boycott the Eurovision but not for the FAI to boycott its Nations League matches against Israel? Yet his name is plastered all over the billboards for soccer’s Nations League, golf’s Irish Open, the White House shamrock ceremony, the Eurovision and the Olympics. As the country that coined the verb “to boycott”, Ireland has an especial attachment to it but the ubiquity of the word is threatening to dilute its potency. Why, for instance, does the Government deem it proper for the State-owned broadcaster to boycott this year’s Eurovision Song Contest because Israel is participating, but not for the heavily State-funded Football Association of Ireland (FAI) to boycott its Nations League matches against Israel? Ireland officially recognises a Palestinian state, though its procrastinating over the Occupied Territories Bill beggars the credibility of that stance.

Source: The Irish Times February 20, 2026 10:31 UTC