Ban on South African rugby team entering State drawn up

APARTHEID PROTEST:AN ORDER specifically banning a South African rugby team from entering the Republic in 1979 had been drawn up for the government, according to files from the attorney general's office.

The team was invited by the Irish Rugby Football Union (IRFU) to play in October, and was also to play in Britain.

In September 1979 the government announced that it was banning the so-called South African Barbarians team from entering Ireland due to the apartheid system. This was not the international selection widely known as the Barbarians.

The government would not tell the IRFU or reporters what mechanism it was using to do this, and minister for foreign affairs Michael O’Kennedy would not comment on whether the Aliens Act was being used.

The draft Aliens Order was based on the Aliens Act and prohibited “members of the South African rugby football team known as the Barbarians” from “landing in or entering into the State”. However, under the order, the team could not have been prevented from entering through Britain or Northern Ireland.

The IRFU was disappointed at the failure of the government to advise it of the manner in which it intended to refuse the team’s entry, IRFU secretary Bob Fitzgerald wrote in a letter to the taoiseach.

There had been much public pressure leading up to the game from unions and the anti-apartheid movement, and internationally. The IRFU did not withdraw the invitation, despite an appeal from the government to do so.

In a press release, the government said that it valued the independence of sporting organisations and should only involve itself in “the most exceptional circumstances”.

The IRFU said while it opposed apartheid and racism in sport, the government might not have been aware of the advances made towards non-racial football in South Africa.

President of the IRFU Jimmy Montgomery said allowing the team to play would help to promote racial harmony in South Africa.

The team did not play Ireland that autumn. However, the team’s tour in the UK sparked protests, with nails having been placed on one Welsh pitch.

A different South African boycott issue arose in 1978, but this time the authorities were against a boycott taking place in Ireland.

Following a boycott of South African mail and telephone calls staged by postal workers in the UK which also spread to France, the solicitor at the Department of Posts and Telegraphs asked the attorney general about the legality of such an action in Ireland.

The attorney general said it would be illegal in his opinion for such a boycott to take place.