New York City mayor Zohran Mamdani said “Up the Bohs”, backing community-owned football club Bohemian FC, during a video message in support of a political festival in Dublin next week.
“Greetings to my friends at the Robert Tressell Festival,” he said, referring to the political festival to be held in RDS Concert Hall in Dublin in early June.
“Although there may be an ocean between New York and Dublin, solidarity is a powerful force. As we take one the forces of oligarchy and authoritarianism, it has never been more important that we stand together to protect the daylight and the air we breathe.
“Thank you for your work. And, as always, up the Bohs.”
His remarks about the League of Ireland club, which has previously used its platform and jerseys to champion social causes and solidarity with Palestinians, come after of wider remarks he has made about Ireland and Irish politics since he became mayor.
Mamdani is a democratic socialist and mentioned James Connolly, Patrick Pearse and Roger Casement in his St Patrick’s Day message.
In March, he also referred to the Troubles, the 1981 hunger strikes by republican prisoners in the Maze prison, the Dunnes Stores strike against apartheid South Africa and Troy Parrott’s winning goal over Hungary for a place in the World Cup qualification play-offs.
He spoke about Irish history and focused on “the solidarity the Irish have shown with the downtrodden and forgotten” – in particular with Palestinians.
He is also a vocal Arsenal FC fan and wore a club scarf at a recent press conference. He wrote an opinion piece for The New York Times in the wake of the London club’s Premier League title-race victory, referring to the team as “we” throughout as he gave a timeline of his long-time support.