{"id":307432,"date":"2026-02-20T05:15:12","date_gmt":"2026-02-20T05:15:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/307432\/"},"modified":"2026-02-20T05:15:12","modified_gmt":"2026-02-20T05:15:12","slug":"drogheda-united-sponsor-reviewing-partnership-in-wake-of-israel-boycott-controversy","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/307432\/","title":{"rendered":"Drogheda United sponsor reviewing partnership in wake of Israel boycott controversy"},"content":{"rendered":"

ONE OF DROGHEDA United\u2019s primary sponsors says it is reviewing its partnership in the wake of the controversy involving co-chairperson Joanna Byrne and other members of the board.<\/p>\n

Sullivan & Lambe, a Meath-based stone specialist, hold naming rights of the League of Ireland club\u2019s ground and have thrown their support behind Byrne following events of the last 24 hours.<\/p>\n

Byrne, who is also a Sinn F\u00e9in TD for Louth and the party\u2019s spokesperson on sport, released a statement yesterday detailing<\/a> how the Drogheda board have said her position as co-chairperson is untenable because of her calls for a boycott of the Republic of Ireland\u2019s Nations League games with Israel.<\/p>\n

\"Drogheda
\n X – @dubsoulrebel<\/p>\n

X – @dubsoulrebel<\/a>\n<\/p>\n

\"Drogheda
\n X – @dubsoulrebel<\/p>\n

X – @dubsoulrebel<\/a>\n<\/p>\n

\"Drogheda
\n X – @dubsoulrebel<\/p>\n

X – @dubsoulrebel<\/a>\n<\/p>\n

On Wednesday, she said the club\u2019s board informed her of their concerns \u201cwith an expectation that I would resign, something I have told them that I intend to resist\u201d.<\/p>\n

She described the board\u2019s move as \u201cunwarranted\u201d and \u201cprofoundly hurtful\u201d, while Drogheda released a statement of their own last night and insisted that concerns expressed by her fellow directors are \u201cunrelated to anyone\u2019s specific political or moral views, and at no point were any such concerns expressed.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat was expressed was a concern over the open criticism of Uefa and the FAI, regulatory bodies to whom the club is subject, as well as each club official\u2019s responsibility to respect the neutrality provisions of the Fifa Code of Ethics and the Uefa Statutes.\u201d<\/p>\n

The fallout has continued with Sullivan & Lambe detailing their backing for Byrne and hope for a resolution that sees her remain in situ.<\/p>\n

They also expressed disappointment at the manner in which Trivela Group, the American investment firm that have owned Drogheda since 2023, have reacted to Byrne\u2019s stance.<\/p>\n

The statement in full reads:<\/p>\n

\u201cSullivan & Lambe are extremely concerned by the current attempts to remove Joanna Byrne as Chairperson of Drogheda United for remarks she made in relation to the Republicof Ireland\u2019s men\u2019s team upcoming game against Israel.<\/p>\n

\u201cOur connection to Drogheda United is not transactional \u2014 it is generational and rooted in community, identity and pride in our town. As a business, and as lifelong supporters of Drogheda United, this development troubles us deeply.<\/p>\n

\u201cOur owners, like every citizen, hold personal political views. However, those views are kept entirely separate from both our business interests and our role within the football community. That is a line we believe must always be respected and one that Trivela should follow.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe do not believe political opinions expressed by a sitting TD, especially one who is a spokesperson for her political party on sport, should become grounds for interference in the governance of a community football club. Drogheda United must remain a football club first and foremost \u2014 inclusive, community-driven and independent of political pressure.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe are therefore deeply disappointed at the approach that Trivela Group have taken and the precedent it sets.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhile this situation continues to unfold, Sullivan & Lambe will be actively reviewing our position as sponsors of Drogheda United in the coming days.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe sincerely hope that calm heads prevail and that the club\u2019s integrity, independence and community focus are protected.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"ONE OF DROGHEDA United\u2019s primary sponsors says it is reviewing its partnership in the wake of the controversy…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":307433,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[103980,43865,42,2539,32808,43,40,38,41,39],"class_list":{"0":"post-307432","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-headlines","8":"tag-drogheda-united","9":"tag-fallout","10":"tag-headlines","11":"tag-league-of-ireland","12":"tag-loi","13":"tag-news","14":"tag-top-news","15":"tag-top-stories","16":"tag-topnews","17":"tag-topstories"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/307432","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=307432"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/307432\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/307433"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=307432"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=307432"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=307432"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}