*Ikem Ugwueru. Photograph: Gerard O’Neill
ENNIS’ IKEM UGWUEURU has said skin colour should not be used to hold people back from playing sports.
Ikem is part of the Clare senior football panel and was introduced in Saturday’s win over Limerick to help the county qualify for a first Munster final since 2012. Born to Nigerian parents, he has was first exposed to gaelic games while attending primary school in Cloughleigh with particular mention given to Joe Garry for encouraging him to play gaelic football.
Racial abuse hurled at Wexford’s Lee Chin at a charity game between the Model County and Tipperary prompted Ikem to praise the reactions of his teammates for calling out the individual. “That’s how all of us should be really. If your team-mates are ever in bother, everyone should come around him and support him. The whole situation is very, very bad. I’ve known most of my team-mates for most of my life so if anything was to happen to me, even if it wasn’t a racial comment, they’d always have my back”.
“Obviously what happened to Lee was disappointing. And it was upsetting, because no one playing the game should ever have to go through that,” the twenty three year old said.
He led a Black Lives Matters protest in Ennis during the lockdown and Ikem himself has experienced racial abuse. “I’m not going to say it happens all the time, it’s just a small few instances. I kind of take it as motivation in a way, like, ‘I’m going to show you that everyone is allowed to play this game, that you should not discriminate against me on the colour of my skin or where I’m from or whatever. The game is for everyone.”
Speaking at of Supervalu’s Community Includes Everyone campaign, Ikem commented, “Like, you’re putting on your county’s jersey. You’re Irish, and you shouldn’t really be called anything other than that”. He added, “We’re just trying to battle this. And hopefully things will get better, but I’m all for this kind of campaign because it sheds light on it”.
A two-time Clare SFC winner with Éire Óg, Ikem has immense pride that he has inspired other black families to join the Ennis club. “Even back in Ennis, there’s young black girls and boys playing for Éire Óg now. I feel like we’re doing a really good thing in this country so, yeah, hopefully bigger and better things to come”.
