Bohemian FC Celebrate Link To Bob Marley
By Brian Houlihan
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The Irish football team Bohemians who play their games at Dalymount Park in Dublin have unveiled their latest away kit. Such an announcement typically wouldn’t make news outside of Ireland but the decision to include Bob Marley on the jersey has raised eyebrows both domestically and internationally. Yet for the club itself, the decision to include him was not a stretch as some observers might conclude.
The team will wear the jersey for the 2019 Premier Division season which kicks off in February. The kit has been manufactured in collaboration with ‘O’Neills’ who are one of the biggest sporting brands in Ireland. Coincidentally, the club is sponsored by ‘Mr. Green’ an online casino company. One might be forgiven for thinking they operate in the cannabis space but alas Ireland isn’t quite that liberal yet.
While speaking to Irish media Bohemians director Daniel Lambert said “Dalymount has played a unique part, chiefly in the sporting, but also in the musical and cultural history of Dublin City, and indeed Ireland.” Earlier this year a mural celebrating Bob Marley and Phil Lynnot of Thin Lizzy fame was erected near the stadium.
The reggae legend played a famous gig at Dalymount Park in July 1980. At the time Ireland was only beginning to attract international artists so hosting Marley was seen as a high point for the country. Since then the gig has gone down in folklore. Marley was aware of troubles in Ireland at the time and “Redemption Song” was dedicated to the Irish struggle. The gig was also possibly Marley’s last outdoor concert before his untimely death just ten months later adding extra significance to it.
At a time when cannabis culture was very much underground in Ireland, the national press pondered whether Marley should be allowed to bring his cannabis into the country. Alas, most of the discussion around this quickly steered towards hysteria. Just like his gig was a changing point in Ireland perhaps his inclusion on a sporting kit will be fondly remembered as a watershed moment in years to come.
A limited supply of jerseys are available for pre-order from http://shop.bohemians.ie. The jersey is priced at €49 for children and €59 for adults, Bohemians expect them to be delivered by the second week of December.
Brian Houlihan is the curator of the Dublin Hemp Museum and regularly writes about hemp. Follow him on Twitter at @dubhempmuseum and@houlihanbrian. You can also find us on Facebook.
