Nearly a year on from the killing of George Nkencho, who was shot dead during a stand-off with gardaí in west Dublin, his brother Emmanuel Nkencho on Monday lined out on the pitch alongside George's old team-mates.
The game was organised in St Mochtas Football Club, Dublin 15, in memory of George Nkencho and Toyosi Shittabey, a 15-year-old who was stabbed to death in Tyrrelstown in 2010, which similarly ignited racial tensions in the west Dublin community.
Several former team-mates from the Insaka-Glentoran Academy, for which both young men played as teenagers, took part in the match organised by Sport Against Racism Ireland (Sari).
Ken McCue, cultural planner with Sari who helped put the memorial event together, was a previous manager of the Insaka team. "George and Toyosi were great mates, they were actually training buddies, so the whole idea behind this is to pay tribute to the two of them," he said.
Mr McCue said he felt “there’s still a lot of anger and tension out there that we need to defuse”. Football could act as a “great unifier” in bringing people from different groups or ethnic backgrounds together, he said.
George Nkencho (27) was shot dead by a member of the Armed Support Unit outside his home in Clonee, Dublin 15, on December 30th, 2020, during a stand-off with gardaí. He was armed with a knife and suffering from mental health difficulties at the time.
An investigation into the shooting by the Garda Síochána Ombudsman Commission is ongoing, despite indications it would be completed by the end of this year.
On Monday afternoon, Emmanuel Nkencho (21), started up front during the game, scoring from an overhead kick only to have it goal ruled out.
“It’s nice to see all my brothers friends. We’re doing this because he loved football and we’re trying to remember him in every way possible and what better way than with his favourite sport,” he said.
“The turnout was good . . . everyone is happy,” he said. Joking about the disallowed goal after the match, he added that he would still count it.
“With what’s going on in the world, the amount of racism, it’s good to see every ethnic minority group here, no matter what race, all here for the same cause . . . everyone all together,” he said.
Christmas had been a difficult time for the family, on the eve of the one year anniversary of his brother’s death, he added.
Match referee Richard Stephenson said the game was played in a “good spirit” and finished in a 4-4 draw.
The game had initially been planned to mark the 10 year anniversary of the killing of Toyosi Shittabey in April 2020, but was delayed due to the coronavirus pandemic.
