As US sports such as NASCAR announce a total ban on contentious Confederate flags and symbols - Cork GAA has reiterated that the flags will not be welcome at games.
Cork fans began flying flags linked to the American Civil War in the 1970s - most often, the battle flag of the Confederacy - at a time when the "Rebel" symbols were often seen in popular culture including American Rock music, Cork Beo reports.
However, as symbols of the Southern slave-owning states - which fought a civil war to try and preserve their rights to slavery - the flags have become increasingly controversial in the US.
NASCAR, the hugely popular motorsports series, this week announced a ban on all confederate symbols at their events. The move comes as protests over the death of African-American George Floyd have rocked the US and caused a huge debate over racism and the symbols of slavery and hate.
Cork GAA chairwoman Tracey Kennedy has re-iterated the policy first stated in 2017, that these flags are not welcome at Cork hurling and football games.
“As far as I’m concerned, the Confederate flag is banned," Ms Kennedy told the Irish Times newspaper today.
Ms Kennedy said that stewards will confiscate any such flags seen at Cork games once the GAA resumes competition.
Most Cork fans have abandoned the Confederate flag and they are rarely seen at Rebels games these days. However, some other controversial flags are sometimes still seen, such as the "Rising Sun" war flag of the Imperial Japanese Navy.
This flag has become increasingly divisive in Asia given the history of atrocities carried out by Japanese forces in the Second World War.
In 2019, South Korea officially asked for the Rising Sun flag to be banned from the now-canceled 2020 Olympics in Japan because of its associations with Japanese militarism.
