James Gallagher: Carrying the Irish Tricolor

Anthony Taylor was a relative unknown when he landed in Dublin ahead of his Bellator 169 meeting with 20-year-old SBG Ireland prospect James Gallagher. Although the inexperienced American brought some interest to the bout by labeling the John Kavanagh protégé “a little boy,” it was a comment he made at the event’s pre-fight press conference that really struck a chord with the Irish masses.

“You’re not even Irish,” Taylor said, firing his words in Gallagher’s direction before murmurs broke out in the assembly at the Gibson Hotel. “Why are you talking about being Irish? You’re British.”

Gallagher’s father was quick to respond from the crowd: “You’re out of line, Anthony.”

Although he seemed to enjoy the exchange, Muhammed Lawal gestured for the gathering to calm down after the comment. Chris Fields then advised “King Mo” to tell his countryman to quiet down given the inflammatory nature of his words. Later, on the advice of A.J. McKee, Taylor apologized to Gallagher.

Given the amount of bloodshed due to sectarian violence in Northern Ireland during “The Troubles” -- a war between unionists and nationalists that was waged over the constitutional status of Northern Ireland from the late 1960s until 1998 -- issues concerning flags, political status and religion have to be approached sensitively. Unionists want to see Northern Ireland remain within the United Kingdom, while nationalists want Northern Ireland to leave the United Kingdom and join the Republic of Ireland to create one united nation. Gallagher’s hometown of Strabane is situated in Northern Ireland geographically, but like a lot of athletes that hail from the country, he chooses to carry the Republic’s tricolor flag instead of the Ulster banner or the Union Flag.

“I come from Ireland; that’s how I see it. That’s why I carry the tricolor,” Gallagher told Sherdog.com. “I’ve always considered myself Irish. As far as I’m concerned, it doesn’t matter where it is I was born: north, south, east or west. I live in Ireland. It’s never been about supporting the Republic or supporting the North for me. Strabane, where I was born, is a very small place. By the time I was a teenager, the violence had calmed down a lot. There were riots sometimes and there was trouble with the police, but really, it was nowhere near what used to be happening.

“I guess my sense of being Irish just came from the friends I grew up with,” he added. “It was never really something we talked about. We were just Irish. That’s just the way it always was.”

Despite the fact that part of Gallagher’s family was affected by “The Troubles,” the undefeated featherweight insists his use of the flag is not politically driven.

“My family was hurt badly by what happened during ‘The Troubles,’ but they’ve always kept that away from me,” Gallagher said. “There was never any pressure on me to believe in certain things or to think a certain way. There was a lot of hate in the previous generations when it comes to the North, but I really don’t think that exists anymore for the vast majority of people.

“I really don’t care about other peoples’ nationalities,” he continued. “If you’re a nice person, that’s really all that matters to me. It’s none of my business if my neighbor considers himself British, I don’t feel the need to make him justify that to me. At that same time, I don’t need to justify using the tricolor to him. People just don’t bring this stuff up out of the blue. If I’m cool with you and you’re cool with me, even though we consider ourselves to be different nationalities, it doesn’t matter. That’s the way it should be.

“When I was a kid and I started to get a little older, I used to drift into different areas and we’d end up getting into fights with some of the Protestant kids,” Gallagher added. “Honestly, we would go deliberately sometimes and they would come to our areas for the same reason, too. That was just being young and stupid, though; there was never any real hate in it. I’d come home after being in those fights and I’d get a clip around the ear from my dad. He would tell me that the times when these things happened had passed, and that was always the way it was in my home.”

Gallagher -- who will return to the cage opposite Kirill Medvedovsky at Bellator 173 on Feb. 24 in Belfast -- believes that despite the permutations that come along with the discussion, people in Ireland should be able to talk sensibly about subjects like nationality.

“I think that the taboo that comes along with the conversation only adds to the problem,” he said. “Just because it offends someone else, I shouldn’t have to hide the fact that I carry the tricolor. If we can’t talk about these things, we’re not going to be able to help the situation.

“As I said, if there’s a guy living down the road from me who considers himself British and wants to use a different flag than I use, fair play to him,” Gallagher added. “I’m not going to tell him that he can’t do that. That’s not my place to do that. Even if I don’t agree with it, I’m not going to stop that person doing their thing. At the same time, nobody can argue with me being a proud Irishman.”