Insaka FC have scheduled a tribute game in honour of George Nkencho and Toyosi Shittabey on December 27th at 2pm on St Mochta's grounds on Porterstown Road in Clonsilla. Israel Ibeanu will act as referee for the match.

Insaka remains Ireland's only football team for members of the African diaspora and other ethnic backgrounds in Dublin. The club will honour their former teammates, who died in tragic circumstances over the past few years.

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The game has been organised in association with Sport Against Racism Ireland (SARI) and will feature two teams comprising players across communities in Blanchardstown. A previously arranged match was sadly cancelled over the summer due to fears over incursions from the far right. Highly-organised anti-immigrant groups led to numerous teams in the area feeling reluctant to participate.

George Nkencho had always dreamed of becoming a professional footballer, Israel Ibeanu told Hot Press. Football, he says, distracted and shielded his friend from racist bullying at school and, indeed, from the wider racial injustice that he witnessed in Irish society.

Ken McCue, of Sports Against Racism in Ireland (SARI), organises football teams with the objective of involving young multi-ethnic and Black players across the country. Ken recalls that George Nkencho used to play with them in Dublin, between 2010 and 2011.

“He was very ready, able and willing to play," Ken says. "He had really good qualities.”

15-year-old Toyosi Shittabey was a teammate of George Nkencho, and was murdered on April 2nd, 2010. The Nigerian-born student was stabbed in the heart during an attack in Tyrrelstown, Dublin by Paul Barry and tragically died as a result. The teenage boy was on his way home from the National Aquatic Centre when the stabbing took place.

Michael Barry, Paul's brother, was later acquitted of the crime in December 2012. The accused, Paul Barry, had previously been charged with a racially-motivated assault in the city but died of an overdose on the morning his murder trial was due to begin. Ibanu says Shitabbey’s murder left a lasting scar on Nkencho.

“It really affected him,” he tells Hot Press. “There was this brotherly love between them.”

After the incident, George Nkencho, who used to be mostly quiet, became more outspoken about racial injustice.

“If anyone said anything he felt was wrong he'd say something about it," Ibanu recalls.

27-year-old Nkencho was fatally shot by members of a Garda Armed Response Unit outside his family home in Clonee following a violent incident at a nearby shop on December 30th, 2020.

The circumstances of the death of Nkencho, who was experiencing a mental health crisis, are currently being investigated by the Garda Síochána Ombudsman Commission (GSOC). There is no result as yet from the official enquiry into his death.

His sister Gloria Nkencho released the following statement in the aftermath of George's death:

"Thank you for all your condolences and prayers. My siblings and I have witnessed the most traumatic experience of our lives as our brother was shot in front of us. George was suffering from serious mental illness and those who knew him knew the type of person he was. He was not a thug nor a criminal.

"My family greatly appreciate everything everyone is doing. I kindly ask to refrain from sharing the video of the shooting. It is not something I wish to be reminded of. May God bless you all. Thank you."

The hope is that the GSOC inquiry will unequivocally establish the facts. Can it be true that a platoon of Gardaí were not sufficiently well trained, individually or collectively, to bring one individual, carrying a knife, under control without resorting to lethal force? That question will certainly haunt the Gardaí and local people alike until we have a full and satisfactory answer.

Revisit the full Hot Press interview with Israel Ibeanu, friend of George Nkencho, here.