Wexford footballer Ethan Boyle says he doesn't want his son to have to deal with racism like he does.
It follows an incident recently when the Captain of Wexford FC was out in a park with his 18-month-old son, Archer.
Ethan Boyle's parents - an Irish mother and Jamaican father - met in England where he was born but he has spent the majority of his life in Wexford.
He told Lunchtime Live the conversation began around cleaning up after dogs.
"I was just going to the park with my son and there was a lady walking her dogs and her dog was doing what dogs do on the grass," he said.
"It appeared like she was going to walk away from it so I just looked to see what she would do.
"She gestured down to pick it up with a bag... she walked by, we made eye contact, she was shaking her head - she was clearly not happy with me."
'She looked me up and down and laughed'
Ethan Boyle and the woman exchanged words about picking up after dogs with the woman suggesting it's "nothing to do with you" before she walked around the park.
"She was just doing her rounds and she came back and I said to her, 'I am from Ireland, I'm from Wexford'" he said.
"She kind of looked me up and down and laughed and said, 'Yeah right'.
"There was a few back and forths between us".
Mr Boyle said he has experienced racism before but not in such a scenario.
"It's the first time it's happened to me in a park with my son," he said.
"I've encountered racism before and stuff like that but never in that scenario.
"There's definitely been occasions when I was younger amongst other kids and stuff like that.
"But that's with other kids and kids can pick that up from their parents.
"Kids can just say things and they're not really fully educated on stuff, so it's a different scenario to now".
'Nothing to do with me'
Ethan Boyle said he ran into the same woman about a week later.
"I came across this lady again, I was with my son, and I seen her walking and I thought she might interact with me again," he said.
"I just said to her good morning... but she apologised to me for the week's previous.
"Then she did begin to go on a rant about Muslims entering the country and all this stuff with the EU.
"I understand there are probably some immigration issues but it's nothing to do with me really.
"I'm just in the park with my son".
Mr Boyle said he hopes the world will be better for his child.
"I'm quite thick skinned, anyone that knows me [knows that] not much will really bother me," he said.
"But the fact that I now have a son I have to think about his future as well.
"The world is quite a scary place anyway, there's lots of things you have to worry about which I will teach my son about.
"But in that scenario I hadn't really thought too much about it until that situation.
"It kind of makes me think about the future: I don't want my son to deal with any ignorance or racism like that," he added.
He shared a post about the experience on X.
Im hoping by sharing this the woman in question will eventually see this. I've dealt with racism and bigots before without feeling the need to tell social media. In this instance though I feel to make a exception. It's a bit of a read but if you've a couple of minutes please do. pic.twitter.com/6Yh0biyi4U
— Ethan Boyle (@ethanboyle22) June 27, 2024
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