The principal of St Mary’s Christian Brothers’ Grammar School in Belfast has given her reaction to the footage of hip hop star Kanye West wearing the school’s colours.
In the 2000s and 2010s, Kanye West was at the top of the commercial hip hop game, releasing album after album to critical acclaim with featured artists like Jay-Z, Rihanna, and Paul McCartney.
However, in recent years, he has become just as famous for sharing problematic views on Twitter – including Holocaust denial – and for his support for and relationship with former US President Donald Trump.
One way or another, he is one of the most famous people in the world. So, it came as some surprise to see West dressed in a GAA jersey belonging to a West Belfast school.
Kanye West and St Mary’s – rapper repping Belfast school
West appeared on TikTok recently, enjoying – or rather, not enjoying – a pedicure. The hip hop star seemed to experience some pain early on in the video before telling the pedicurist, “I’m not gonna do the rest. It’s my toes”.
But it wasn’t the treatment or even his reaction that caught the attention of the Irish TikTok audience. Instead, it was West’s choice of attire that caused a stir on Irish shores.
In the past, the rapper has collaborated with the likes of Adidas, Balenciaga, and Gap. But it appears that a GAA jersey from Belfast school St Mary’s was West’s outfit of choice for his pedicure appointment.
Principal reaction – “more than happy”
St Mary’s Principal Siobhán Kelly said, “As a school, we are more than happy that he has our top”.
“Goodness knows where he got it,” Kelly told Belfast Live. “We started to get messages [the other] night as people were sending it through, and some of our past pupils were wondering where on earth the link to the school is”.
So, what’s the link? – why is Kanye wearing a St Mary’s jersey?
What makes the story even more bizarre is that the jersey is one of only 35 specially made for players and staff ahead of the school’s victorious appearance in the 2008 MacLarnon Cup final.
“As far as we can recall, there were only 35 of the tops made for the playing squad and the management,” said Kelly. “So, we don’t know where he got it from”.
Just why on earth does Kanye West have a St Mary’s GAA jersey, then? Could there be something in the current rumour circulating St Mary’s that the rapper is part of the staff now? Did West play corner-forward in that 2008 final under a pseudonym?
Whatever the answer, Kelly has revealed that St Mary’s staff and students, past and present, are having a good laugh.
“It is a bit of fun for our students and staff because we would have a lot of former students on our staff, some of whom played that match, and they are having a lot of conversations to see if any of them gave their top away or how Kanye came to own it”.
