What four Corkonians are doing to support Palestine

The horrific events in Palestine are nothing less than a genocide, and what the world is now witnessing is a man-made famine. At our fingertips are broadcasts of children starving whilst food surrounds the Gaza Strip, reports of the number of lives lost and videos of the rubble left in the aftermath of destructive bombs.

The crisis we cannot turn away from

The Israeli-Palestine conflict has become so horrific to witness that it’s easy to feel overwhelmed by how saddening the violence is, and I’m noticing people finding it easier to disengage than step up.

However, I want to shine a spotlight on the many ways people in Ireland are supporting Palestine. In taking action, being in community and standing in solidarity, we can reveal a sense of hope. Beyond that, the very nature of this violence being so terrible that we wince and want to look away, is the same reason we have to continue to come together and take action.

Why solidarity matters in Ireland

As Irish people, whose land was colonised in the past and whose people starved in The Great Famine, surely we have an even greater calling to show generosity and loyalty to Palestine.

Beyond that, it’s our obligation as part of humanity.

Humanising the lives behind the numbers

Firstly, it’s so important that in our conversations about Palestine, we try to humanise the issue. News reports and death tolls are very informative and play a role in keeping up-to-date, but in the shadow of their enormous numbers, we can lose sight of the individual people the world is losing. I have been attempting to focus on the stories of the lives being lost and those being impacted in Gaza.

News footage is clearly showing us the suffering and deaths of people. These people are mothers, fathers, children, friends, aunts, nephews and so on. We have to stop letting the many deaths become one whole because when we do, we minimise both the scale of this destruction and forget the many hearts lost.

1. A story that stayed with me: Blinne Ní Ghrálaigh

A story that I keep coming back to is this one. Blinne Ní Ghrálaigh is a Barrister with expertise in human rights, crime and international law. She also spoke as part of the Palestinian delegation at the ICC in their case against Israel. I was fortunate to hear her speak first-hand at the UCC Law Society’s Women In Law Forum earlier this year.

I was moved by a story she told about a medical board in Gaza that was full to the brim of upcoming procedures alongside the names of the patients who desperately needed to be seen. The board was wiped clean of the surgeries that could no longer go ahead, and a Doctor wrote on it: “Whoever stays, until the end, will tell the story. We did what we could- remember us”.

She then showed a photo of that same whiteboard after an Israeli strike on the hospital on the 21st of November. The attack had destroyed the whiteboard, barely leaving it legible and had killed the author of the message along with two of his colleagues.

Ní Ghrálaigh had also told this story to the International Court of Justice, calling for “an end to the decimation of Gaza and it’s people”. Her parting words to us as young women and to anyone trying to fight for what’s right were: “Unless you have tried everything, you have not earned the right to despair.”

We have not yet earned the right to despair.

Action brings hope

I’m aware of how heavy conversations like these are, so I’d also like to highlight all the ways people in Ireland are already taking action to support those in Palestine to hopefully inspire you to get involved in helping and supporting Gaza too.

For example, profits from coffees being donated to Palestine, weekly protests across the island, music gigs in aid of food for Gaza, library books being displayed that educate people on the conflict in local bookshops and many more actions in our localities. Taking stands like this is so vital because action is the root from which hope blossoms.

2. Cork’s strong tradition of resistance: Marion’s story

Marion is the public relations officer (PRO) for Cork Palestine Solidarity Campaign and is also the Secretary for Fermoy Stands with Palestine. Even though she herself is a self-proclaimed Limerick woman, she has been incredibly taken with the commitment to taking action for Palestine in Cork County.

“I think Cork is phenomenal, there’s nearly 20 groups around the county from Mitchelstown down to Kinsale and from Youghal all the way across to Beara and Skibbereen.’ She continued, ‘It’s phenomenal. There are nearly 20 groups that have weekly activities around Cork, quite literally flying the flag for Palestine,” she said.

Hearing about the sheer dedication of people getting together and organising made me feel proud of our communities, but I also felt touched with hope to hear of so many people working towards a brighter future for others.

Describing with passion the vibrancy and energy of these actions, Marion said: “Cork is known as the ****rebel county and that’s not for no reason- social justice is very strong here.

“But”, she concluded, “this is not just down South, every nook and cranny of the country you go to, you have people doing stuff for Palestine!”

3. Keeping hope alive through activism: Erin O’Riordan

Erin O’Riordan graduated Law in UCC with a 1st Class Honours and is beginning her Master’s degree in International Human Rights Law this September. She is also an incredible advocate and volunteer in the areas of gender equality, slow fashion, climate justice and human rights.

Having been involved in activism, she said that she does empathise with and understand the overwhelm that people might be feeling. However, she explained, “for me it’s trying to do whatever little thing I can”. For example, for Kinsale Art’s Weekend, there was a wall where you could paint anything you wanted, and Erin chose to paint the peace sign and the Palestinian flag. Likewise, it could be having those constant reminders, such as wearing a keffiyeh whenever she can.

She emphasised that “trying to keep hope front and centre is really important for me because without hope, you can’t really carry on long-term”. Erin has also spoken to those in Palestine and wanted to say- they have been seeing the support that has been coming out of Ireland. This is her reminder that “they see us, they hear us, and they appreciate that- it gives them hope, which is important as well”.

She also said she tries to recall the power of collective action when she feels overwhelmed. A key example from our own Irish history is the Dunnes Stores Apartheid Strike from July 1984 to April 1987, when 11 workers refused to handle South African goods because of the way their government treated people of colour. In the end, they successfully forced the Irish government to ban the importation of South African goods.

The strikers were not supported during their action, and it took years for change to be achieved, and Erin noted that, whilst you’re fighting for what’s right, it can be demoralising! It can, of course, be hard to keep going, but she urges us to “look at history, look at what history has gotten us in the past and continue campaigning for this genocide to end”.

She also recognised that often young people are belittled or pushed aside for being seen as too aspirational. However, that ability to dream of a better world, to envision fairness and to strive for positive change is actually our strength!

As Erin summarised, “It is that naive idealism and the protests that come out of that naivety that lead to real change. If we all just accepted that things are the way they are, we wouldn’t have any of the rights that we do have today!”

4. Businesses standing with Palestine: Mike Shinnik

Mike Shinnik is the owner of Towncoffee Company, an excellent coffee shop located in my hometown, Mitchelstown. He told me, “I live by the ideal that I’m better than nobody else and nobody is better,” and so “wiping out a culture just should not be stood for. Worldwide history has shown us that Neoliberalism and Capitalism has stood all over lesser nations to inadvertently lead to a climate crisis and putting these together is critical in our time. We must stand for unity and equality to create the world we all want, and as a business, we feel a deep yearning to display that at any chance.”

And in the spirit of meaningfully displaying just that, Towncoffee Company signed up for Coffee for Palestine like many other businesses across Ireland. Cafés committed to raising funds for the children of Palestine by pledging 10 coffees a day for 7 days from June 23rd to the 29th.

I asked Mike why he joined the initiative and he noted that there were many reasons but the main one was most truthful, startling and profound, “it’s the moments at home when I was safe with my family, and I couldn’t help but look at my kids and think if they were to lose us in a war- the trauma that would leave on their lives. The ability to cope in a crumbling city and country would have harrowing implications for adults, not to mention children. So to help kids like this was a huge part, and obviously all people of Palestine”.

This year, €113,758 was raised by Coffee for Palestine, and an incredible 278 businesses in Ireland signed up! Finally, Mike also said he took part because, “I’m also extremely keen on history, so Ireland’s solidarity with Palestine is over 100 years old and we’ve been on a similar receiving end of an oppressive power that isn’t as far back as we’d like to think.”

I found it extremely interesting to hear about a local business owner and father’s perspective on and connection to the conflict in Palestine, and was very inspired by the actions of all the cáfes that raised money for the cause. “Naturally,” as Mike concluded, “a chance to share that solidarity & be a tiny part of that history is huge.

Creativity and culture in solidarity

”Other examples of people doing astonishing and creative things in the name of helping those overseas are free music gigs being organised to bring people together and raise money, as well as craft clubs in different localities, knitting, crocheting and making pieces to be sold for donations.

Protest marches are keeping the voices of those in Palestine echoing through the streets and bouncing off the window panes in cities and towns in Ireland. Blasta Books put together a wonderful collection of recipes from Cafe Izz in Cork to serve as a celebration of Palestinian food and heritage and to share the owner’s deep connection to their homeland.

This collection reflects the consistent call for peace and connection through food by the Cork-based Palestinian restaurant, Cafe Izz- echoed by the message painted beside the café, ‘Make Hummus not War’.

Artwork and murals are being created to raise awareness, and pro-Palestine books can be found for your next read in many bookshops and libraries as tools for education.

A Sean Nos group in Dublin are learning not only Irish songs but also moving, powerful tunes in our native language, as Ghaeilge, about the atrocities in Palestine and to stand in solidarity, performed them recently at The Cobblestone Pub. Then, of course, the use of media and writing is a hugely impactful way of keeping the attention of Irish people on Gaza.

We have not yet earned the right to despair

When I see the destruction and horror that is the reality in Palestine, instead of growing sad, weary and powerless, I think of all the ways our people are trying to make a difference and raise up their voices for Palestine.

Then I am filled with a sense of anger and unease, a sense that we must catapult into means to come together and take action. There is so much more we can do to stand with Palestine, I hope this article and these examples give you the hope and courage to help and take action also.

As my parting words, may I remind you of those hopeful, haunting words from Blinne Ní Ghrálaigh, and I pray they linger in your minds as they have in mine, “Unless you have tried everything, you have not earned the right to despair.”

You can hear more from young Palestinians living in Ireland on our podcast A Lot on Your Plate. Through food, culture and personal stories, it shares honest insights into identity, resilience and belonging.

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