Carndonagh mother and baby group sings in solidarity with families in Gaza 

Members of a mother and baby group at Spraoi Agus Spórt in Carndonagh have shown their solidarity with mothers and children in Gaza through song. 

The initiative, called Mothers for Palestine, was organised by Myra McAuliffe from Changemakers Donegal of Inishowen Development Partnership. 

Local mother and song sharer Clare McCarroll sang songs of hope and peace with the group. 

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Group facilitator and Inishowen Palestine Solidarity Group member Nora McQuaid discussed actions that could be taken as mothers with families. 

“There’s some letters that could be taken to local shops and local restaurants, asking them to stop stocking Israeli goods and perhaps boycott the use of companies and their products that are supporting the genocide, for example Coca Cola, and maybe asking the shops to stock Palestine Cola as an alternative to Coca Cola,” said Ms McQuaid.

“We have a letter also for Minister Charlie McConalogue. We really welcome the joint statement that was made last week by the Irish government in collaboration with six other European countries and it said in it that ‘we will not be silent in front of the man-made catastrophe that is taking place before our eyes in Gaza.’ 

“Whilst we welcome that, they are empty words. Immediate action does need to be taken. We are imploring our government to take immediate action to hold Israel to account for the war crimes that are taking place, and to ensure that international law is upheld. We have letters that the mothers can bring to our TD asking to make sure that the Occupied Territories Bill is enacted, to ensure that the Settlement Divestment Bill is passed, to ensure that Irish Airspace and Shannon Airport is not allowed to be used for war planes,” said Ms McQuaid.

Clare McCarroll said multiple generations of mothers came to show their support. 

“Some women talked about how great it was to have a release as we’ve been ignoring the things that have been going on because life can feel pretty overwhelming when you’re in the early stages of motherhood.”

“We wanted to reach busy mothers who like others, are hearing headlines and seeing images but probably quite busy in their own lives,” said Ms McAuliffe.

“A lot of people have said to us, ‘Oh I’ve just stopped listening, I just don’t read the news anymore,’ and I think we all need to stay informed on Palestine.

“The key thing with global perspective is collective action,” said Ms McAuliffe. “The pressure of ‘what can I do? I’m just going to switch off, I’m not going to do anything.’ 

“Our message is totally the opposite of that. Find like-minded people and do something, but do it together to make a collective impact.

“Ultimately as citizens we do have power. We can hold our local politicians to account and I think that’s become too forgotten, we’ve become too disempowered. We can actually step up and send a letter to our TD.

“This is a proven tactic used by Trocaire and Concern Worldwide – encouraging people to sign letters, to write letters, to take action and to be informed. Because the TDs or even the local councillors can see we are holding them to account, that we care and we’re telling them what we want. We need much more people power of that kind in this world,” she stressed. 

Ms McCarroll said it was empowering to have a space to express solidarity with the mothers in Palestine and to find out what they can do to take effective action. 

“Nora has come up with some really clear actions that we can do and you can figure out what’s best for you, whether it’s boycotting certain products, offering letters to supermarkets, to people in power in government, like local councillors.

“Having some small manageable steps and tools we can use, knowledge we now have, and talking to our older kids in an age appropriate way so that they understand what’s going on without being really terrified – it was a really powerful event.”

Attendees were encouraged to join the peaceful events held by the local Inishowen Palestine Solidarity Group to continue to show their support for Palestine. 

To find out more, email changemakers@inishowen.ie, or look up Changemakers Donegal.