Councillors praise role of Gaza protest group

Several councillors spoke in support of a group of protestors who attended the most recent meeting of Mayo County Council to call for the local authority to bring forward more measures to address the ongoing genocide in Gaza.

Chairperson of the Mayo branch of the Ireland-Palestine Solidarity Campaign (IPSC) Debbie McCole told the Western People last week that the protestors stood in the public gallery peacefully as they were unhappy with what the council has done in relation to the situation in Gaza.

She said they wanted the council to support an “undiluted version” of the Occupied Territories Bill, to call for an end to US miilitary planes using Shannon Airport and to support calls for the Irish Central Bank to no longer facilitate the sale of Israeli war bonds.

Sinn Féin Cllr Gerry Murray was the first to acknowledge the group's presence and praised them for their ongoing solidarity with the Palestinian people.

“There’s a huge tragedy going on in Palestine. These people here have campaigned since day one - since this genocide started - on behalf of the Palestinian people. I want to thank you for your presence here today,” he said.

Independent Cllr Richard Finn urged his fellow councillors to be "vocal" about the ongoing situation.

“There are people being killed in Gaza every day and we all stand with the group who are here today. We should be vocal about this."

Cllr Damien Ryan said he hoped world leaders could find a way to resolve the ongoing conflict.

“We hope the big players on the international stage can follow what the Irish government has been advocating for a long time and that is a two-state solution,” he said.

Incoming leas-cathaoirleach Cllr Ger Deere described events in Gaza as "just unbelievable".

"Fair play to your group for keeping it going. What we must do is to keep highlighting it and hopefully people at a bigger level than us will listen."