Ballina to stage play for Gaza relief efforts

A well-known Ballina playwright and a group of around 20 locals will stage a drama this July drawing parallels between the suffering of the Irish people during the Great Famine and the Palestinian people during the ongoing genocide in Gaza.

Tommy Cooke told the Western People that he was inspired to write ‘A Song for Palestine’ by the story of the Choctaw Indians who, despite being of limited means, made a significant donation to help the Irish people in 1847.

“The Choctaw Indians put in an enormous effort to help the Irish and donated $147, which was a huge sum of money in 1847, to help the poor and famished people of this country,” he said. “There are parallels between Irish history with Gaza and Palestine today and that is the reason why there is great empathy in this country.

“Any normal person would feel guilty this is happening and I began to wonder what someone so far away could do to help, if we could do something without being too obnoxious and pointing fingers.” 

All proceeds raised from the production will go to Water for Gaza.

“Water seems to be the incredible need over there at the moment. The Ireland-Palestine Solidarity Campaign (IPSC) has a means to get water straight in that could save lives and we would be aiming to raise up to €10,000 if we could,” said Tommy.

The play itself will draw on the similarities between the suffering of the Irish during the Great Famine and the situation in Gaza but also contain a strong, overall message against war.

“We want to draw parallels between the famine and landlord rule and the situation in Gaza but also focus on the futility of war,” said Tommy. “We will look across at movements of people against war the world over such as the Vietnam War and then onto the genocide taking place right now. It finishes then with the titular Song for Palestine,” he explained.

The play takes place at the Ballina Arts Centre on July 4 and 5. Tickets (€20) and can be booked by calling the Arts Centre on 096-73593.