The organisers of a flotilla of aid vessels bound for Gaza said on Monday that Israeli forces had intercepted at least 30 of their 54 boats, with 11 Irish people detained so far.
Karen Moynihan, a spokeswoman for the Irish delegation on the flotilla, said the detained Irish people included President Catherine Connolly’s sister Dr Margaret Connolly, a Sligo GP.
The other ten are Catriona Graham, Louise McCormack, Joshua St Leger, Cormac O’Daly, Tom Deasy, Helena Kearns, Adam Fitzhenry Collier, Luke McMenamin, Fra Hughes and Tara Sheehy, according to the Irish delegation of the Global Sumud Flotilla’s Instagram page.
Israel’s foreign ministry earlier said it “will not allow any breach of the lawful naval blockade on Gaza” and called on “all participants in this provocation to change course and turn back immediately”.
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Ships from the Global Sumud Flotilla had set sail for a third time on Thursday from southern Turkey, after earlier attempts to deliver aid to Gaza were intercepted by Israel in international waters.
Moynihan, who is not on board herself, she said was “highly concerned” for the safety of the people on the flotilla.
Speaking to The Irish Times, Moynihan was critical of the Government’s response to date, accusing it of doing “absolutely nothing” to help Irish people detained after their boats were intercepted in previous flotilla efforts.
“There has been no consequence for Israel whatsoever. And whilst these people are legally sailing on a humanitarian mission, being kidnapped, our Government are considering whether they’re even going to bother to sanction Israel. It is shameful.”
The President, speaking in London shortly after meeting King Charles, said she was “upset and worried” about her sister.
She said it seemed the flotilla ships had been intercepted in international waters and she said she was proud of her sister, adding: “it’s quite upsetting and I’m also very worried about her”.
“I’ve been very busy today ... I haven’t really had a chance to get details in relation to my sister and indeed, equally importantly, her colleagues on the boat.”
The Department of Foreign Affairs said its officials were “actively monitoring the situation” regarding the flotilla and engaging with the relevant authorities.
The department would provide consular assistance to impacted Irish citizens, it added.
Organisers said 426 people were taking part in the flotilla from 39 countries, including 15 people from Ireland.
Kearns spoke to RTÉ’s Liveline shortly before she was detained on Monday afternoon.She said the group intended to begin a hunger strike once they were detained.
“We’re refusing water and food when they take us. I don’t care how long they take us for,” she said.
Kearns founded Gaza Ground Aid Ireland, a grassroots campaign which helps provide food, medical supplies and tents in the Palestinian enclave.
She said she had been “standing for Palestinian rights all my life” because of the “intertwined history” between Palestine and Northern Ireland.
Organisers have posted videos online from Kearns and the others who were detained, recorded in advance of their detention.
In her video, Connolly said: “If you are watching this video, it means I have been kidnapped from my boat in the flotilla by the Israeli occupying forces.”
She said felt “utterly compelled – as a mother, a doctor, and as a human being – to help in this flotilla”.
She appealed to the Irish Government to enact the Occupied Territories Bill, banning imports into State of goods from Palestinian territory under occupation.
“The cause of Palestine is the moral compass of our time, it is what makes us human. Their humanity is our humanity,” she said in the video.
Live video showed military vessels approaching the vessels on Monday.
Amnesty International Ireland said the flotilla was an indictment of Ireland and the international community’s “abject failure to end Israel’s ongoing atrocity crimes against Palestinians, including genocide, apartheid, and unlawful occupation”.
Sinn Féin leader Mary Lou McDonald described Monday’s actions as “yet another brazen violation of international law” by Israel and called on the Government to secure the immediate release of the activists.
“The impunity afforded to Israel by the international community must end. Ireland must take the lead in confronting it,” McDonald said.
People Before Profit TD Richard Boyd Barrett also called on the Government to demand the release of the Irish citizens and urged people to take part in a protest outside Leinster House on Wednesday, as TDs debate a Bill he has introduced which would implement sanctions on Israel.
Palestinians and international aid bodies, along with Turkey and a number of other countries, say supplies reaching Gaza are vastly insufficient, despite a ceasefire reached in October that included guarantees of increased aid.
Most of Gaza’s more than two million people have been displaced, many now living in bombed-out homes and makeshift tents pitched on open ground, at roadsides or atop the ruins of destroyed buildings.
Israel, which controls all access to the Gaza Strip, denies withholding supplies for its residents. Its foreign ministry said more than 1.58 million tons of humanitarian aid and thousands of tons of medical supplies have entered Gaza since October 2025. – Additional reporting: Reuters/PA
