25-05-2025
'Turning a blind eye to genocide': Pro-Palestine group protests US congressman's Killarney visit
Mairead Maguire
reports from Killarney
A GROUP OF around 50 pro-Palestinian protesters held a demonstration at Muckross House in Killarney this afternoon, condemning the county council's hosting of US congressman Richard Neal.
Neal was among the members of the US House of Representatives who voted in favour of financially supporting Israel's siege of Gaza. He also supported a controversial antisemitism awareness bill, which critics say only serves to silence pro-Palestinian protesters on college campuses.
Today's protest was primarily organised by the Kerry branch of the Irish Palestine Solidarity Campaign group, with many attendees being natives of the county.
There were six gardaí visibly present at the protest. Demonstrators were some distance from the walls of Muckross House, as they congregated in the sunken garden to the west of it. However, their chants could be heard from nearly a kilometre away.
These included: 'Richard Neal, you can't hide. You're supporting genocide.'
A sign at the protest
Saoirse, an intensive care nurse, said she was there to condemn the targeting of healthcare workers in Gaza, more than 1400 of whom have been killed by Israel's army since October 2023.
She said it isn't appropriate for Kerry County Council to welcome Neal.
'Of course, we'll have céad míle fáilte … we're the best at doing that. But we can't sit silent while Kerry County Council hosts Richard Neal today.
'You can't fathom the crimes that are happening … targeting journalists, nurses, doctors. You can't deny it.'
A conservative estimate of the death toll so far is above 53,000 people.
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One protester held baby shoes covered in fake blood
Saoirse said Ireland is also complicit in the genocide, as it continues to to trade with Israel. She called on the government to pass the long-awaited Occupied Territories Bill, which has been 'sitting on a shelf' since the general election in November.
The Bill in its original form would have banned all trade with illegally occupied territories, including illegal Israeli settlements in Palestine. The revised bill is expected to cover goods but not services.
Neal, the 76-year-old who represents a rural area of Massachusetts, played an key role in facilitating talks that led to the Good Friday Agreement.
For this reason, one protester says his continued support of Israel amounts to 'hypocrisy'.
Maria McCarthy, a retailer in Tralee who helped organise today's demonstration, said:
'Obviously the peace process is really important to Northern Ireland, which is still under occupation.
'We're put in a really horrible position by having him here, having him hosted, and having people stand shoulder to shoulder with Israel because of his position.'
Neal has a connection to the county. His family on his mother's side came from Ventry, near Dingle.
He is among a host of high-profile politicians and businesspeople in town for the Global Economic Summit, which is taking place from Monday 26 May to Wednesday 28 May at the five-star Europe Hotel and Resort just outside Killarney town.
Attendees include Taoiseach Micheál Martin, European Commissioner Michael McGrath, and former White House Chief of Staff Mick Mulvaney, as well as Irish presenters such as Miriam O'Callaghan and Ivan Yates.
This year's conference will have panel discussions on issues such as trade, artificial intelligence and renewable energy. There is no mention in the programme of the crisis in Gaza.
Muckross House is a Victorian-era country home on Muckross Lake within Killarney National Park. The house is now owned by the State and open to the public during the day.
Neal was to be hosted at an event in the house itself, before a dinner with councillors in one of the old farm cottages on the property.
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