‘Gig for Gaza’ in Mullingar raises €3,500 for refugee cause
A ‘Gig for Gaza’ on Friday night raised €3,500 for Palestinian refugees fleeing war.
It took place in Clarke’s Bar in Mullingar and featured music from top local musicians, spoken word, and even some beatboxing.
It was organised by Mullingar4All and the Longford Westmeath branch of the Ireland-Palestine Solidarity Campaign (IPSC).
Founder of the two groups, Christine O’Mahony, said the money raised will be donated to the UNRWA – a UN agency who support Palestinian refugees.
“As you may be aware, a lot of Western countries have taken away their funding of the UNRWA,” she said.
“Ireland seems to be the only country that has actually doubled their funding – so go us.
“What we’re trying to do now is to help with the humanitarian crisis in Gaza as much as we can.”
Ms O’Mahony, who organises bi-weekly demonstrations in solidarity with the Palestine people, stressed how important it was to host these events in Mullingar as “nobody wants to go to Dublin for marches.”
Mullingar has a proud international tradition; historian Ruth Illingworth told the 200-odd people in attendance.
“It is a town founded by immigrants and the first language spoken here was French,” she said.
“People have come to this town from all over Europe and all over the world during my lifetime and, of course, people from Mullingar have gone all over the world.
“We are a vibrant multicultural place with people from over 60 different countries calling Mullingar home.”
Ms Illingworth said the town also has strong historical links to Palestine.
“Two young men from this town were killed 106 years ago during The Battle of Gaza,” she said. “It was during the First World War and Palestine was a battlefront.
“One of the men was 18 years of age and had been fighting in the First World War for three years at the time of his death – the other was a young officer, aged just 21 at the time.”
Ms Illingworth said; “Gaza is sadly no stranger to conflict or the loss of life to war.”
Some of the headlining musicians on the night included Fieldsy, Amy Michelle and Abood Aladham, and there was also a raffle, an auction, and a mini-market selling Palestinian cultural goods.