Naoise Dolan

The masked men had hidden the identification on their olive green private security uniforms. They wore sunglasses, body cameras and a variety of baseball hats; one said ‘Bailiff Services Ireland’, another ‘Police’. The actual Irish police force had arrived at around 9 a.m. to arrest two of the people inside, Eoghan Lynch and Seán Doyle. Now, thirty minutes later, this mysterious squad had come to evict the other six of us. The police vacated the building and left them to finish the job.

Just after 5 a.m. on Wednesday, 8 October, Israeli forces had illegally boarded us in international waters, at roughly the same longitude as Port Said, Egypt. It was our twelfth day at sea in a forty-foot sailing boat, with medical aid and baby formula packed in the stern cabin and cockpit locker.

Virtually everything the UK does regarding Palestine makes it the Republic’s ugly friend: almost anyone would look good standing next to it. But Dublin is hideous in its own right. We let US military planes that may be carrying arms to Israel pass through Shannon Airport without inspection. Our Central Bank grants regulatory approval to Israeli war bonds for sale across the EU. 

An Anglo-American audience is a mixed blessing for an Irish artist. Pro: you get their money. Con: their opinions, too. The Irish hip-hop trio Kneecap have exploded in popularity since last year’s film about them. They now have less time for Irish-language poetry events in Dublin. They have also attracted international controversy, which they say is a bad-faith reaction to the pro-Palestinian solidarity they have been expressing in Ireland for years without a problem.