Gala for Gaza raises over 100,000 euro for charities

Last Saturday night, Gala for Gaza raised over 100k for Gaza go Bragh and Children Not Numbers after musicians, artists, and politicians gathered in The Ardilaun Hotel in Salthill. 

Renowned soprano Celine Byrne and Leo Moran from The Saw Doctors were among the many notable performers at the gala. 

Celine commented, “I think it’s enlightening… It raised awareness, and it focused on the positive that people can do for the people in Gaza.” 

Between songs, the opera singer reflected on her experience in Israel in 2018. She expressed regret for performing in an apartheid state and advocated for others to educate themselves as she did. 

Celine told the Galway Pulse that she hopes to use her platform to raise awareness for the plight of the Palestinian people. She concluded her performance with a thematically appropriate rendition of You’ll Never Walk Alone. 

“Melanie [McGovern], who organised the event–she did a wonderful job,” Celine added. “It was one of the best events that I, Celine Byrne, have ever participated in.”

Under fluorescent red and green lights, presidential candidate Catherine Connolly TD delivered the keynote address. 

“Melanie [McGovern] asked me to speak here tonight many months ago, well before I declared for the presidential election, so I’m not here because I’m standing for the presidential election,” Connolly clarified in her speech. “I agreed to be here with her because she absolutely felt that something had to be done.” 

In her speech, Connolly highlighted Ireland’s history of colonisation and drew parallels between the Great Famine and the famine in Gaza: “We have a duty to draw on that and the resolution of the conflict in the North… and use our diplomatic skills to be a voice for peace. We have nothing to lose, and we have everything to gain.” 

Connolly also emphasised the importance of embracing feminine traits that have been historically undervalued by society:  “The feminine traits that we ignore… that we belittle and diminish, we do so at our peril. So I say to all of you, if we’re going to adopt and go a different path in the world, then we need to get into touch with ourselves–our feminine side.”  

“Tolerating genocide has implications for all of us, implications for the destruction of Palestine and the Palestinian people, and serious implications for us as humanity because if we tolerate the genocide of one people, who is next?” Connolly prompted. 

The gala also spotlighted Palestinians from Galway. For example, Amanie Issa moved from Bethlehem to Galway to study International Human Rights at the University of Galway in 2020; she wrote and performed a moving poem. In addition, Róisín El Cherif sang Siul A Ruin, with a verse in Arabic.