A FUNDRAISING event will be held on Sunday December 8th from 2pm to 5pm at Sherkin North Shore Hostel on Sherkin Island to raise funds for families in Gaza.
There will be live music by local musicians and Palestinian food will be served. A raffle will be held with prizes including weekend breaks at Sherkin North Shore, surfing lessons and artworks.
The organisers of the event, the Beacon of Solidarity, is a voluntary group formed in January this year in response to the ongoing genocide in Gaza.
It comprises members of the Sherkin Island community and other people from West Cork. Their shared mission is to express solidarity with the people of Gaza, Palestine and Lebanon and to raise awareness of the genocide in Gaza and call for an end to it.
The group marched every Saturday between February to the end of May to Baltimore’s landmark Beacon to highlight the plight of people in Gaza. They have also held four official fundraisers, raising over €4,500 to date.
Daniel O’Connor, whose family runs the Sherkin North Shore, said: ‘Having attended protests in Cork City with a fellow islander, Jordyn Lynch, we felt that we could protest in our own community here in West Cork to raise awareness about the genocide, express our solidarity with the Palestinian people, call for an end to the violence and raise awareness of the right of the Palestinian people to self-determination and statehood. In addition to the four fundraising events so far, we have made people aware of our fundraising efforts through our own social media channels and people have donated individually to a GoFundMe campaign when they could not attend any of our fundraisers.’
Jordyn Lynch, Sherkin Island artist and member of the Beacon of Solidarity group at the Beacon in Baltimore.
The group was invited to the European Parliament in Brussels earlier this year by former MEP Mick Wallace, where they met Shadi Alnaqla, a man from Gaza who lives in Brussels and who is tirelessly trying to help his family in Gaza, which includes both his parents and his siblings.
Any funds raised will also help the wife and young children of Hazem Malaka who have been forced to flee Gaza through Egypt and have been granted family reunification in Ireland.
The Beacon of Solidarity hopes to raise between €2k and €3k on December 8th, specifically for the families. Some of the funds raised will also be donated to a Gaza soup kitchen in north Gaza which provides essential nutrition to people on the brink of famine.
‘We would love to welcome people to the North Shore to what promises to be a day of good music and food on a stunning island location. There are some great raffle prizes and visitors can enjoy Sherkin Island’s scenic walks and beaches. The last ferry back to Baltimore is at 6pm.’
Tickets cost €10 on the door but for those who can’t make it, donations can be made at the Save Shadis Family in Gaza page on GoFundMe.
