Irish president’s sister ‘kidnapped by Israel’ as country brands flotilla ‘provocation’ | World | News
Dr Margaret Connolly recorded a video while in the fleet (Image: Dr. Margaret Connolly/ Global Sumud Fleet)
Organizers were joined by Irish President Catherine Connolly’s sister, Dr. It says Margaret Connolly was among at least six Irish citizens in the aid flotilla detained by Israel. The Global Sumud Fleet said 10 boats in a 60-ship fleet were intercepted in international waters and boarded by Israeli forces shortly after 9 a.m. Monday morning. Organizers said the intervention took place about 70 nautical miles off Cyprus and at least six of the 15 Irish participants were among those detained.
The Global Sumud Fleet said contact with the stopped boats had been lost. The squadron released videos which appear to have been recorded before Dr Connolly and five others were taken into custody. Dr Connolly said in his video: “If you are watching this video it means that I was kidnapped from my boat in the flotilla by the Israeli occupation forces and I am now held illegally in an Israeli prison. I am very proud to be on this flotilla – it is the largest ever flotilla.”
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“Thousands of people from all over the world, citizens like you and me, volunteered their services to assist this flotilla. This is the largest flotilla to date, and we are now heading to Gaza to open a humanitarian path to deliver much-needed aid and medical supplies to the people of Gaza.”
She added: “As a mother, a doctor and a human being, I feel extremely obliged to help this flotilla. I ask all of you to support the call for the immediate release of my comrades in prison.
“I want to call on the Irish government to absolutely introduce the Occupied Territories Bill. The Palestinian cause is the moral compass of our time, it is what makes us human. Their humanity is our humanity.”
Karen Moynihan, the Irish leader of the Global Sumud Fleet, told the Press Association that six Irish citizens had been “kidnapped”.
He added: “At the moment, 33 Irish citizens have been kidnapped by Israel in the last seven months and our Government is even considering whether to impose sanctions on Israel; this is absolutely appalling and the Government needs to be fully warned of their complicity in genocide and there is no other way to put this.”
A spokesman for the flotilla said in a statement: “This attack on the flotilla has no legal basis and all participants in this flotilla, from Ireland and around the world, are acting within the law to deliver aid to the Palestinian people in Gaza, which has been failed by all states and international institutions.”
Dr Margaret Connolly joins the fleet (Image: Dr. Margaret Connolly)
“We are now extremely concerned for the safety and welfare of the 15 Irish participants and the hundreds of other participants in the fleet.”
Last month, seven other Irish citizens were captured and detained by Israel under similar circumstances.
The State Department said officials were “actively monitoring the situation regarding the Global Sumud Fleet” and had contacted relevant authorities. He added: “The Department will provide consular assistance to affected Irish citizens.”
The Israeli Ministry of Foreign Affairs described the flotilla as a “provocation” and seeking “publicity”, claiming that X had no help on board.
“The purpose of this provocation is to serve Hamas, to distract from Hamas’ refusal to disarmament, and to prevent the progress of President Trump’s peace plan,” the statement said.
The statement said, “The Gaza Strip has been flooded with aid. Since October 2025 alone, more than 1.58 million tons of humanitarian aid and thousands of tons of medical supplies have entered Gaza.
“Israel will not allow any violation of the legal naval blockade of Gaza. Israel calls on all parties involved in this provocation to change course and return immediately.”
Amnesty International Ireland said the flotilla was an indictment of Ireland and the international community’s “appalling failure to end Israel’s ongoing crimes of atrocities against Palestinians, including genocide, apartheid and illegal occupation”.
Executive Director Stephen Bowen said in a statement that Europe should end the Association Agreement with Israel and called on the Irish Government to act unilaterally in the absence of such action.
He said: “When we don’t even use the tools at our disposal, words become empty appeasement rhetoric.”
Sinn Fein leader Mary Lou McDonald described Monday’s actions as “another reckless breach of international law” and called on the Government to ensure the activists’ immediate release.
“The impunity granted to Israel by the international community must end. Ireland must lead the fight against it.”
People Before Profit leader Richard Boyd Barrett also called on the Government to demand the release of Irish citizens and urged people to join a protest outside the Dail on Wednesday as TDs debate sanctions on Israel.
Israel had previously rejected South Africa’s accusations, submitted to the International Court of Justice (ICJ) in 2024, that its actions in Gaza amounted to genocide.
War broke out in Gaza after Hamas’s October 7 terrorist attack on Israel in 2022.
The US-brokered ceasefire came into force in October last year.
