Cork Empty Bowls initiative raising vital funds to help the people of Gaza

A CORK initiative that has already raised over €3,000 to help the people of Gaza will host a celebration of Palestinian food, culture, and society next week.

The gathering, which is the latest event in the Empty Bowls for Gaza series, will begin at 2pm at St Peter’s Church, North Main St, on Saturday, April 13.

The Empty Bowls for Gaza initiative began with a series of workshops led by Youghal-born fine art sculptor and ceramicist Martha Cashman, at Nano Nagle Place, in March.

During the workshops, participants learned how to make clay bowls.

At the event on North Main St, attendees will each receive one of those handmade clay bowls.

So far, the Empty Bowls movement in Cork has raised over €3,200 for Médecins Sans Frontières [Doctors without Borders] in Gaza, and it will culminate in what is being billed as a Palestinian food gathering event.

The event is in collaboration with local chef Orla McAndrew.

There will be music, poetry readings, collectible art, and several spot prizes and draws on the day — including bowls made by actor Mary McEvoy, chefs Darina Allen and Rory O’Connell, and others.

Community collaboration

Ms Cashman said the upcoming event would mark the culmination of a huge community collaboration.

“While empty bowls may be a symbol of need and hunger, they are also hopeful and beautiful.

“Coming together in solidarity with the people of Gaza, to share a food gathering experience with the handcrafted ‘empty bowls’ made from clay, will be a unique and very special event in Cork,” said Ms Cashman.

In the almost six months since Hamas-led militants killed about 1,200 people in a co-ordinated series of attacks in southern Israel on October 7, Gaza has come under almost constant bombardment.

The number of people killed in Gaza is now approaching 33,000, according to the Hamas-run health ministry in Gaza.

The ministry’s statistic does not distinguish between combatants and civilians.

The humanitarian catastrophe in the besieged enclave seems likely to worsen, as some charities have announced they are suspending operations in Gaza in the aftermath of an Israeli drone attack. The strike targeted a convoy of international aid workers, killing seven people this week.

To join the Empty Bowls Cork Food Gathering visit eventbrite.ie