Connolly ‘worried’ about her sister on flotilla following detention by Israel
By Cillian Sherlock, Press Association
President Catherine Connolly has said it is “quite upsetting” that her sister has been detained by Israeli forces after the interception of boats involved in an aid flotilla to Gaza.
Dr Margaret Connolly, the sister of Catherine Connolly, is among six Irish citizens on board the flotilla that were detained by Israel, organisers say.
The Global Sumud Flotilla said that 10 boats in a 60-vessel flotilla were intercepted in international waters and boarded by Israeli forces shortly after 9am on Monday.
Organisers said the interception happened approximately 70 nautical miles off Cyprus, with at least six of 15 Irish participants among those detained.
I feel utterly compelled - as a mother, a doctor, and as a human being - to help in this flotilla
The Global Sumud Flotilla said it has lost contact with the intercepted boats.
Speaking to reporters in London, President Connolly said she was “very proud” of her sister, but was worried about her.
“It’s quite upsetting, and I’m very worried about her, and I’m also very concerned about her colleagues on board.”
Ms Connolly said that, due to her “very busy” schedule on the first day of her official visit to England, she “hadn’t really had a chance to get details” in relation to her sister or others on the flotilla.
Speaking in Irish, she said she was getting updates bit by bit, and noted that the event took place in international waters.
The flotilla has posted videos from her sister and five others, which appear to have been recorded in advance of their detention.
In her video, Dr Connolly said: “If you are watching this video, it means I have been kidnapped from my boat in the flotilla by the Israeli occupying forces, and I’m now being held illegally in an Israeli prison.
“I am so proud to be taking part in this flotilla – it is the largest to date.
“Thousands of people all over the world – citizens like you and me – have volunteered their services to help with this flotilla.
“This is the largest one to date, and now we sail for Gaza to open a humanitarian pathway to bring much-needed aid and medical supplies to the people of Gaza.”
She said: “I feel utterly compelled – as a mother, a doctor, and as a human being – to help in this flotilla.
“I ask you all to support the call to immediately free my comrades in prison.
“I wish to appeal to the Irish government to enact the Occupied Territories Bill without fail.
“The cause of Palestine is the moral compass of our time, it is what makes us human. Their humanity is our humanity.”
Once again, Israel is using military force to stop solidarity activists from delivering aid to the occupied Gaza Strip, all while continuing to commit genocide and inflict immense suffering on Palestinian civilians there. 1/4🧵 pic.twitter.com/vhA0rVJBVS
— Amnesty Ireland (@AmnestyIreland) May 18, 2026
Karen Moynihan, Irish lead for the Global Sumud Flotilla, told the Press Association that six Irish citizens had been “kidnapped”.
She added: “There are still another nine people sailing currently and are imminently at risk.
“Our absolutely shameful Government has not said a single word.
“So 15 Irish people – along with hundreds of other people – completely legally sailing on a humanitarian mission, have been intercepted and abused again by Israel.
“Currently, over the past seven months, 33 Irish citizens have been kidnapped by Israel, and our Government is considering whether they’re even going to sanction Israel – it is absolutely horrific, and the Government needs to be called out fully on its complicity in genocide, and there is no other way to put it.”
In a statement, a spokesperson for the flotilla said: “This attack on the flotilla has no legal basis, and all of the participants from Ireland and around the world on this flotilla are acting within the law to deliver aid to the Palestinian people in Gaza who have been failed by all states and international institutions.
“We are now extremely concerned for the safety and welfare of all 15 Irish participants and the hundreds of other participants who are on the flotilla.”
Israel calls on all participants in this provocation to change course and turn back immediately
In the same statement, Maureen Alma, a nurse in her late 60s, said: “I am sailing as part of the healthcare team on the Doctors to Gaza boat with the Global Sumud Flotilla to break the siege and show solidarity with our Palestinian colleagues.
“Israel has destroyed the healthcare system in Gaza, slaughtered more than 2,000 healthcare workers, and imprisoned or disappeared close to 400 doctors.
“The Government, along with western governments, remains complicit in this genocide and has dramatically failed in their moral responsibility to uphold international law.”
Seven other Irish citizens were intercepted and detained by Israel in similar circumstances last month.
The Department of Foreign Affairs said officials “are actively monitoring the situation regarding the Global Sumud Flotilla” and are engaging with the relevant authorities.
It added: “The department will provide consular assistance to impacted Irish citizens.”
Israel’s Foreign Ministry, on X, described the flotilla as a “provocation” and a search for “publicity”, as it claimed there was no aid on board.
“The purpose of this provocation is to serve Hamas, to divert attention from Hamas’s refusal to disarm, and to obstruct progress on President Trump’s peace plan,” it said.
It added: “The Gaza Strip is 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 breach of the lawful naval blockade on Gaza.
“Israel calls on all participants in this provocation to change course and turn back immediately.”
Amnesty International Ireland said the flotilla was an indictment of Ireland and the international community’s “abject failure to end Israel’s ongoing atrocity crimes against Palestinians, including genocide, apartheid, and unlawful occupation”.
In a statement, its executive director, Stephen Bowen, said Europe should end its association agreement with Israel and, in the absence of such a measure, called on the Irish Government to act unilaterally.
He said: “When we don’t even use the tools we do have at our disposal, words become the empty rhetoric of appeasement.”
Sinn Féin leader Mary Lou McDonald described Monday’s actions as “yet another brazen violation of international law” as she called on the Government to secure the immediate release of the activists.
She said: “The impunity afforded to Israel by the international community must end. Ireland must take the lead in confronting it.”
People Before Profit leader Richard Boyd Barrett also called on the Government to demand the release of the Irish citizens and urged people to take part in a protest outside the Dáil on Wednesday, as TDs debate sanctions on Israel.
