How do you challenge a racist, apartheid regime thousands of miles away?
Many of us in Ireland have wondered this over the past 4 months as we watch the obliteration of Gaza by ‘Israel’. We’ve marched, we’ve held vigils, we’ve emailed our TDs & MEPs, while bombing in Gaza continues & the death toll rises.
We’ve run fundraisers & donated money to aid organisations, only to learn that this aid isn’t being let into Gaza. It’s hard not to feel helpless & hopeless. It’s even harder to know what we can do.
Palestinian organisations both in Palestine & in the diaspora are calling for action, not donations.
But what kind of actions are useful?
How do you even ‘take action’?
What has worked in the past?
Join Dublin For Gaza in A4 Sounds for an evening of documentaries & talks as we try to answer these questions together.
5:00PM
Blood Fruit, 2014
1hr 16min
Director: Sinead O’Brien
Why is the US Military still using Shannon?, 2017
7min
Director: Rabble Magazine
6:40PM
Foragers, 2022
1hr 5min
Director: Jumana Manna
8:00PM
Panel Discussion: What Can We Do?
1 hr
Featuring:
Ed Horgan of Shannonwatch,
Vonnie Munroe & Cathryn O’Reilly, former Dunnes Store Strikers,
Martin O’Quigley of the Ireland Palestine Solidarity Committee.
Chaired by Michelle Connolly of Dublin For Gaza.
FILM SCREENINGS!
Blood Fruit
2014
1hr, 16min
This award-winning documentary explains how a strike over the sale of South African fruit in Ireland became the focus of world attention as a key battleground in the fight against apartheid. It’s 1984, the height of apartheid in South Africa. There is an international campaign to boycott South African goods.
Mary Manning, a 21-year-old Dunnes Stores checkout girl in Dublin, refused to sell Outspan fruit under direction from her union in support of the anti-apartheid struggle. She and ten other workers who supported her were suspended, and a strike ensued. The eleven young workers knew little about apartheid and assumed they’d be back to work before long, but the arrival on the picket line of activist Nimrod Sejake changed everything, setting the strikers on a path never expected. His influence on the strikers and their struggle to bring about change proved to be the central turning point in their motivation for not only continuing the strike but advancing it to the international stage.
Director: Sinead O’Brien
Sinead O’Brien is a multi-award winning director, producer and non-fiction author with a career that has spanned over twenty years. During this time she has collaborated with Screen Ireland, BBC, Sky Arts, Northern Ireland Screen, RTE, Virgin Media, TG4, BAI and NRK on a range of documentary films.
Why is the US Military still using Shannon?
2017
7min
A short documentary by rabble magazine speaking with members of Shannonwatch, who have been monitoring all military flights and rendition-linked flights in and out of Shannon and through Irish airspace since the early 2000s.Â
In light of the revelations that the United States were open to leaving Shannon in 2007 but did not at the behest of the Irish Government, rabble ask the question: Why is the U.S military still using Shannon Airport? They interview Ed Horgan and John Lannon of Shannonwatch outside the airport.
Produced by Jamie Goldrick, Thom McDermott and James Redmond.
Archive footage courtesy of Eamonn Crudden.Â
Additional footage from youtube users MrStecon92, PlaneHDSpotter, & SandySueWho.
Director: Rabble Magazine
rabble magazine was a non-profit newspaper published in Dublin between 2012 – 2018. It was collectively-run by its contributors, featuring independent journalism about politics and culture including several short documentaries.
FORAGERS
2022
1hr, 4min
Foragers depicts the dramas around the practice of foraging for wild edible plants in Palestine with wry humour and a meditative pace. 
Shot in the Golan Heights, the Galilee and Jerusalem, it employs fiction, documentary and archival footage to portray the impact of Israeli nature protection laws on these customs. The restrictions prohibit the collection of the artichoke-like ’akkoub and za’atar (thyme), and have resulted in fines and trials for hundreds caught collecting these native plants.
For Palestinians, these laws constitute an ecological veil for legislation that further alienates them from their land while Israeli state representatives insist on their scientific expertise and duty to protect. Following the plants from the wild to the kitchen, from the chases between the foragers and the nature patrol, to courtroom defences, Foragers captures the joy and knowledge embodied in these traditions alongside their resilience to the prohibitive law.
Director: Jumana Manna
Jumana Manna is a visual artist and filmmaker, raised in Jerusalem and living in Berlin. Her work explores how power is articulated, focusing on the body, land and materiality in relation to colonial inheritances and histories of place. Through sculpture, filmmaking, and occasional writing, Manna deals with the paradoxes of preservation practices, particularly within the fields of archaeology, agriculture and law. Her practice considers the tension between the modernist traditions of categorisation and conservation and the unruly potential of ruination as an integral part of life and its regeneration.Â
VONNIE MUNROE & CATHRYN O'REILLY
DUNNES STORES STRIKE
On 19 July 1984, Mary Manning, a shop worker in Dunnes Stores supermarket on Henry St in Dublin, refused to handle the sale of fruit from South Africa. Her union, IDATU, had issued directions to its members not to handle South African produce in protest at South African Apartheid. When Manning and shop steward Karen Gearon continued to refuse to handle South African produce, they were suspended and 9 workers from the store went on strike. The additional striking workers were: Liz Deasy, Michelle Gavin, Vonnie Munroe, Alma Russell, Tommy Davis, Sandra Griffin, Theresa Mooney, Cathryn O’Reilly, and Brendan Barron.
The strike lasted almost 3 years until April 1987, when the Irish government banned the import of South African goods. This made Ireland one of the first Western countries to completely ban South African imports – a ban that came about as a result of public pressure in support of the strikers and a 20+ year Anti-Apartheid Campaign.
We will be joined by 2 of the former Dunnes Strikers, Vonnie Munroe and Cathryn O’Reilly.
ED HORGAN
SHANNONWATCH
Since 2003, the US Military has been using Shannon Airport to transport troops and weapons to the Middle East. The Irish government refuses to inspect the cargo, which has been proven on several occasions to include weapons & components bound for war zones.
Over 2 million US soldiers have travelled via Shannon on their way to & from their colonial wars, and all of this is paid for by the Irish government.
Members of Shannonwatch – a group of peace and human rights activists based in the mid-West of Ireland – have been highlighting this issue for the past 20 years. They continuously monitor all military flights and rendition-linked flights in and out of Shannon and through Irish airspace.
Shannonwatch’s objectives are to end U.S. military use of Shannon Airport, to stop rendition flights through the airport, and to obtain accountability for both from the relevant Irish authorities and political leaders. As a member of PANA it actively supports its campaign against the integration of Ireland into the U.S. and other military structures, and in particular the use of Shannon Airport by the U.S. military.
Edward Horgan is a founding member of Shannonwatch. He served in the Irish Defence Forces and as a UN military peacekeeper for many years, and this experience convinced him that there was an urgent need to promote peace internationally, as an alternative to wars.Â
Instagram: @Shannonwatch
Twitter: @Shannonwatch
Facebook: @ShannonwatchIreland
Martin O’Quigley
IPSC
The IPSC was set up in late 2001 to provide a voice for Palestine in Ireland. They are an independent, non-party political organisation, run by volunteers all committed to a just and sustainable peace in the Middle East.
The IPSC campaigns for justice for the Palestinian people, through raising public awareness about the human rights abuses in the occupied territories, the violations of international law and the historical causes of the injustices to the Palestinians that lie at the heart of the Israeli/Palestinian conflict.
The IPSC lobbies the Irish government and the EU, campaigns on the streets and urges for a vigorous Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions campaign similar to the one that played a part in ending Apartheid in South Africa. The IPSC also holds public talks with Israeli and Palestinian speakers and various cultural and fundraising events.
Martin O’Quigley is a longtime IPSC activist. He served as Chairperson of the Ireland Palestine Solidarity Campaign for many years, and also as its Treasurer.Â
Instagram: @irelandpsc
Twitter: @ipsc48
Facebook: @IrelandPSC
4:30PM: Doors Open & Garden Chats
5:00PM: Blood Fruit, 2014 & Why is the US Military still using Shannon?, 2017
6:40PM:Â Foragers, 2022
8:00PM:Panel Discussion: What Can We Do?
This event is masked indoors.
Our accessibility information is below.Â
THE TEAM
Dublin For Gaza was formed in October 2023 to take action in solidarity with the people of Palestine. The group acts on the principles of the Boycott Divestment Sanctions (BDS) movement to put pressure on the Irish state – and on organisations active in Ireland – to impose embargoes and sanctions against Israel.
In the past few months, Dublin For Gaza have organised pickets targeting various Irish governmental departments calling for a stop to the transportation of weapons bound for Israel through Shannon Airport. They have also taken part in actions against BDS targets such as AXA Insurance and protesting the sale of Israeli produce in supermarkets.
Instagram: @dublin4gaza
Twitter: @Dublin4Gaza
The Cosmos, The Earth and Us is a 6-month performative exhibition where the actors will change and the work will unfold in real time. It is an experiment in developing new modes of collaboration and presenting different perspectives in an attempt to model a world that is collectively imagined.Â
The work takes place within WOWTE’s The Common Thread which is a series of experiments and happenings that serve as an ongoing public discussion, drawing out shared themes and engaging audiences in an ongoing conversation about the goals and strategies of social change: what kind of society do we want and how should we get there?Â
www.weonlywantthe.earth
Read More: a4sounds.org/wowte
Â
ACCESSIBILITY
Full Accessibility Document: We will add a link here to our full accessibility document when full details of the event are finalised.
What we will do
- This event takes place indoors and is masked.Â
- FFP2 masks will be available at the door.
- Speaker may be unmasked when speaking.
- Air purifiers with HEPA filters will be running throughout the event.
- A CO2 monitor will be in the gallery.
- Doors will be opened during breaks and between screenings to ventilate the room.
- All A4 staff are fully vaccinated.
- All staff, event team and performers will take an antigen test on the day.
What you can do
- Please take an antigen test before coming to the event.
- If you can’t afford one right now there will be some available at the front door.
- If you test positive for Covid-19, or you feel newly unwell in any way please stay at home.
- If travelling by public transport or taxi please wear a mask for your journey.
Walking
- O’Connell Street: 14 mins from The Spire (directions)
- Phibsborough: 11 mins (directions)
Luas
- Parnell Stop (Green Line):
10 mins (directions) - Dominick Stop (Green Line):
12 mins (directions) - Broadstone Stop (Green Line):
12 mins (directions) - Abbey Street (Red Line):
17 mins (directions)
Accessible Parking Spaces
There are 30 accessible parking spaces nearby our studios between 2 and 8 mins away.
Map: https://rb.gy/sd41wu
Parking 2-3 mins away:
- Nelson Street: 1 space, 210m
- Hardwick Place: 1 space, 220m
- Eccles Place: 2 spaces, 220m
- Eccles Street: 3 spaces, 230m
- Hardwicke Place: 1 space, 220m
Arriving at A4 Sounds
- When you arrive at the gallery there is a kerb outside as part of the pavement which you may need to navigate depending on the direction you arrive.
- There is a small slope at the entrance at the desk where the material of the floor changes from cement to a tiled surface.
- The door will be open and there will be a staff member to greet you at the front desk.
- The front desk will be immediately in front of you approx 1m from the front door.
The Gallery
- Our gallery is located on the ground floor and is accessible.
- It is located about 5m from the front door.
- There is a small ramp into the gallery space.
- The floor is tiled.
- The room is painted a dark colour and will be low lit.
- Our garden can be accessed via the gallery.
Bathrooms
- Our bathrooms are gender-neutral.
- There is one accessible toilet in our outdoor garden area. It is a portaloo.
- There are three indoor bathrooms which are not accessible.
- The indoor bathrooms are located on the first floor via a flight of stairs (approx 22 steps) so may provide difficulties for folk with movement impairments.
The Garden
- The door to the outdoor area is straight across from the gallery door, and a distance of approx 5m.
- The outdoor area has heating which can be turned on and off to suit your needs.
- The outdoor area has a garden with a covered seating area with wooden benches, wooden and plastic stools.
- There are additional wooden benches which are not covered.
- To the back of the garden there is a mezzanine accessed by approx 15 steps with wooden benches
Overview
- This event will take place in our gallery and is masked
- Speakers may not be masked during the panel discussion.
- The event will be seated.
- There will be a break between each screening and before the panel discussion.
- Please feel free to also take breaks whenever you need throughout the day.
Film Screenings
- Films will be projected onto a large screen
- Sound will be played on a PA System
- Further information to be added
Panel Discussion
- There will be four speakers and a Chair
- The panel will last between 45mins and 60mins
- Speakers will be using microphones
- Speakers may not be masked
Garden Chats
- This takes place in our outside area.
- There will be some light snacks & refreshments available. Please feel free to bring along your own food or snacks too.
- Alcohol is allowed (BYOB). Please bring along your own beverages.
- Drinks & Snacks to be consumed in our garden area only.
- There will be heaters and a covered area in case of bad weather.
- Available seating is wooden benches, wooden stools, plastic stools.
- You can take breaks in our garden anytime you like.
Sound, Lighting & AV
- Sound will be played on a PA System
- The room will be low lit during films
- There will be spotlights during the panel discussion