Defend the GPO and Save Moore St.

There is widespread anger at the decision by the Irish government to convert the historic GPO in Dublin into shops and offices. Last Saturday hundreds gathered in O’Connell St. to protest at the government’s plans for the GPO and for the Moore St. Battlefield site. Their demand is for the protection of the cultural and revolutionary heritage of this part of Dublin.

Every nation that fought for its freedom from colonial rule - often from the British - has hallowed ground, the place where patriots made a stand against injustice and occupation. For the people of Ireland, the GPO is one such place.  It is the place where the revolutionary generation of the early 1900s declared for a Republic and where the Pearse read the Proclamation of that republic.

Best International Documentary

I spent the weekend in Galway and Mayo. The weather was amazing. The countryside with its miles of stone walls separating plots of land and the lush colours of green and rocky inclines was a joy to travel through.

I was in Galway on Saturday to attend the Galway Film Festival/Fleadh where Trisha Ziff’s film – A Ballymurphy Man - was receiving its world premiere. The cinema in the old Town Hall where the Festival is centred was packed to capacity for the screening. The audience was hugely attentive and very welcoming when Trisha and I went on the stage at the end of the screening to talk about the making of the documentary.

A Week in the Life and Death of GAZA

I first met Mustafa Barghouti in the west Bank in 2014. The General Secretary of the Palestine National Initiative is a physician, an activist, and is head of the Palestinian Medical Relief Society. He is also a member of the PLO and of the Palestinian Legislative Council. He advocates the use of non-violence and civil disobedience.

In a few weeks’ time, I hope to have the opportunity to interview Mustafa for a special podcast on the situation in Gaza and the West Bank.

Each day Mustafa sends out a WhatsApp update on news from the region. The following is an edited daily diary for the week beginning Sunday 6 July to Sunday 13 July.