Pictures: Special event for Palestine takes place in Kilkenny

Hundreds of people gathered in showery weather at the Parade in Kilkenny on Saturday morning to display a 130-foot long hand crocheted quilt in Palestinian colours of red, black, green and white.

The quilt is a memorial made by women across Ireland, in solidarity against the genocide of Gaza's children. The quilt has over 2,600 squares, each one commemorating 10 of the more that 26,000 children killed in the military onslaught of the IDF on the homes, schools, hospitals and tents of occupied Palestine.

The makers of the quilt, Craftivism for Palestine group, arrived mid-day. When showers cleared, the quilt was raised by over 70 local people and held up for display, stretching 40 metres down the Parade.

Natasha Newsome Drennan TD and Deputy Mayor, Cllr Maria Dollard took part. Four women, carrying small white shrouded bundles, walked the length of the quilt together in silence.

Anna Doyle, one of the founders of the group told the gathering about the project: "Out of frustration, rage and the desire to do something, we decided we had to create something. We wrote to every craft group and library in Ireland and they responded in their hundreds from groups and individuals, we had squares from TDs and senators and every kind of group."

"Some of the women making the quilt were of an age unable to march or join encampments, this quilt was something we all could do. It's a blanket of memorial and rage as we are so angry with the Government for not enacting the Occupied Territories Bill and think that they should be doing far more for sanctions."

As children continue to be killed in their hundreds in Gaza and are undergoing forced starvation, the quilt is still being added to.

Kevin Shore, the Chairperson of Kilkenny Community Palestine Solidarity Group spoke, citing the war crimes being carried out against children and mentioning specially the situation of tens of thousands of pregnant women in Gaza, giving birth with no medical services and often no painkillers, sometimes under bombardment.

Kevin said that children are pure, innocent and should never be a target. He added that there is nothing antisemitic about calling out war crimes or genocide by any state.

Wesam Akram and Katharine Larkin of Kilkenny Community Palestine Solidarity Group read poems by Palestinian poet, Khalid Juma from Gaza, I will Give Your Complete Safety and Rascal Children of Gaza. 

Katharine thanked those who came and particularly those who had held up the whole length of the quilt, urging everyone to take whatever action they could to end the genocide, including boycotting Israeli goods and continued pressure on politicians to pass the OTB.

She asked everyone to join the weekly vigil for Gaza held at the Parade on Wednesdays from 5:30-6:00pm.