This year, for many of us, the joy of such small comforts was punctuated by the ache in our hearts for the many mothers globally who are under the boot of oppression, sexual violence, forced displacement, war and genocide.  

Our thoughts turn particularly to our sisters in Palestine who have been enduring an unimaginable amount of pain and suffering for the last 18 months — a mere escalation in what has been 77 years of violent oppression since the Nakba in 1948.   

With Israel recently reneging on phase two of the agreed ceasefire, we have watched in horror as the bombs have, once again, rained down on innocent civilians trying desperately to shelter in flimsy tents and the ruins of their once beautiful homes. 

We value all life, irrespective of gender, religion, ethnicity or nationality but it is clear a vastly disproportionate number of those being killed are women and children.  You do not have to be a mother to see how devastatingly wrong this is.

In the absence of a traditional village, I have found an incredible tribe of people in Mothers Against Genocide — a national, indeed international collective, which has grown rapidly in the last 18 months to include well over 100,000 followers across  many platforms. 

We are not all mothers, or indeed women, but we share the common humanity that wants a better world for all of us, for all children.  

We recognise and fight against state violence, particularly against women and children everywhere, including Ireland. We see how homelessness, lack of school places for children with disabilities, hospital waiting lists, food insecurity, institutional abuse, and many other issues disproportionately affect the children of Ireland today.

Week in and week, out we march, we petition, we lobby, we educate, we fundraise, we advocate, we boycott, we cry, we sing.  On Mother’s Day, we held an all-night vigil outside the Dáil, with the aim of delivering a letter to our Government.  

That peaceful protest ended in a disproportionate response from An Garda Síochána, culminating in 14 women and men being arrested under section 8 of the Public Order Act — that's for causing an obstruction as part of a protest or for refusing to comply when asked to leave. This included verbally protesting  the manhandling of mothers holding their ground at the closed gates.

It was 5.30am, and gardaí were aware the group intended to leave pictures of Palestinian children at the Dáil gates until 7.30am, and planned to hand in a letter at 10am. Some of those arrested were subjected to strip searches in custody. We are currently compiling a complaint to be submitted to the Garda Síochána Ombudsman Commission about this treatment of peaceful protesters.

Why do we protest?  Why do we commune in solidarity?

Why do we sacrifice our time, our energy, our holidays, our downtime, our family time, our weekends, our celebrations, our Mother's Day?

Why do we sit outside the seat of power in Ireland and refuse to move?

Because by their actions and lack thereof, our Government is complicit in genocide, and we refuse to allow that to go unchallenged.  We will not allow men, women, and children to be slaughtered in our name.

Why do we lay flowers on the pictures of martyred children?

Because by refusing to enact the Arms Embargo Bill, our Government has allowed over a tonne of illegal munitions to fly through Irish territory to Israel, in the past week alone, according to a recent report by The Ditch.

Why do hold tiny, bloodstained babygros, pleading for sanctions?

Because by refusing to stop US military planes through Shannon Airport, more than 1,260 flights were approved by the Department of Transport to carry munitions through Ireland in 2024 alone, as reported in the Irish Examiner in January of this year.

Why do we hold space to listen to the voices of our Palestinian sisters?

Because by refusing to enact the Occupied Territories Bill for seven years, Fine Gael and Fianna Fáil have allowed Ireland to continue to trade with those illegally occupying Palestinian land. This trade is funding the ongoing genocide. 

These settlements violate international law, displace Palestinian families, and contribute to an apartheid system. Empty words of condemnation are not enough — concrete action is required immediately.

Why do we sit and refuse to move?

Because by the Government's refusal to listen to the people of Ireland on the uptake of the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance’s (IHRA) definition of antisemitism, we are in grave danger of the censorship and silencing of people speaking out about the Israeli genocide. 

The definition of antisemitism is being weaponised to silence legitimate criticism of Israeli war crimes. Ireland must reject this definition in favour of one that protects Jewish communities while safeguarding the right to speak out against Israeli state violence.

Why do we keep showing up, even in the face of disproportionate responses from the gardaí?

Because by refusing to sanction Israel, our Government is breaking the EU Israeli trade agreement that has a clause stating it should be suspended if there are known human rights violations.

Why should you care?

With the push for the dissolution of the Triple Lock, a sleepwalk into militarism and huge spending on defence, we are facing the real possibility our children and grandchildren could be conscripted to kill or be killed in foreign wars.

When we also consider the selling of Israeli bonds in our central bank, the list of Ireland's complicity could go on and on.

In her recent visit to Ireland, Francesca Albanese, United Nations Special Rapporteur on the Occupied Palestinian Territories, spoke at length about Ireland’s legal obligation to prevent genocide under international law. Even if there was no legal obligation, there is a moral obligation to stop the slaughter of innocent people anywhere and everywhere.

We would fight just as hard for your child, and we call on the people of Ireland to rise up and demand our Government take meaningful action.

• Caroline Keohane is a mother and educator, specialising in additional educational needs. She is a member of Mothers Against Genocide. In her work and life, she is a tireless advocate for children's rights