Two Wexford Women Lead Campaign to Remember Children Killed in Gaza

Two Wexford women are behind a grassroots campaign aimed at highlighting the humanitarian crisis in Gaza and ensuring the children killed in the conflict are remembered.

Every Wednesday between 11am and 1pm, Deirdre McGarry and Myrtle O'Keefe gather on North Main Street in Wexford as part of Wexford Witness for Gaza, inviting members of the public to write the names of Palestinian children who have been killed.

The initiative is one of a number of solidarity actions taking place across County Wexford, with local campaigners continuing to call for a ceasefire and greater awareness of the ongoing humanitarian crisis.

Speaking to South East Radio, Deirdre McGarry said the project is about ensuring the children are remembered as individuals rather than statistics.

She said the group is "recording the names of all the children who've been killed in Gaza so that they're no longer numbers - they're real children who had real names." She added that participants often find the experience deeply moving in a way that hearing casualty figures alone cannot convey.

McGarry said the scale of the task has become increasingly apparent. Despite now entering the fourth week of the initiative, volunteers have yet to reach the names of children who were one year old, with more than 20,000 children on the list they hope to complete.

Campaigners in Gorey have already committed to taking on part of the project, while groups in Waterford are also preparing to participate. Organisers say they hope other communities, including New Ross, will join the initiative so that all of the names can be written by the end of the summer.

The names will be recorded on long scrolls of wallpaper, which organisers hope will eventually be displayed as a memorial to the children who have died.

McGarry also called on Ireland's political representatives to do more in response to the conflict, saying she believes those in positions of power have the capacity to take stronger action.