Tipperary woman among 13 Irish detained on Gaza flotilla
Nenagh woman Tara Sheehy was aboard the Global Sumud Flotilla, which was delivering aid to Gaza before being intercepted by Israeli forces
Nenagh’s Tara Sheehy is among the 13 Irish citizens who have been detained aboard the Gaza-bound Global Sumud Flotilla, who were bringing food, aid, and medical supplies to the people of Gaza.
In a video posted online, Ms Sheehy said, ‘If you are watching this video, it means I have been kidnapped and taken against my will by IOF [Israel Occupying Force] forces’.
The video appears to have been shot on board the vessel, with a Palestine flag behind her. She asks for those watching the video to lobby the Government and their local TDs to enact the Occupied Territories Bill, as well as the ‘the end of Shannon airport for illegal US military operations including the sending of arms to Israel’.
The style of the video is similar among all the detainees, and are prerecorded in the event of their vessel being intercepted and their detention. Speaking with Tipperary Live, one of Tara’s local TDs Ryan O’Meara said that he’d been following the situation closely.
“I’ve been raising the case with the Minister for Foreign Affairs and have been in contact with her family, and I want to see her home as soon as possible”.
Tara was aboard the Global Sumud Flotilla sailboat Ohwayla when it too was intercepted back in October 2025.
There are 13 Irish currently detained according to reports, among them the sister of President Catherine Connolly, Dr Margaret Connolly.
Speaking in the Dáil on Tuesday, Taoiseach Micheál Martin said he “strongly condemned what the Israeli Government has done and I condemn the action of the Israeli military forces, as I have done previously and as we did very early on”.
“We will engage and are engaging with the Israeli Government on the release of all Irish citizens who have been wrongfully detained by the Israeli military in international waters. It is unacceptable behaviour”.
Responding to the interception, Stephen Bowen, executive director of Amnesty International Ireland, said:
“It should not fall to ordinary people like President Catherine Connolly’s sister, Dr Margaret Connolly, to get humanitarian aid to the starving Palestinians in Gaza, or break Israel’s illegal blockade.”
“Decades of impunity continue to embolden Israel, and encourage Israel to brazenly continue its attacks on the flotilla, and its campaign of death, destruction and devastation in Gaza. As Amnesty International has long argued, we are not powerless here in Ireland, but the Government needs to change course and to act now, and to act unilaterally if necessary.”
A UNICEF update in February this year reported that since 7 October 2023 until 3 February 2026, 71,803 Palestinians have been reported killed in the Gaza Strip, including at least 21,289 children.
“Additionally, 171,230 Palestinians were reported injured, including 44,500 children. Since the start of the ceasefire on 10 October 2025 until the end of the year, 529 Palestinians were reported killed, including more than 120 children, and 1,184 Palestinians were reported injured.
UNICEF also report that no hospital is fully functional in the Gaza Strip, while 50 per cent (18/36) of hospitals are partially functional. Among primary healthcare centres, 1.5 per cent (3/200) are fully functional and 46.5 per cent (93/200) are partially functional.