Galway welcomes Caoimhe Butterly speaking tour

galway | anti-war / imperialism | press release Tuesday January 23, 2007 15:34 by Admin

'Hero of the year' peace campaigner to visit Galway

Well known Irish peace campaigner Caoimhe Butterly will visit Galway’s Town Hall on Thursday February 1st as part of a nationwide tour that seeks to raise awareness of the situation in Lebanon and the Middle East.

The public talk titled ‘Peace, War and Media’ is co-hosted by NUIG Eco-Soc and SpunOut Youth Media and will give members of the public an opportunity to hear first hand accounts of the situations in Iraq, Palestine and in Lebanon.

Caoimhe, still only 28, was awarded a Time magazine ‘hero of the year’ honour in 2003. She was in Lebanon last year during the war and is currently working on a film project with a community in the south of the country.

Caoimhe was brought up in a culture of liberation theology, which, she says, "deeply inspired" her to spend her life campaigning for human rights. At a very young age, she says, she developed a deep sense of duty. "I've always felt to almost a painful degree the need to stand up against injustices in whatever contexts they lie."

She left school at 18, wanting to travel, and headed to New York, where she spent time working in homeless soup kitchens. She went on to Guatemala and from there to Chiapas in Mexico, where she worked for two years among the Zapatista communities. In 2001 she spent 10 days fasting in front of the Irish Department of Foreign Affairs, in protest at the government's decision to allow US warplanes to refuel at Shannon Airport on their way to Afghanistan. She was arrested while trying to block the runway.

In recent years she has been a witness to war in Iraq, Lebanon and in Palestine. In Palestine she was shot by an Israeli soldier when helping children escape an assault on a refugee camp. She later spent 16 days inside the compound where Yasser Arafat was besieged in Ramallah. Last year she came to international prominence when she protested at Tony Blair’s post war press conference in Lebanon.

Caoimhe is a widely respected and inspirational speaker. People of all ages and backgrounds are encouraged to come and hear her speak. The talk takes place in the Town Hall Studio on Thursday, February 1st at 8.30pm. Entry is free but donations are welcome.

ENDS

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