387 writers in Ireland sign Irish PEN statement on Palestine

387 writers In Ireland have signed an Irish PEN/PEN na hÉireann statement calling for an immediate ceasefire in the Israel-Palestine conflict, the release of all hostages and the protection of lives and human rights of writers, journalists and all innocent people affected by the ongoing conflict.

Since 7 October 2023 at least 181 journalists, 120 academics and 23 writers have been killed.

Signatories include well-known writers, Roddy Doyle, Marian Keyes, Colum McCann, Donal Ryan, Lisa McInerney, Kevin Barry, Mary Costello, Paul Lynch, Sinéad Gleeson, Jan Carson, Glenn Patterson, Paula Meehan, Carlo Gébler, Theo Dorgan and Eiléan Ní Chuilleanáin among many others.

Statement on Gaza

We, the undersigned writers of the island of Ireland, call for immediate action to bring an end to the Israel-Palestine conflict.

Since 7 October 2023, at least 181 journalists, 120 academics, and 23 writers have been killed in Gaza, the West Bank, Israel, and Lebanon, making it the deadliest period for journalists (173

Palestinian, two Israeli, and six Lebanese; source CPJ updated on 28 May 2025; see also The Guardian).

Journalists in Gaza are particularly affected and are facing high risks as they try to cover the conflict, including devastating Israeli airstrikes, famine, displacement, and the destruction of buildings.

According to the United Nations and OHCHR, it appears that in many instances, these journalists may have been deliberately targeted.

CPJ is investigating more than 130 additional Palestinian cases of potential killings, arrests, and injuries, but many are difficult to document amid these harsh conditions.

More than 50,000 Palestinians have been killed. According to PEN International, this has now been the deadliest war for writers since World War II.

Arundhati Roy stated in last year’s PEN Pinter Prize speech: “Not all the power and money, not all the weapons and propaganda on earth, can any longer hide the wound that is Palestine.

“The wound through which the whole world, including Israel, bleeds.”

The PEN community has repeatedly called for an “immediate end of all hostilities, the protection of civilians, and a just resolution to the conflict”, and urged the United Nations and its Member States “to take all necessary steps to broker an immediate ceasefire”.

Together with colleagues from across the globe, Irish PEN/ PEN na hÉireann calls for an immediate ceasefire, the release of all hostages, and the protection of lives and human rights of writers, journalists, and all innocent people affected by the ongoing conflict in Palestine.

To mark two months since Israel reimposed a ban on the entry of aid and commercial goods, Amnesty International has stated: “Israel must immediately end its devastating siege on the occupied Gaza Strip which constitutes a genocidal act, a blatant form of unlawful collective punishment, and the war crime of using starvation of civilians as a method of warfare.”

Alongside amplifying the voices of writers of Palestine, we must also do all we can to help bring an end to the unimaginably difficult situation they are facing on the ground daily.

As in the PEN Charter, literature knows no frontiers and must remain common currency among people in spite of political or international upheavals; PEN stands for the principle of unhampered transmission of thought within each nation and between all nations, and members pledge themselves to oppose any form of suppression of freedom of expression, condemning any racist, antisemitic, or Islamophobic commentary that has been used in relation to the conflict.

We stand in solidarity with Palestinian, Jewish, and Israeli people who are opposing the genocide perpetuated by the current Israeli government.

We ask that the international law, including international humanitarian law and international human rights law, be respected at all times. And we ask all nations to join our call for the immediate distribution of food and medical aid in Gaza by the UN and an immediate ceasefire guaranteeing safety for all Palestinians, Israeli hostages, and Palestinians arbitrarily held in Israeli jails.

Irish PEN/PEN na hÉireann

Liz McManus and Pádraig Hanratty (Co-Chairs)

SIGNATORIES

Abby Oliveira
Adam Wyeth
Afric McGlinchey
Aidan McQuade
Aifric Mac Aodha
Ailbhe Darcy
Ailish McFadden
Aingeala Flannery
Alan Gillis
Alan McMonagle
Allan Gould
Amanda Bell
Amir A. Moslemi
Amy Elkheart
Amy Redmond
Andrea Carter
Andrew Fitzsimons
Andy Pollak
Angela Graham
Angela Keogh
Angela T. Carr
Anna Burns
Anna Carey
Anne Casey
Anne Devlin
Anne Frehill
Anne Marie Dunne
Anne McLoughlin
Anne Tannam
Annemarie Ní Churreáin
Anthony Canavan
Anthony Glavin
Antonia Hart
Aoibheann McCann
Aoife Martin
Audrey Magee
Ava Sedgwick
Ayeshah Emon
Bairbre McCarthy
Bebe Ashley
Belinda McKeon
Bern Butler
Bernadette McCarthy
Bernie McGill
Billy O’Callaghan
Bob Hickson
Brendan Lynch
Brian Langan
Brian McGilloway
Briana Fitzsimons
Byddi Lee
Caitríona O’Reilly
Carlo Gébler
Carmine Mezzacappa
Caroline Graham
Caroline Madden
Cat Hogan
Cathal Póirtéir
Catherine Dunne
Catherine Kirwan
Catherine Phil McCarthy
Cathleen Young
Cauvery Madhavan
Celia de Fréine
Chandrika Narayanan-Mohan
Charleen Hurtubise
Chris Arthur
Christodoulos Makris
Ciaran Buckley
Ciaran O’Rourke
Claire Kilroy
Claire Mitchell
Colette Bryce
Colin Walsh
Colm Keegan
Colum McCann
Conor Kostick
Damian Gorman
Damien B. Donnelly
Dane Holt
Daniel Mooney
Danielle McLaughlin
Daragh Fleming
Dave Duggan
David Butler
David King
David McLoghlin
David Nash
Dean James Browne
Declan Meade
Deirdre Cartmill
Denzil McDaniel
Dermot Bolger
Dermott Hayes
Desmond Traynor
Donal Ryan
Doreen McBride
Eiléan Ní Chuilleanáin
Éilís Ní Dhuibhne
Elaine Feeney
Elaine Moore
Eleanor Hooker
Elizabeth Kehoe
Elizabeth McSkeane
Elske Rahill
Emilie Pine
Enrica Ferrara
Eoghan Daltun
Estelle Birdy
Evelyn Conlon
Faith Hogan
Felicia McCarthy
Ferdia McAnna
Finola Cahill
Fiona Bolger
Fiona O’Rourke
Fiona Wilde
Fiona York
Florence Gillan
Frances Browner
Francesca Bratton
Frank Golden
Gabriel Rosenstock
Gail McConnell
Garrett Carr
Gary Finnegan
Gearóid MacLochlainn
Geoff Power
Ger Burke
Geraldine Comiskey
Geraldine Mills
Geraldine Mitchell
Geraldine Powell
Gerard Lee
Gerard Smyth
Geri Maye
Gerry McDonnell
Gillian Perdue
Glenn Patterson
Grainne Murphy
Gráinne Tobin
Gustav Parker Hibbett
Gwyneth Wynn
Hans
-Christian Oeser
Hazel Hogan
Helen Blackhurst
Helen Brennan
Helen Dwyer
Henrietta McKervey
Hugh O’Higgins
Muzwidzwa
Ignatius McGovern
Jamie O’Halloran
Jan Carson
Jane Clarke
Jane Robinson
Jean O’Brien
Jeanette Everson
Jessica Traynor
Jo Spain
Jo Wardhaugh
Joan Fallon
Joan Newmann
Joanna Marsden
Joanne Hayden
John D. Kelly
John FitzGerald
John Kenny
John Liddy
John MacKenna
John O’Brien
John O’Donnell
John W. Sexton
Joseph Woods
Juliana Adelman
June Caldwell
June Considine
Justin Wade
Karl Geary
Karl O’Hanlon
Kate Newmann
Katherine Mezzacappa
Katherine O’Donnell
Kathleen MacMahon
Kathleen McCracken
Katie Donovan
Kelly Creighton
Kerri Ní Dochartaigh
Kerry Hardie
Kevin Barry
Kevin Doyle
Kevin MacAlan
Kevin Power
Kevin Rafter
Lani O’Hanlon
Lauren Foley
Lauren O’Donovan
Leeanne Quinn
Leigh Kenny
Lenore Hart
Leontia Flynn
Lia Mills
Liam Carson
Lin Rose Clark
Linda Coogan Byrne
Lisa Harding
Lisa McInerney
Lissa Oliver
Liz McManus
Liz Nugent
Lorna Shaughnessy
Louise Callaghan
Louise Kennedy
Louise Shanahan
Lucille Redmond
Lucy Beevor
Lucy Caldwell
Lucy Holme
Lucy McCrann
Lynda Marron
Madden Ainth
Madeleine D’Arcy
Madge O’Callaghan
Maeve McKenna
Maggie Armstrong
Maire Brophy
Máire T. Robinson
Manuela Moser
Margaret Hickey
Margaret Kelleher
Margaret O’Brien
Margherita Coralluzzo
Mari Maxwell
Maria Kampyli
Maria McManus
Maria Ní Mhurchú
Marian Keyes
Marie Gethins
Marie O’Halloran
Mark O’Connell
Mark Roper
Martina Devlin
Mary Branley
Mary Clemenger
Mary Costello
Mary Grehan
Mary Heeran White
Mary Hosty
Mary Montague
Mary Noonan
Mary O’Doherty
Mary O’Donnell
Mary O’Malley
Mary Watson
Mary Wilkinson
Matt Kirkham
Maureen Boyle
Maybelle Wallis
Megan Wynne
Mel McMahon
Mia Gallagher
Michael Magee
Mícheál McCann
Mick Jordan
Mike McCormack
Moyra Donaldson
Myra Zepf
Nandi Jola
Naoise Dolan
Naomi Linehan
Nasouh Hossari
Neil Hegarty
Nell Regan
Nelofer Pazira Fisk
Nessa O’Mahony
Niall McArdle
Niamh Boyce
Niamh Mac Cabe
Niamh McNally
Nick Laird
Nicola Lindsay
Nidhi Zakaria Eipe
Noel Howley
Noelle Lynskey
Olivia Heggarty
Olivia Smith
Oona Frawley
Órfhlaith Foyle
Orla Murphy
Pádraig Hanratty
Pádraig O’Meiscill
Padraig Regan
Pat Boran
Pat O’Connor
Patrick Chapman
Patrick Cotter
Patrick Holloway
Paul Casey
Paul Lynch
Paul McVeigh
Paul Murray
Paul Perry
Paul Soye
Paula McGrath
Paula Meehan
Peadar Ó Guilín
Peter Dunne
Peter Sirr
Phil Mac Giolla Bhain
Pippa Slattery
Priscilla Robinson Wolf
Qayss Ramli
Rachael Hegarty
Rachel McNicholl
Rafael Mendes
Rita Ann Higgins
Roddy Doyle
Róisín Ní Neachtain
Roisín O’Donnell
Ronald Hill
Rory Duffy
Rosamund Talyor
Rose Servitova
Rosemary Jenkinson
Rosita Sweetman
Ruth Carr
Sabrina Tolve Lucente
Sam Furlong
Sam Millar
Sara Baume
Sara Boyce
Sarah Harte
Sarah Moore Fitzgerald
Sarah Moss
Sarah O’Hara
Sarbast Bakr
Sean Borodale
Seán Farrell
Seán Mac Cárthaigh
Seán Maguire
Selina Guinness
Shauna Gilligan
Sheila Armstrong
Sheila Killian
Sheila O’Flanagan
Shirley
-Anne McMillan
Simon Robinson
Sinead Gleeson
Sinéad Griffin
Sinéad Morrissey
Siobhán Campbell
Siobhán Daffy
Sophia Hillan
Stan McWilliams
Stephanie Conn
Stephen Brophy
Stephen Connolly
Stephen Sexton
Stiofan de Búrca
Sue Divin
Susan Connolly
Susan Knight
Susan Lanigan
Susan Millar DuMars
Susan Tomaselli
Susannah Dickey
Ta?g Paul
Tanya Farrelly
Tara McEvoy
Teresa Degenhardt
Theo Dorgan
Therese Hicks
Thérèse Kieran
Tim Hannigan
Tina Callaghan
Tina Irving
Tom Roseingrave
Tom Termini
Tony Considine
Trevor Birney
Una Mannion
Valerie Bistany
Veronica Heywood
Victoria Kennefick
Viviana Fiorentino
Wendy Erskine
William Wall
Yvonne MacGrory
Zara Meadows