MacD on Music: It’s Not a War, It’s A Genocide Part II

If you’ve been paying attention to the news in recent months, it’s been impossible not to see the genocide being carried out by Israel against the people of Gaza. Every day, we hear about another atrocity carried out by IDF terrorists against civilians who are simply trying to survive.

This is a situation that has always resonated with us here in Ireland, which is one of the reasons so many different groups have come together to raise money in support of the Palestinian people and their struggle.

In the months since October 7th, when Israel escalated its campaign of terror, there have been many fundraising concerts all over the country to help groups that are trying to bring essential aid to Palestine, and the 23rd May will see one such event taking place in the Museum of Free Derry, featuring Paul Casey and Declan McLaughlin, raising money for the Palestinian Medical Relief Society. I spoke with Declan and Paul about the gig:

Paul “Declan got in touch and asked me if I’d be up for doing this gig and when I saw what the cause was, I was totally up for it. I know it’s only a small thing but any wee small thing we can do is worth doing. Fair play to Declan for organising it. It’s all on him. I’ll definitely be there doing my bit. It’s a terrible thing, what’s happening right now. It’s a great cause to try and highlight it. It’s a horrible situation. It’s not a war, it’s a genocide. It just should not be happening in this world we live in but somehow, it’s still happening.”

Declan: “The whole thing about us doing the gigs in the Museum is that they’re intimate, there’s no big hullabaloo about them, we just raise a bit of money. I always think with these things we need an outcome and, to me, raising awareness, educating people and lifting some money are the three things we need to be doing in regards to what’s going on in Palestine at the minute. We’re not looking to exploit people. I know people in Derry don’t have a lot of money.”

“The Palestinian Medical Relief Society, they’re doing a lot of good work on the ground. When we contacted the people in Palestine, that was what they recommended, they were the people they wanted us to help out because of the humanitarian work that they’re doing. They’re right on the front line.”

“I’m looking forward to it, because not only am I organising it, I am also performing. I’ve done a couple of things in the past while to help stuff. Musicians are always the first people to step up to the mark when stuff like this happens. It’s one of a series. We had the Henry Girls doing a gig and Jeanette Hutton and now Paul, and we’re looking at other stuff now in the future. We have an exhibition coming up on the 15th May of photographs from refugee camps in Lebanon.

"That’s on Nakba Day and all the money raised on that day in the Museum will also be sent to Palestinian charities. Then on the 17th, on the anniversary of the Dublin and Monaghan bombings, we’re showing a documentary, and this is the premier of it. It’s being shown in Derry and Dublin. It’s about that idea of informing and doing stuff constructive in regards to working class politics.”

“It’s important to me that the Museum is not just somewhere where people look at the past, but we also look at the present and the future. We’re constantly involved in discussions with different community groups and how we try to make the future better for working class communities. We have schools, the education program in the place is all very important as well. We look at the issues of the past and try to formulate ways that they don’t happen in the future.”

“The unique thing about the Free Derry Museum is not only is it placed in the area where most of the people were killed [on Bloody Sunday], but it’s also the story of the families and it tells the story of that area from the point of view of the people that were there. It’s not an academic exercise, it’s a true reflection of the community in which it’s placed.”

And that’s it for this week. Paul Casey and Declan MacLaughlin (with Jennifer Kelly on keyboards) will be playing the Museum of Free Derry in support of the Palestinian Medical Relief Society on the 23rd May. Tickets are available in Cool Discs, on Eventbrite and in the Museum itself.

Paul Casey can be found on Facebook and Instagram @paulcaseymusic and Declan McLaughlin @declanmclaughlin_derry. The Museum of Free Derry can be found @museumfreederry.