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PEOPLE BEFORE PROFIT TD Paul Murphy has called on the Tánaiste to “put pressure” on Egyptian authorities to allow the Global March to Gaza to take place after he was released from detention in Egypt.
Murphy and several others were detained yesterday while trying to cross Egypt to reach the start point of the march.
Tánaiste and Foreign Affairs Minister Simon Harris has confirmed that there are no Irish citizens currently in detention in Egypt relating to the march.
Thousands of people have travelled to Egypt to hold demonstrations at its border with Palestine, but authorities have detained hundreds of people who arrived for the march in recent days.
Murphy and others travelling alongside him were detained by Egyptian authorities yesterday.
Now, Murphy has called on Tánaiste Simon Harris to apply pressure to Egyptian authorities to allow to march to go forward.
In a statement this afternoon, he said: “Myself and others, who are trying to complete the peaceful Global March to Gaza by reaching Rafah, have been taken back to Cairo against our will. Force and considerable violence was used to force people onto buses and back to Cairo”.
“We have been released from detention and have regrouped today in Cairo to consider what to do next to try and get to Rafah to get humanitarian aid into Gaza. This is the sole reason we are in Egypt,” he said.
“I also appeal to Tánaiste Simon Harris to put pressure on the Egyptian authorities to let the marchers reach Rafah. The people of Gaza are suffering horrendous conditions and starvation imposed by Israel. We need to get humanitarian aid to them as quickly as possible”.
Sinn Féin leader Mary Lou McDonald said that the earlier flotilla and the planned march “are all evidence of the huge frustration of humanity across the globe”. She said that she hoped those who were detained had their rights respected, and stressed the importance of the ongoing crisis in Gaza.
“While a genocide is happening before the eyes of the world, we hope that all Irish citizens, including Paul [Murphy], are safe and indeed all others who have come together for this initiative.
In an update on social media this morning, Murphy said the group were released at Cairo airport “late last night”. He said the police still had the group’s phones.
“We are back in Cairo and meeting shortly to decide next steps. We’re focused on Israel’s genocide and starvation of Gaza. Thanks for your support,” he said.
Speaking on RTÉ’s Saturday with Colm Ó Mongáin this afternoon, Murphy said that he had been with a particular group yesterday, which numbered roughly 65 people, three of whom were Irish.
We were finally released late last night at airport. Police still have our phones.
— Paul Murphy 🇵🇸 (@paulmurphy_TD) June 14, 2025
We are back in Cairo and meeting shortly to decide next steps. We're focused on Israel's genocide and starvation of Gaza. Thanks for your support. Free Palestine 🇵🇸 🇵🇸🇵🇸#GlobalMarchToGaza pic.twitter.com/1vIHrsZGh3
When the group began its journey in Cairo, the Egyptian police took their passports and then “forcibly removed [the group], put us on buses and detained us on the buses”.
Murphy also said he witnessed the country’s police “very violently” removing women who refused to board the buses. The group were driven some six or seven hours back to Cairo, according to the Dublin TD, and had returned their passports around an hour before they reached the airport.
“The airport police were there, but didn’t know what to do with us, and had no instructions of anything to do with us. And effectively, we were just released at the airport.”
He said that he understood that there are a number of people who still have not had their passports returned.
“We were able to make our way back into Cairo late last night, and then regroup today in terms of how we can get back to our core focus, which is about what is happening in Gaza.”
Murphy told The Journal this evening that the group have met and discussed ideas on how they can proceed.
“We’re not giving up,” he said.
Simon Harris this morning said that he had spoken to the Irish embassy in Egypt.
“I am pleased that following the work of our Embassy staff, all Irish people who were detained yesterday in Rafah have been released and have had their passports returned,” the Tánaiste said.
“I spoke directly to Deputy Murphy to confirm he and other Irish people have been released from detention, had their passports returned and were receiving consular assistance.”
Harris said the wellbeing and safety of all Irish citizens abroad “is always of concern to me and to my Department”
“I am aware some Irish citizens have not had their phones returned by the authorities and I have asked our embassy to pursue this.”
People Before Profit councillor Jess Spear, who is Murphy’s partner, said she was relieved to hear that he and the others in his group have been released.
“However, they still want to reach Rafah to try and get humanitarian aid into Gaza. That has been the sole purpose of being in Egypt,” she said.
“Paul has appealed to Tánaiste Simon Harris to put pressure on the Egyptian authorities to let the marchers reach Rafah.
“The situation of the people of Gaza worsens by the day as they suffer starvation imposed by Israel. We need to get humanitarian aid to them as quickly as possible”.
Participants who have arrived in Cairo are travelling by car and bus to the Egyptian city of Al Arish in the north of the Sinai peninsula, where they will begin a 48km march to the Egyptian side of the Gaza border near Rafah.
Several dozen Irish activists are among the thousands who have travelled to Egypt for the March.
Social Democrats councillor Mark Barry, who has also travelled to Egypt, told The Journal yesterday that he was aware of around 47 Irish delegates having flown to Egypt, of whom at least 35 successfully got through the airport in Cairo.
“We got into Cairo yesterday. It was quite difficult to get through the airport for some people,” he said.
A spokesperson for the Social Democrats later said that Barry was “turned around at a checkpoint in Ismailia but was not detained”.
Israel has pressured Egyptian authorities to prevent participants from reaching the border with Gaza.
Participants in the Global March to Gaza are aiming to arrive at the border on Sunday and camp there before returning to Cairo by next Thursday.
Organisers say their goal is “absolutely not” to try to forcibly enter Gaza but to try to negotiate the opening of the Rafah terminal with Egyptian authorities to deliver humanitarian aid – but Egypt has been creating hurdles for the movement.
With reporting from Emma Hickey
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