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THE CHAIR OF the Irish Red Cross Charlie Flanagan has apologised for the “tone” of a tweet calling Dublin TD Paul Murphy’s trip to Egypt to participate in a march calling for aid to be supplied to Gaza a “circus”.
Flanagan, who previously served as the Minister for Justice among other portfolios, responded to a pre-recorded video put out on Murphy’s X account in which Murphy explained that if people were seeing the video, it meant that he had been detained by the Egyptian authorities.
In the video, Murphy asked people to contact Tánaiste and Foreign Affairs Minister Simon Harris as well as the Egyptian authorities to urge the “immediate release” of himself and his fellow detainees.
In response, Flanagan wrote: “It’s now clear that if [Paul Murphy] returns from the latest circus he needs to sign up for geography lessons as well as history.”
It’s now clear that if @paulmurphy_TD returns from the latest circus he needs to sign up for geography lessons as well as history. https://t.co/WsVYHHQ9Rw
— Charlie Flanagan (@CharlieFlanagan) June 14, 2025
He was met with significant backlash online.
Murphy’s fellow party member Ruth Coppinger said that Flanagan’s comment was “shocking”.
“Former minister and apparently chair of the Red Cross mocking people and a TD being illegally mistreated by Egypt. Wow. He should know what the Egyptian regime is like from his time trying to get Irish citizens freed from their torture chambers,” she said.
After a number of hours, Flanagan issued another tweet, saying: “I regret the tone of my earlier tweet on Egypt that has been seen as insensitive. The situation in Gaza is a humanitarian catastrophe.
“I fully support the lifting of the blockade and the free flow of vital aid. All my life I have supported humanitarian values [and] continue to do so.”
Murphy was released from detention by authorities last night and has had his passport returned. He is currently discussing with his group how they can proceed with their march.
Speaking to The Journal from Egypt, he said, “This isn’t about me or Charlie Flanagan. We have thousands of people here who are trying to help bring the forced starvation of the people of Gaza to an end. I would hope that the chair of the Irish Red Cross would understand that.”
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