Tipsheet

Bridge in Dublin Features Palestinian Flags for St. Patrick's Day Weekend

Rebecca Downs
Rebecca Downs  |  March 17, 2025 4:15 PM

With St. Patrick's Day taking place on Monday, Ireland had a rather curious day of celebrating the saint who spent years of captivity there. As video footage shows over X, the Ha’Penny Bridge bridge in Dublin has not only featured Irish flags, but Palestinian flags over the weekend as well. 

Despite how anti-Israel the Irish government has been, other social media posts, especially when it comes to pro-Palestinian accounts over Instagram, claim that the flags were flown by protesters because their government isn't Palestinian enough. 

A post over X, which includes the Irish and Palestinian flags, as well as "#FreePalestine," shows video footage of the bridge, including a sign that says "IRELAND STANDS WITH PALESTINE."

An outlet known as the Gulf Times, an English-language newspaper published in Qatar, also included footage and a claim of why it is that the Irish people supposedly support Palestinians. As the post claimed, "Supporters of the Palestinian cause in Ireland frequently highlight parallels between Palestine’s struggles and Ireland’s own history of resistance against colonial rule."

What outlets like the Gulf Times refer to as "parallels" and "solidarity" has resulted in strong anti-Israel sentiments, including from the Irish government, and even rampant instances of antisemitism. 

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While Irish Taoiseach Micheál Martin was visiting the White House last Friday, the American Jewish Committee put out a piece highlighting Director of International Jewish Affairs Rabbi Andrew Baker's meeting with Martin to speak about antisemitism as well as "vilification of the State of Israel."

The AJC piece spoke to several issues with Ireland and with Martin himself. Ireland is also particularly slow to get on board with adopting a definition of antisemitism:

In the meeting, Baker expressed AJC’s grave concern over Ireland’s vilification of the State of Israel–notably its joining of the South African case in the International Court of Justice (ICJ) accusing Israel of genocide, Irish President Michael Higgins’s attacks on Israel, and the Prime Minister’s own deeply problematic remarks. The Prime Minister has accused Israel of committing war crimes, pursuing “collective punishment of the Palestinian people,” as well as using “starvation as a weapon of war.” Baker explained that these actions and statements are contributing to antisemitism facing Ireland’s Jews and separating Ireland from nearly all of its European neighbors, and urged him to pull back from the country’s ICJ engagement. The Prime Minister took note of this but gave no indication that the policy would change. Should these actions and statements continue, AJC will advocate for the U.S. government to take serious action in response.

The meeting came as the Prime Minister hastily announced two weeks ago that his government would adopt the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance (IHRA) Working Definition of Antisemitism, making Ireland one of the last EU Member States to do so. The country also recently adopted the Global Guidelines for Combating Antisemitism, though it has not yet implemented them. Baker urged the Prime Minister to follow the examples of other countries and ensure that the Working Definition is used to train police and educators and to inform the general public. He explained that American policymakers, at AJC’s urging, are paying attention to these issues in Ireland. Baker also noted that had the definition–which describes antisemitism as it relates to Israel–been adopted earlier and enforced, the country may have better understood how to better combat antisemitism over the last 16 months. 

In response, the Prime Minister told the AJC and ADL leaders that Ireland would soon appoint a national coordinator to oversee efforts to counter antisemitism as well as develop a national strategy. He acknowledged the importance of expanding educational efforts to address the problem.

Baker also raised with the Prime Minister the country’s Occupied Territories Bill and urged him to reject this legislation, which would threaten any Irish citizen who has even the most modest commercial dealings with Jewish establishments in Israel’s “occupied territories,” including East Jerusalem. As former Irish Justice Minister Alan Shatter noted, under this bill, he could purchase a kippah in the Jewish Quarter of Jerusalem and find himself arrested and imprisoned upon returning home to Dublin. The Prime Minister said the legislation as drafted is probably unconstitutional and unenforceable. While not dispensing with it outright, he said it was no longer on the legislative calendar.

The write-up of the meeting between Baker and Martin references concerns with Irish President Michael Higgins. Not only are there "attacks on Israel" from the president, but in late January he used International Holocaust Remembrance Day to go after Israel and express support for Gaza. This comes after the small Jewish community in Ireland asked Higgins to not attend the event. 

As video footage from the event shows, silent protesters were aggressively dragged out, including a pregnant woman.

Israel has had issues with Ireland before, with Israel moving to close the embassy in Ireland last December. Despite all of the anti-Israel sentiments, then Irish Taoiseach Simon Harris expressed shock and disappointment over the decision. 

Last September, Ireland also recognized "Palestine" as a state, with Norway and Spain also doing so at the same time.