Caoimhe Butterly 31
Caoimhe Butterly is an Irish human rights activist & the Free Gaza Movement's Gaza coordinator.
She has worked on human rights observation projects and with NGOs in Zimbabwe, Chiapas, Guatemala, Lebanon, Iraq (Voices in the Wilderness) Haiti and Palestine.
Caoimhe lived in the Jenin refugee camp for a year in 2002 before being shot by Israeli soldiers, then deported.
She has worked with human rights organizations, social movements, NGOs, prisoner rights campaigns and as a volunteer on ambulance services during the massacres in Gaza in December and January, and was a witness to war crimes and white phosphorous attacks, Caoimhe went to Gaza on the second trip in October 2008, then stayed as one of the two Free Gaza coordinators there. She was also on board the DIGNITY when it was attacked in December 2008
Mairead Maguire 66 Belfast, Ireland Mairead Maguire is a Nobel Peace Laureate (l976) and Co-founder of Peace People, Northern Ireland. She was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize for her work for peace and a nonviolent solution to the Ethnic/political conflict in Northern Ireland. Mairead has travelled many times to the occupied territories of Palestine to support the nonviolent peoples’ movement for Human Rights, International Law,and Self Determination of the Palestinian people. Maguire was shot with a plastic bullet whilst participating with Palestinians/Israelis/Internationals in a peaceful protest March to the Wall in Bilin, in April, 2007. Mairead went on the maiden Voyage of Dignity in October, 2008, the second successful voyage for the Free Gaza Movement. She was also on Board ‘Spirit’ when Israel hijacked the Boat in International Waters, taking all 2l humanitarian passengers to Israel, where they were arrested, detained for a week in an Israeli prison and then deported.
Denis Halliday
(Ireland) was UN Assistant Secretary-General from
Humanitarian Programme in Iraq to support the Iraqi people struggling1994-98. Appointed by SG Boutros Ghali, he served as ASG UN Human Resources Management in New York and in mid 1997 to end 1998 as Head, under the genocidal impact of UN Sanctions.
Prior to that, as a development manager, Halliday served UNDP from 1964-94 in Iran, New York Hqts, Malaysia, Singapore, Brunei, Indonesia, Samoa, New York again and finally as head of the UNDP Regional Office in Thailand.
Since resigning from the UN in 1998, Halliday has delivered numerous parliamentary briefings, provided extensive media inputs and has given public/university lectures on Iraq, human rights, and the UN, in particular its reform. He was a visiting professor at Swarthmore College in Pennsylvania and teaches/speaks inter alia at universities in Ireland, Canada, UK and USA.
Halliday is a graduate of TCD, has an honorary Phd, was nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize and was awarded the UK Gandhi Peace Prize.
He is 69 and lives in Manhattan, NYC and Connemara, Ireland.
Mark Daly 37
Kerry, Ireland
Mark Daly is an Irish Senator. He is a Member of Joint Oireachtas Committee on Foreign Affairs, the Seanad Spokesman on Overseas Development, the Deputy Government Spokesman on Innovation, and the Coordinator for the National Forum on Europe.
Shane Dillon (36)
Dublin, Ireland
Shane is an Irish Seafarer. He has served as Chief Officer on Irish and Briish merchant ships, and is now based in Dublin.
Fiachra O Luain 28
Carndonagh, Ireland
Fiachra Ó Luain is an Irish Peace Activist. Fiachra was an independent candidate in the 2009 European election.
One of the first people to identify and protest the illegal use of Shannon Airport in the build up to the aggressions against Afghanistan and Iraq; he won his courtcase regarding a blockade of Trident Submarine base.
He was compelled to become a EU candidate upon watching the massacres of Israel’s ‘Operation Cast Lead’, he hopes to help build new consensus in Europe and the Americas about the gravity of the situation in Gaza