Voices for Palestine concert to aid Gaza family 

A SPECIAL fundraising concert, Voices for Palestine, will take place on Friday 14 March in St Mary’s Church, Carlow, beginning at 8pm. The event aims to support the family of Maram Salah, a Palestinian from Gaza now living in Carlow.

The concert features an impressive line-up of performers, including acclaimed Ukrainian opera baritone Maksym Iozovyi, who was invited by musical director Ollie Hennessy, known for his long-standing role as RTÉ's musical director for the Rose of Tralee. Also performing are Indie Celtic, an international folk duo on harp and guitar, and members of local vocal group enCÓRe.

“Voices for Palestine is a concert directly to help my family back in Gaza. I came here one month before the whole genocide started,” said 25-year-old Maram, who will give a talk about her family before the concert begins.

“I’ll also tell our story from even before the war. Gaza was a wonderful place and I want to highlight that, because it’s very important. We haven’t always been living in tents – we had a wonderful life. I want to highlight that before coming to the painful side.” Maram recently asked her family to record a video when they returned to what was once their home in northern Gaza. “It’s very heartbreaking. Despite that, I asked them to record so people can see who they are actually supporting.”

With the help of people in Carlow and across Ireland, Maram was able to bring her younger brother Ammar to Ireland. Both siblings now live in Carlow, where Maram recently graduated with a master’s degree in Digital Marketing and Data Analysis from the South East Technological University (SETU). Ammar, whose university was destroyed by the bombing before he could graduate, has started anew with a software engineering degree at SETU, supported by a scholarship.

The concert idea emerged from conversations with Reverend Paul Fitzpatrick, who suggested it as a way to help Maram’s remaining family in Gaza. “Once I got my brother here, I was also thinking of how I can help the rest of my family,” said Maram.

Given the current situation in Gaza, where “circumstances are very unclear at the moment because no borders are operating”, the immediate goal is to provide financial aid to her family for basic necessities, including access to water, after their home was destroyed.

“That's the main goal for now,” said Maram. “But when things get clearer, whether to get them out if that’s the best option or rebuild our home, because we lost our home as well, unfortunately, that would be another thing to consider.” Maram, who works part-time in digital marketing in Carlow, emphasised that “each single euro would matter to my family because I can’t provide for them myself, because life here is so expensive”.

Tickets for the concert cost €25 and there’s an option to buy a ticket as a donation, even for those unable to attend. Tickets are available here.