Margaret Connolly, sister of President Catherine Connolly<\/a>, was among the 22 Irish people on the boats. <\/p>\n The seven activists being held by Israel have been named as Fiacc \u00d3 Brolch\u00e1in, Martin Guilfoyle, Colm Byrne, Robert Murphy, Caitriona Graham, John Connellan and Michael Fix. <\/p>\n \u00d3 Brolch\u00e1in, from south Dublin, is a sailor with more than \u206050 years of experience at sea<\/a>. Martin Guillfoyle, originally from Clare but now based in the UK, is the uncle of the Co Clare Sinn F\u00e9in Cllr Tommy Guilfoyle. <\/p>\n Fix is an American and Irish citizen with family from Galway and Mayo. He was previously detained by Israel on the 2025 Freedom Flotilla with Swedish activist Greta Thunberg and released on October 7th. Graham, an activist from Dublin, was also on the 2025 fleet. <\/p>\n Byrne is from north Kildare, while Murphy is from Finglas. <\/p>\n Five of the group had pre-recorded videos to be released in the event of the capture of their boats by Israeli forces. These were shared on the Instagram account of the Irish delegation of the Global Sumud Flotilla on Thursday morning. <\/p>\n These detainees are among the 22 Irish, aged between their 20s and 70s, according to the organisers, on the flotilla. <\/p>\n Margaret Connolly, a GP from Sligo, is one of the President\u2019s 13 siblings. In an interview with The Sligo Champion before her departure, she said: \u201cI have joined the flotilla because we cannot stand by while millions are subjected to forced starvation and an illegal siege.\u201d<\/p>\n President Catherine Connolly said she was \u201cvery conscious of arrests that have been made of Irish citizens [among other citizens] on the flotilla\u201d.<\/p>\n The President was speaking to members of the diaspora at the Global Irish Civic Forum taking place in Croke Park.<\/p>\n Spanish prime minister Pedro S\u00e1nchez and the Italian prime minister Giorgia Meloni described the seizure of the vessels as \u201cunlawful\u201d and called for all their nationals to be released by the Israelis. <\/p>\n Germany and Italy\u2019s \u2060foreign ministries issued a joint statement saying they were following \u200cdevelopments \u200cwith \u201cdeep \u200bconcern\u201d.<\/p>\n The statement, which did not mention Israel by name, called for \u201cfull respect of international law\u201d \u2060and avoidance of \u201cirresponsible \u200bactions\u201d, adding that the two \u200bcountries were committed to guaranteeing the safety of their citizens.<\/p>\n
![\"Margaret](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/iran\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/1777586290_62_VDP3D3I67VA5FMF7E2QIQLKD7I.JPG\")
Margaret Connolly at Dublin Castle for the presidential inauguration of her sister, Catherine Connolly, last year. Photograph: Bryan O\u2019Brien <\/p>\n