Author hoping to convert Kerry readers not convinced of Palestinian cause at talk in Listowel
Kerryman
Those who attend the Listowel Literary Festival talk with author Fintan Drury will be told that they have a part to play in bringing an end to the assault on Gaza.
'Without being grandiose about it, we have a responsibility to do whatever it is we can to express our horror and to seek to pressure those who have some influence to get this to stop,' Mr Drury told The Kerryman.
Mr Drury (67), a former RTÉ journalist from Dublin, is the author of Catastrophe.
The book argues that the brutal Hamas attack of October 2023 was the result of almost eight decades of Israeli oppression, and that Israel's reaction to it has been egregiously disproportionate.
'If you look even in a kind of cursory way at the conduct of Israel to Palestinians since 1948, there is no conclusion other than the Palestinians are among the most oppressed people in the world ever,' Mr Drury said.
'Ireland has done more than most but we still have issues that we need to consider around doing more.'
Mr Drury said he had been going to marches advocating for Palestine for years but realised he had to use his skillset, as a trained journalist and writer, to try and make a difference.
It was that realisation which led him to writing his book with the aim of detailing what has occurred in Palestine in an accessible manner.
Mr Drury said those he would like to see most at his talk in Listowel are those who have not been convinced to support the Palestinian people.
'I'd love them to leave after an hour and go: 'Now I understand, I've got it',' Mr Drury said.
Mr Drury will be in conversation with Mike Lynch at 11am in Listowel Arms Hotel on Sunday, June 1. Tickets for the event cost €15.
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