Shrule man cycles from Paris to Copenhagen in solidarity with people of Gaza

Shrule native Eamon de Staic set off from Paris in mid-September and journeyed from France through Belgium, the Netherlands, and Germany before reaching Denmark last week, where he joined campaigners gathered outside a high-level EU meeting to demand that the European Union suspend its free trade agreement with Israel and take action to secure the delivery of food and aid into Gaza.

His own efforts have already generated more than €7,000 in donations for the Palestine Red Crescent Society,

The idea for the cycle had been with him for some time. “Over the past two years I found the worsening developments in Gaza extremely upsetting,” he said.

“Linking the cycle with Palestine gave the whole project meaning. Everywhere I went I was able to discuss the genocide and hear how ordinary people feel about it.”

He launched his online appeal only a couple of days before setting off from Paris and expected donations to trickle in. Instead, hundreds of euro arrived within hours, with friends, neighbours, and strangers alike contributing.

“I was stunned to see how quickly people responded,” he admitted. “It showed me that even without big publicity, people are hungry to help when they’re given an accessible way of doing it.”

Covering more than a thousand kilometres on a fully-loaded bicycle is no small feat – but the sense of purpose carried him forward.

“I kept returning to the fact that I was free, I could stop or rest whenever I wanted - people in Gaza don’t have that option. Their world has been turned into a hell-on-earth,” he said.

He deliberately timed his arrival in Copenhagen, as European leaders gathered in the city for a security conference – to encounter mass rallies calling the EU to cut these trade ties and impose sanctions instead. Joining the protest gave him the sense that his fundraiser was also linked to something larger.

“We can sometimes feel that our efforts are just a drop in the ocean – but joining with those gathered outside at the Christiansborg Palace and adding my voice to theirs was a wonderful culmination of the journey, a kind of homecoming,” he said.

The online appeal remains open, and Eamon encourages anyone with an interest in supporting the Red Crescent appeal to contribute.

“The money is being channelled to Palestine via the Irish Red Cross, and the GoFundMe page will remain open until the end of this year,” he said.

Donations can be made at https://www.gofundme.com/f/paris-to-copenhagen-cycle-for-gaza.