Sean Corcoran, an environmental artist who runs The Art Hand studio in Co Waterford, unveiled a temporary sand art message reading "Free Palestine" near the front of the Trump International Golf Links & Hotel in Doonbeg, Co Clare on Thursday, June 5.
Corcoran, who has erected other large-scale sand art displays in the past, said on Thursday that he wrote the new 350-foot-wide message on Doughmore Strand with the assistance of James Corcoran Hodgins and Caoláin Power.
FREE PALESTINE at Donald Trumps Golf Course in Ireland. Innocent people are currently being starved to death, as an Israeli siege on Gaza continues. Israel has slaughtered over 50,000 people in recent months including over 15,000 children using weapons supplied by USA. pic.twitter.com/8MyjLbVGKs
— The Art Hand (@TheArtHand) June 5, 2025
"I couldn’t just stand by while these atrocities are being carried out," Corcoran said in a statement on Thursday.
"Like so many of us, I’ve felt helpless for the last few months.
"I’d like to be on the right side of history. I don’t want to look back in 10 years and feel like I did nothing.
"But what can I do? What difference can I make?
"Well, I guess we can all make a difference, whether it’s boycotting Israeli goods, supporting NGOs on the ground, or attending a peaceful protest.
"Speak up. Talk to your politicians. We need to be more informed and more vocal.
"Innocent people are currently being starved to death, as an Israeli siege on Gaza continues."
Sean Corcoran's "Free Palestine" sand art message on Doughmore Strand in Co Clare.
"Assault on their human dignity"
According to the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), more than 50,000 fatalities have been identified in the Gaza Strip as of March 22, including more than 15,000 children. As of June 4, there have been a reported 54,607 fatalities.
On May 19, after nearly 80 days of a blockade on the entry of aid and supplies into Gaza, Israeli authorities allowed the UN to temporarily resume the delivery of limited aid into Gaza.
While OCHA has since confirmed that limited amounts of certain food, nutrition supplies, and medical items have entered the Gaza Strip, it also said that "significant operational challenges persist."
In a press briefing on May 28, Jonathan Whittall, Head of OCHA OPT, said that the day prior, "we saw tens of thousands of desperate people – under fire – storming a militarized distribution point established on the rubble of their homes.
"Nearly 50 people were reportedly shot and injured.
"These events illustrate how the collective punishment of Palestinians continues and the assault on their human dignity is accelerating."
He added that the new distribution scheme implemented through a US-Israeli backed entity “is surveillance-based rationing that legitimizes a policy of deprivation by design. And it comes at a time when people in Gaza, half of whom are children, are facing a crisis of survival.”
"Palestinians being shot, wounded, or killed in Gaza while simply trying to eat"
On June 4, OCHA's Tom Fletcher, Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief Coordinator, said: "The world is watching, day after day, horrifying scenes of Palestinians being shot, wounded or killed in Gaza while simply trying to eat.
"Emergency medical teams have confirmed treating hundreds of trauma cases. Yesterday alone, dozens were declared dead at hospitals after Israeli forces said they had opened fire.
"This is the outcome of a series of deliberate choices that have systematically deprived 2 million people of the essentials they need to survive. "
"This is evil"
Corcoran said on Thursday: "This is evil. This is genocide. This is ethnic cleansing.
"There is no excuse for these actions. Absolutely nothing can justify what Israel is doing. The relentless slaughter of innocent men, women, and children must stop."
He continued: "Israel’s actions are being made possible by the USA and other countries who continue to supply them military equipment."
Indeed, the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute has reported that the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) rely heavily on arms imports from the US, which has supplied 69% of Israel's arms imports between 2019 and 2023.
"This makes the USA fully complicit in this genocide," Corcoran said.
Deeming him a "war criminal," Corcoran also noted how an arrest warrant has been issued for Prime Minister of Israel Benjamin Netanyahu by the International Criminal Court for crimes against humanity and war crimes.
"The USA and other countries need to stop supporting Israel"
After noting that he has a "lot of good friends" in the US and that he regularly visits the States, Corcoran said: "If the Trump administration decided that my opinions and actions on the sand are anti-Semitic, it’s possible that I would be detained or deported if I try to return.
"Seems more like a dictatorship than a democracy if you ask me.
"Freedom of speech is being eroded, and censorship is becoming rampant. People in the States are being locked up for expressing their opinions.
"I chose the Trump International Golf Links in Doonbeg, County Clare as a poignant location for the installation. I thought I would use the privilege I am afforded in this democracy, to voice my opinion right next to Donald Trump’s lavish golf course in Ireland.
"I believe a turning point has been reached and politicians will need to start responding to growing public outrage. The USA and other countries need to stop supporting Israel. We all need to insist on a Ceasefire.
"Do the right thing, Donald Trump."
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