A number of arrests were made outside Leinster House on the morning of Monday, March 31, as Gardaí dismantled a vigil held by the group Mothers Against Genocide. The vigil had been set up on Sunday, March 30, to mark Mother’s Day and remember mothers and children killed in Gaza.

Protesters from the group staged an overnight encampment at the gates of Leinster House, but by early Monday morning, they were forcibly removed by Gardaí. A spokesperson for An Garda Síochána confirmed that several individuals from the Mothers Against Genocide protest had been arrested under the Criminal Justice (Public Order) Act 1994 and were being detained at Garda stations across the Dublin Metropolitan Region.

No further details have been provided at this time, however, Mothers Against Genocide has shared that they believe they are being held at Kevin Street Garda Station.

 

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The Mothers Against Genocide vigil, scheduled to take place at 7pm on Mother’s Day on Kildare Street, featured pro-Palestinian activist groups, Palestinian speakers, and musicians. A visual display was arranged outside Leinster House, including children’s shoes, teddy bears, and ‘pillow babies’ symbolising the children killed in Gaza and the mothers who have lost their children. 70 pictures of children killed in Gaza were also displayed, representing the estimated 70 children who die there daily, according to Mothers Against Genocide.  

Videos circulating on social media show protesters sitting in front of the vigil, blocking the entrance to Leinster House, before Gardaí, in large numbers, began dismantling the display and forcibly removing them.

Megan Ní Ghabhláin, a spokesperson for Mothers Against Genocide, said ahead of the event, “This Mother’s Day, we have no choice but to camp out all night in the hope that our government leaders will understand our desperation and finally take action. We will never stop fighting for justice for the innocent children whose futures have been robbed at the hands of Israel’s genocide.”

Another member speaking on behalf of Mothers Against Genocide after the fact, told GCN: “Ministers were invited to come out this morning to meet with the mothers and accept a letter stating again what people of Ireland are demanding our government to act on.” She went on to explain, “No Ministers turned up and the numbers of Gardai far outweighed the peaceful protestors and with force arrested 8 mothers and 4 other others. This heavy handed approach by the state has not and will not deter people in Ireland showing their love and solidarity with Palestine.”

Figures from the WHO’s Health Cluster report that between October 7, 2023, and March 22, 2025, 50,021 people were killed in Gaza. Of these, 15,613 (31%) were children, including 825 babies under 12 months old, and 8,304 (17%) were women.