Lord Mayor welcomes Palestinian Mayor and Nablus delegation on historic visit to Cork

The Lord Mayor of Cork, Cllr Fergal Dennehy, has hosted the Mayor of the Palestinian city of Nablus for an historic visit to Cork city which aims to foster links between the two cities.

“This visit is just the beginning of what we hope will be a wonderful relationship between our two great cities,” the Lord Mayor said.

Dr Husam Shakhshir led a delegation of senior representatives from An-Najah University Hospital, including its CEO, its Chief of Surgery and its Head of Paediatrics, as well as Nablus Municipality’s Director of Public and International Relations, on the visit to Leeside.

The visit arose following motions adopted by Cork City Council, which worked on the delegation’s itinerary in partnership with University College Cork (UCC), HSE South West and Nano Nagle Place.

The visit focused on developing practical co-operation between the two cities, with a particular emphasis on healthcare, education and community-to-community links.

It included site visits to UCC, Cork University Hospital (CUH), the Cork Public Museum, and Nano Nagle Place, and the delegation also enjoyed dinner in award-winning Izz Café, run by Palestinian couple Izzeddeen Alkarajeh and Eman Aburabi.

The Lord Mayor said: “The people of Cork feel a great affinity with the people of Palestine, and Cork City Council has passed several motions concerning the development of city ties with Nablus.

“Palestinian solidarity is deeply ingrained in our city with active support across many organisations.

“It was an honour to welcome Mayor Shakhshir to Cork for what proved to be a very successful visit, and I want to sincerely thank all of the organisations who worked with Council to make this visit possible.

“I also want to thank the Department of Foreign Affairs & Trade and the Embassy of the State of Palestine in Ireland for their support. We look forward to formalising practical and positive co-operation to the benefit of citizens in both cities”.

The Mayor of Nablus, Dr Husam Shakhshir, holds a PhD in History, and is an expert in international law and international relations. A distinguished humanitarian, he worked for the International Committee of the Red Cross before becoming Mayor.

“We were keen to develop city diplomacy relations with Cork, based on friendship, respect and mutual understanding,” Mayor Shakhshir said.

“Our delegation was touched by the deep spirit of solidarity and hospitality of Corkonians.

“I want to express our gratitude to the Lord Mayor of Cork, Cllr Fergal Dennehy, to the City Council, and to the people of Cork, for their warm welcome.”

The presence of three leading doctors from Nablus’ An-Najah University Hospital allowed for a programme of practical exchange, particularly in the delivery of critical hospital care.

Aideen O’Riordan, Unscheduled Care Manager at CUH said: “It was an absolute honour to spend time with the delegation, to understand the challenges facing the Palestinian healthcare system and to discuss the shared experiences and aspirations of delivering evidence-based quality care to our patients.

“They impressed us all with their ambition, their resilience, and their can-do attitude. We have made some lasting connections, and we welcome the future opportunities to work and study together in the future.

Sarah McAleer, General Manager Integrated Healthcare Area Cork South and West, welcomed the An-Najah University Hospital doctors to the Westfield Integrated Care facility in Ballincollig.

“It was a pleasure to welcome our medical colleagues from An-Najah University Hospital to Westfield Integrated Care Centre, to form partnerships in healthcare,” Ms McAleer said.

“They were very interested to learn about our Enhanced Community Care system here in HSE South West. It was fantastic to have some GP colleagues join us for the visit, to share knowledge and join discussion about primary care services in our region.

“We discussed not just the differences in practice and care between the countries, but also the shared experience of keeping the patient at the core of both the planning and delivery of our healthcare services.

“The compassion, humanitarianism and leadership demonstrated during the visit was impressive and I hope some of the shared knowledge and insights from HSE South West will be taken back to Palestine.”

Dr Iyad MH Maqboul, CEO of An-Najah University Hospital, thanked the Lord Mayor and Cork City Council for their warm welcome and excellent organisation of the historic visit.

“Dr Fawaz Yaseen, Head of the Paediatrics Department, and Dr Mazen Abdullah, Head of the Surgery Department, also greatly benefited from the exchange, which we hope will lead to fruitful future collaboration between our cities in healthcare, education, and community work,” Dr Maqboul said.

The Mayor’s visit included engagement with the Vice President for Global Engagement at UCC, Professor Ursula Kilkelly, and a meeting with the ACoRN (Advancing Children’s Rights Research Network Palestine) fellows, together with UCC-based Scholars at Risk from Gaza.

The ACoRn Fellowship is a UCC initiative open to all Palestinian researchers and scholars conducting research on Palestinian childhood or the rights of Palestinian children, from early career (postdoctoral) researchers through to experienced researchers and professors.

Professor Kilkelly said they were honoured to receive the delegation, and their partners from An-Najah National University, with which UCC has a memorandum of understanding.

“We had a positive, constructive discussion on how we can work together on future shared learning and research collaborations,” Prof Kilkelly said.

“We learned so much about the extremely difficult challenges facing our Palestinian colleagues, and have offered our continuing support in the spirit of global partnership.”

The visiting delegation also toured the UCC Brookfield Health Sciences Complex where they engaged in more detailed discussions with Professor Paula O’Leary, Head of UCC’s School of Medicine.

Professor O’Leary said it was a privilege to engage in detailed discussions with their medical colleagues from An-Najah University.

“Sharing insights on our respective educational and clinical practices underscores our mutual commitment to advancing health sciences. We see significant potential for collaborations in education, training and research that can benefit both our communities,” Prof O’Leary said.

The development of strong people-to-people links are integral to any city partnership, and Mayor Shakhshir visited Nano Nagle Place to learn more about the history of this famous landmark and its social mission today.

CEO of Nano Nagle Place, John Smith, said they were deeply honoured to welcome the Mayor of Nablus.

“His presence, and the resilience, hope and forward-looking vision he shared, were profoundly inspiring for all of us,” Mr Smith said.

“In a time of great challenge, his leadership is a powerful reminder of the strength of community, dignity and determination. It was a real privilege to connect with him, to listen, to learn, and to have our colleagues here at Nano Nagle Place be part of such a meaningful exchange.”

The Mayor met with many other organisations, including The Glen Resource Centre, The Hut Youth Project CDYS, Cork Foyer, and he explored the links between Irish and Palestinian history at Cork Public Museum, and he met Cultural Ambassador for Cork City, the writer, Cónal Creedon.

There are significant opportunities to develop programmes of practical and mutual benefit between community organisations in both cities.