Holding onto hope while facing every family’s worst nightmare, the daughters of Cobh man Paddy O’Donovan say they are “beyond worried and upset” as their father remains detained after taking part in a humanitarian mission to Gaza.
Their father, Paddy O’Donovan from Cobh, is one of 22 Irish citizens who joined the Global Sumud Humanitarian Flotilla, a mission aiming to deliver aid, including vital supplies like baby formula, to Gaza. He was skippering his own vessel, the Fair Lady, one of several ships that set sail to break the ongoing blockade.
Earlier this week, Paddy’s daughters, Robyn and Rebecca, spoke emotionally with RedFM’s Neil Prendeville about their father’s capture and the growing uncertainty surrounding his whereabouts.
Robyn explained that their family has been trying to piece together what’s happening through news outlets. According to reports, those detained are being held in the Negev Desert, around 30km from the Egyptian border. While it’s unclear exactly who is participating in the hunger strike, it was announced on Saturday morning that several detainees have begun an indefinite protest.
“If anyone knows my dad,” Robyn said, “they’ll know he’s definitely part of it. That’s just the kind of person he is, he’ll do everything in his power to make a difference and to prove a point.”
Her voice shook as she continued:
“He’s so brave. There are so many things I could say… At no point did he ever have a doubt about turning back. I remember being on the phone one night and asking if he would turn around, but there was no way. There’s nothing he wouldn’t do to help someone.”
Even before the mission began, Paddy’s passion was clear.
“He was so determined,” Robyn said. “Our hearts are breaking, but all of us are so proud of him. We can’t believe what he’s been through, and not once did he think of backing out or coming home.”
It’s now been five weeks since he set out, a trip that was supposed to last just two.
“He told us, ‘I’ll be back before you know it,’” Robyn recalled. “But it feels like a lifetime. I can’t imagine being on that boat for so long.”
For the family, “The days are leading into each other, you are just waiting and waiting and waiting to get a message or update.”
Rebecca echoed those words of admiration and worry:
“We’re keeping busy, trying to figure out everything we can. We’re worried, we just want our dad home. He’s 61, he doesn’t need to be over there, but what he’s doing is amazing. We’re beyond proud.”
She added that Paddy’s compassion is what drives him:
“We have young children in our family too and he wants nothing more to help those women, children and poor people over there.”
As days turn into weeks, the family say the waiting is the hardest part.
“It feels like a lifetime,” said Robyn. “I can’t imagine being on that boat for so long — it must feel endless for him.”
The last time they spoke to Paddy was on Tuesday night, when he was able to talk freely.
“It was a beautiful calm night,” Robyn recalled. “He said there was a half moon over him, so peaceful that you wouldn’t think there was a war zone just a few miles away.”
By Wednesday morning, they learned the flotilla had been intercepted.
“We’re worried sick,” Robyn said. “They knew the blockade was waiting for them. They knew the Israelis were going to do something, and even though the Italians and Spanish were there, that wasn’t going to stop it.”
Among those reportedly detained alongside Paddy are fellow Cork comedian Tadhg Hickey and Sinn Féin Senator Chris Andrews. Families of the captured say they’re clinging to hope that the group will soon be released.
It’s understood that detainees may be brought before a judge to sign documents admitting they entered Israel illegally — something Robyn believes her father would refuse to do.
“I don’t think he’d ever sign a piece of paper admitting to something that isn’t true,” she said. “He’d rather go on hunger strike than put his name to that.”
Reflecting on her father’s character, Robyn smiled through emotion:
Me and my sister think that he’s nearly trained for something like this, he always knows what to do in times of stress. He’s brave, determined, and so full of heart.”
For now, the O’Donovan family can only wait, anxiously hoping that Paddy and the rest of the flotilla will soon make it home safely.
https://www.redfm.ie/shows/the-neil-prendeville-show-1499192
