(This has also appeared in CJP's newspaper, The Student Intifada)
In working-class nationalist (Catholic) areas of Northern Ireland one usually sees Irish flags flying from every lamp-post. However, when I walked down the Falls Rd. of west Belfast last February, I saw at least as many Palestinian flags as Irish ones. At first I was a bit surprised, until I remembered reading a couple weeks earlier that the Palestinian Ambassador to Ireland had visited the area at the invitation of the local chapter of the Ireland-Palestine Solidarity Group
(http://www.supportpalestine.org).
Since the renewed Intifada in Sept. 2000, Irish people have been greatly moved by the Palestinian struggle and have frequently expressed that support in rallies and demonstrations. There are IPSG chapters throughout Ireland, including among the nationalist community in N. Ireland. The republican movement (Sinn Fein) has been especially supportive. When I attended the National Conference of Sinn Fein Youth, one of their main events included a speech by the Palestinian Ambassador. The display of flags I saw in Belfast I saw in pretty much all nationalist areas I visited. In Derry, the Irish flag flying from the "YOU ARE NOW ENTERING FREE DERRY" monument (a major symbol of the nationalist/republican struggle) has been replaced by a Palestinian one.
(Interestingly, in many loyalist/Protestant areas where British flags are common, Israeli flags have been put up. Whether this is in solidarity with another group of colonial-settlers in a similar situation or just a knee-jerk reaction to republicans I'm not sure)
This solidarity is based on many things. A general concern for human rights and an identification with those nations who have, or are continuing to, experienced imperialism. More specifically, Irish republicans see a lot of similarities between their struggle in N. Ireland and that of the Palestinians.
It is in this spirit that Students for Justice in N. Ireland at the University of Colorado at Boulder formally endorsed the Coalition for Justice in Palestine in Nov. 2002.