Seven Irish politicians from different parties flew to Stuttgart, Germany, on Wednesday, July 22, 2026, to sit in on a court hearing for a group of activists known as the Ulm 5. They are calling on Ireland's government to send official observers to the trial and to bring up the case of an Irish citizen, Daniel Tatlow-Devally, directly with German Chancellor Friedrich Merz (The Guardian).

The group said they traveled to Stuttgart to "bear witness" to the trial (Instagram). Among them were two members of Ireland's parliament: Mairéad Farrell of Sinn Féin and Richard Boyd Barrett of People Before Profit. Both visited Tatlow-Devally in prison, but German authorities did not allow them to talk about the case during the visit (The Guardian; District Magazine).

Tatlow-Devally is an Irish citizen and one of five activists based in Berlin who hold British, Irish, German, or Spanish citizenship. German prosecutors say the group broke into a site belonging to Elbit Systems, an Israeli defense company, in the city of Ulm in September 2025. They accuse the group of destroying equipment, smashing windows, and causing about €1 million (£850,000) in damage. The activists posted videos online claiming responsibility. They said the action was meant to draw attention to Germany's arms support for Israel and its conduct in Gaza (The Guardian).

Germany is the second-largest arms supplier to Israel, after the United States (The Guardian). In court in May 2026, Tatlow-Devally told the judge the group acted out of urgent humanitarian concern and wanted to stop Elbit from delivering weapons to Israel (The Guardian).

The five defendants face three charges: trespassing (entering property without permission), destruction of property, and membership of a criminal organisation. That last charge comes from a German law called Section 129, which treats the group, Palestine Action Germany, as an organised crime group rather than individuals acting alone. During the trial, the defendants are kept behind a glass wall, sometimes called a glass cage. Their lawyers say this makes it hard for them to communicate with their legal team (The Guardian).

The Irish politicians are especially worried about how Tatlow-Devally is being held. He has been in prison since around September 2025 (Oireachtas). He is kept in his cell for 23 hours a day in a space about 5 metres by 2 metres, and he is allowed only one hour of visits per month (The Guardian).

The delegation's call has a specific deadline. Farrell wants Ireland's leader, the Taoiseach (pronounced "tee-shock"), Micheál Martin, to raise Tatlow-Devally's detention with Chancellor Merz when Merz visits Ireland on Tuesday, July 28, 2026 (The Guardian). A letter from the Irish politicians saying they planned to attend the trial was posted on the campaign website ulm5.info on July 17, 2026 (ulm5.info).

The case has also come up in Ireland's parliament. On May 21, 2026, a member of parliament asked whether the government would send observers to the trial, directing the question to the Minister for Justice, Helen McEntee (Oireachtas). Tatlow-Devally's case was raised again on July 2, 2026, during a discussion about Irish citizens imprisoned abroad (Oireachtas).

The broader picture is that Palestine Action activists are facing tougher legal consequences across Europe. In June 2026, a judge in Britain gave long prison sentences to four Palestine Action activists who damaged equipment at an Elbit Systems factory in the UK. The judge ruled that their actions had a connection to terrorism (The Guardian). The criminal-organisation charge in the German case is important because it suggests prosecutors see the activism as part of an organised crime network, not just a one-off protest.

For Ireland, the case touches on two issues the country cares about: making sure Irish citizens held abroad get fair treatment and a fair trial, and Ireland's growing criticism of countries selling weapons to Israel. The request for official trial observers is a standard diplomatic tool. Countries sometimes send monitors to court cases involving their citizens when there are concerns about whether the legal process is fair. Whether the Taoiseach agrees to send observers and whether he raises the matter with Merz on July 28 will show whether Ireland treats this as a routine citizen-support issue or turns it into a bigger conversation between the two governments.

The glass enclosures used for defendants in some German courts have been controversial in major political trials before and may be used as a basis for arguing the trial was unfair if the case is appealed. Along with the harsh detention conditions the delegation reported, these details give the Irish politicians something specific to point to beyond general sympathy.

What is not yet clear is whether German courts will change any of these procedures in response to outside pressure, and whether Ireland's involvement will move from parliament-level advocacy to formal diplomatic action. The July 28 meeting between Martin and Merz is the next moment to watch.