Help Madleen Find Its
Home in Dublin
Three Palestinians. Sold-out pop-ups. A story that started in Gaza. We want to make it permanent.
How Madleen Came to Be
Manal fled Gaza in 2024, after living through six months of the genocide. She arrived in Dublin alone, carrying nothing but grief, resilience, and her family's recipes. In a tiny Dublin kitchen, she started cooking: her mother's hummus, her family's musakhan. She shared it with anyone who wanted a plate. That's how Madleen was born.
What started as a way to keep home close became something bigger. Sold-out pop-up dinners. A market stall. Coverage on RTÉ News. People kept coming back and they brought their friends. Now Manal, Elias, and Issa want to take the next step: a permanent home for Palestinian food in Dublin. A food truck, then a restaurant. Something that keeps culture alive, creates jobs, and sends 10% of every profit back to Gaza.
We met through the Ireland Palestine Scholarship Programme, three strangers from Gaza, Bethlehem, and Ramallah, brought together in Dublin at one of the most difficult moments in Palestinian history. Food became our way of coping, connecting, and keeping culture alive. It became our way of making Dublin feel a little like home.
"Madleen was named after Gaza's first fisherwoman. In a world that told her the sea wasn't her place, she went anyway. That's the spirit we carry."
We have proven that people want this. Now we need your help to make it permanent.
As seen on
RTÉ NewsManal's story of survival, resilience, and rebuilding through food was featured by Ireland's national broadcaster.
Read the story →What we've done
Sold-out pop-ups
Multiple fully-booked events across Dublin
10% to Gaza
Every event profits go back to support families
National media coverage
Featured on RTÉ News
Every euro brings us closer
Pick the amount that feels right to you. There's no wrong choice.
The Spice Shelf
Stocks our spice shelf for a week, with the za'atar, sumac, and cumin that make every dish taste like home.
Food Safety Certified
Contributes toward food safety licensing and certification, which is the groundwork that makes operating legal and permanent.
Brand on Wheels
Goes toward our truck branding and signage: the face of Madleen on the streets of Dublin.
A Month in the Kitchen
Covers a full month of commercial kitchen rental, the space where the food actually comes to life.
The Truck Itself
Goes directly toward securing and fitting our food truck: the vessel that carries everything we've built.
Complete your donation
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Secure payment via Stripe. Card details never touch our servers.
Weekend Orders
From the success of our pop-up events, we're launching weekend online orders. Fresh Palestinian dishes delivered to your door. Be the first to know when we go live.
Also on GoFundMe
You can support Manal's campaign directly on GoFundMe. Every donation, wherever it goes, brings us closer to our goal.
Open GoFundMe CampaignCampaign launched February 2026 · €98,000 goal
Sharing costs nothing
And it means everything. A share puts Madleen in front of someone who hasn't heard of us yet.