Photo shows US military Hercules aircraft at Shannon on a previous occasion.

This week a Parliamentary Question was submitted to Simon Harris, Minister for Foreign Affairs and Defence by Mairead Farrell TD in relation to five US Air Force planes at Shannon. In his response he once again refuses to tell the truth about these aircraft, and ignores the contradictions in the standard departmental reply.

The five aircraft were very clearly on a military operation. In fact no US military aircraft ever leaves the US without being on a military operation or training exercise, and their refuelling at Shannon is in clear breach of Irish neutrality.

The question to the Minister was:

To ask the Tánaiste and Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade the reason five US Air Force Hercules C130 aircraft landed at Shannon Airport on 29 August 2025 (details supplied); the steps that were taken to establish who and what was being transported on these aircraft and to establish their destination was in the Middle East; and if he will make a statement on the matter.

The aircraft registration numbers were 13-5784, 05-3147, 08-5684, 11-5734, 06-4632.

These five aircraft flew on from Shannon to Ramstein US air base in Germany and stayed overnight there. On 30 August all five of these US military aircraft took off from Ramstein and flew on to Catania in Sicily, and from there flew on towards the Middle East, but their final destinations was not available on flight tracking websites. It is clear from their flight routes, landing and take-off times from Arkansas, Shannon, Ramstein and Sicily that these five aircraft were on a combined coordinated military operation. Therefore, their landing at Shannon Airport was in breach of Irish neutrality, and in breach of Department of Foreign Affairs prohibitions on such US military aircraft being on military operations while transiting through Irish airports or Irish airspace.

Here's the Minister's reply:

Under the terms of the Air Navigation (Foreign Military Aircraft) Order, 1952, all foreign military aircraft wishing to overfly, or land in, the State require diplomatic clearance from the Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade.

Diplomatic clearance is subject to strict conditions, including that the aircraft is unarmed; that it carries no arms, ammunition or explosives; that it does not engage in intelligence gathering; and that the flight in question does not form part of a military exercise or operation.

The policy of diplomatic clearance is well known and is fully understood by the United States and other international partners, and is done in full compliance with Ireland’s traditional policy of military neutrality.

Diplomatic clearance was granted on each of these occasions.

The response doesn't answer the questions asked. So we have to conclude that either the Irish authorities and the Minister do not now what was on the aircraft or they now and are refusing to tell us.

What it anounts to is full-blown support for US warmongering and for their role in the genocide in Gaza. And framing it as "diplomatic clearance" is shameful and an insult to us all.