At a rally outside Shannon Airport on September 8th Shannonwatch and the Ireland-Palestine Solidarity Campaign (IPSC) presented a letter to An Garda Siochana calling on them to inspect US military and military contracted aircraft using Shannon Airport.
Shannonwatch are appalled by reports that flights carrying munitions to Israel have been flying through Irish airspace since October 2023, and call for decisive action from the government to end Irish complicity in the supply of weapons being used to murder Palestinians.
Details published by The Ditch indicate that on at least six occasions Ireland’s weak oversight policies were breached by cargo airlines carrying detonators, missile safety and arming devices, explosives that propel rounds of ammunition from firearms, and other munitions of war.
A major national mobilisation against the US military use of Shannon Airport will be held in Shannon on Sunday April 14th. It will call for an immediate end to the use of the airport by the US military. The particular context is the ongoing military support by the US for Israel’s genocide in Gaza. The gathering is being supported by all the major anti-war organisations in the country, and by the Ireland-Palestine Solidarity Campaign.
A major peace rally is planned for Shannon Airport on Sunday November 12th at 2pm The gathering will mark more than two decades of weekly US military flights through the airport and Ireland’s involvement in wars in Iraq, Afghanistan and elsewhere in the Middle East without the knowledge or support of the majority of Irish people.
Shannonwatch calls on the Irish government to use the opportunity of US President Joe Biden’s visit to reaffirm Ireland’s commitment to peace and international stability. It also calls on the US president to respect our commitment to non-membership of military alliances and to end the ongoing use of Shannon Airport by the US military.
The trial of two peace activists, Edward Horgan and Dan Dowling, ended today at the Circuit Criminal Court in Parkgate Street, Dublin after a trial that lasted ten days.
Almost 6 years ago on 25th April 2017, the two peace activists were arrested at Shannon Airport and charged with causing criminal damage by writing graffiti on a US Navy aircraft. They were also charged with trespassing on the curtilage of Shannon Airport. The words “Danger Danger Do Not Fly” were written with a red marker on the engine of the warplane. It was one of two US Navy aircraft that had arrived at Shannon from Oceana Naval Air Station in Virginia. They subsequently flew on to a US air base in the Persian Gulf having spent two overnights at Shannon.
Peace activists Dr Edward Horgan, former army Commandant and United Nations peacekeeper, originally from Tralee Co Kerry, and Dan Dowling also a native of Tralee Co Kerry, are due to go on trial on 11th January 2023 at Dublin Circuit Court. This is as a result of an incident that occurred at Shannon Airport five years and nine months ago. The date of this incident was 25th April 2017, and there are two charges. The first alleged offence is trespass at the airport contrary to Section 11 of the Criminal Justice (Public Order) Act, 1994 as amended by the Intoxicating Liquor Act, 2008. The second is criminal damage by writing graffiti to a US Navy aircraft contrary to Section 2(1) Criminal Damage Act, 1991.
Peace activists from around the country will gather at Shannon on Sunday 13th November at 2pm to protest against the continuing US military use of the airport. The event takes place two days after Armistice Day which is intended to mark the end of fighting in World War I and to honour the war dead. It will draw attention to how little peace there is in the world today and how Ireland's increasing support for militarization is escalating global instability .
Armed US troops pass through Shannon on a daily basis, despite the fact that the country claims to be neutral.
The trial of two more Shannon peace activists, Edward Horgan and Dan Dowling, begins at the Circuit Court in Parkgate Street, Dublin on Wednesday June 15th.
Over 5 years ago on 25th April 2017, the two men were arrested at Shannon Airport for allegedly causing criminal damage by writing Graffiti on a US Navy aircraft, and allegedly trespassing on the curtilage of Shannon Airport. It has been reported that the words “DANGER DANAGER DO NOT FLY” were written on the engine of the warplane, which was on its way from a US naval base in Virginia to a US air base in the Persian Gulf.
Shannonwatch are shocked at the imposition of a €10,000 fine on peace activists Tarak Kauff and Ken Mayers for taking a peaceful action against the US military use of Shannon Airport. Despite being acquitted on two charges of criminal damage and trespass, they were still found guilty of interfering with the operation, management or safety of the airport.
