Tag Archives: Shannonwatch

PEACE group Shannonwatch held its first protest of 2023 last Sunday. Spokesman John Lannon said that the monthly protests will continue throughout 2023. “The conditions at Shannon are still the same. There are US military planes landing and taking off, in particular the troop carriers are coming through, there are other planes as well. “There has been no response from the authorities or the Government to all the requests we have made over the years for proper inspections, for information about what’s on the planes and where they are going, so the protests will continue.” There were relatively small numbers there last weekend, but he said that is usually the case at the start of the year. “January is always a poor month in terms of turnout. I can’t remember how many we had there, I think there were 10-15. “The protests have been ongoing since January 2008, with the exception of the months during the Covid lockdown when congregations …

A SINN Fein senator has said he believes the party will be able to stop the transit of American troops through Shannon if it does take power. At last week’s Sinn Féin Ard Fheis amotion was passed recognising “those protesting the use of Shannon airport by the US military, in highlighting attempts to erode our neutrality”. While there have been protests against the US use of the airport for many years, the fact the Sinn Féin endorses them is potentially significant, with the party topping opinion polls consistently. Speaking to the Clare Champion this week Limerick-based Senator Gavan said, “I want to see a thriving commercial airport at Shannon and I’ve been on record, along with others in Sinn Féin, for a number of years, in putting forward positive proposals in giving Shannon a far better, brighter future. We’re very focused on that. “We’re equally clear that the US military shouldn’t be using Shannon Airport. We’re a neutral country and …

SHANNONWATCH has organised a peace protest for this Sunday at 2pm against the ongoing 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 those killed in it. Shannonwatch says Sunday’s protest 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. “What is happening at Shannon Airport is in breach of international laws on neutrality and makes the Irish people complicity in US war crimes and torture,” said Edward Horgan of Shannonwatch. The group has been protesting at the airport on the second Sunday of every month since 2008, while they say that the human and financial costs of the military movements through Sahnnon …

WHILE Shannon Airport has faced numerous crises over the last 20 years, one of its steady sources of revenue has been the ongoing business provided by the US military. How clearly this military use meant the alignment of Ireland with US policies has been hotly debated, with many protestors arguing it has left Ireland implicated in numerous human rights abuses, while successive Governments have argued neutrality is not compromised. Every Government that has allowed the US military use has been led by either Fianna Fáil or Fine Gael, but as time goes by it looks like that may not happen after the next election, with opinion polls showing Sinn Féin are likely to be the biggest party. The party is a staunch critic of the US military use of the airport, and while other parties have raised concerns before entering Government, if Sinn Féin does enter government it is very likely to be as the senior rather than junior party …

Minister Paschal Donohue has come under fire from a local lobby group over the use of Shannon Airport by US military troops in the wake of the Nice attack. Shannonwatch, which is campaigning for an end to the military use of Shannon Airport, has taken issue with  Minister Donohue over his defence of the use of the airport by US troops. Minister Donohoe said a careful response is needed to terrorism attacks like  in Nice where 84 people were killed. However, Shannonwatch claimed that “ferrying armed troops to the Middle East through Shannon Airport to continue the cycles of war and violence isn’t a calm or measured response”. Minister Donohoe said the Tánaiste, Frances Fitzgerald, had met with the Garda Commissioner on Friday last and added that gardaí are prepared to tackle and prevent such attacks here. “It’s so important now that the response back from all of us isn’t a cycle that can harden the worst impulses and lock …

Saturday’s airshow to celebrate the 70th anniversary of the first commercial transatlantic flight, a milestone in Irish aviation history, at Shannon Airport is expected to attract some 40,000 spectators. However, it will also provide a platform for several anti-war groups to stage peaceful protests. Groups opposed to the continued use of the airport by the US military have said the airports recent history is “not one to be proud of”. John Lannon of Shannonwatch said, “While it is fitting to celebrate the 70th anniversary of the first commercial transatlantic flight from Shannon Airport and to acknowledge its important role in aviation in Ireland, we cannot ignore the fact that in the last 15 years it has been used to illegally invade Iraq and Afghanistan and has been part of the CIA’s global campaign of kidnapping and torture”. “Shannon became the original airport gateway between the US and Europe and was the birthplace of Duty Free. It is now a gateway …

  A FILE is to be sent to the Director of Public Prosecutions after a veteran peace activist allegedly attempted to approach US military planes on the tarmac at Shannon Airport yesterday morning. The man in question has been very active in the campaign against the US use of the airport and he is a former member of the Irish army. On Saturday morning he was due to travel to the UK to attend a conference organised by the Veterans For Peace organisation. A spokesman for peace group Shannonwatch, with which the man is associated, claimed that he had seen four Hercules aircraft parked close to the runway with no apparent oversighted and felt obliged to inspect them for weapons. The man was detained initially by Airport Police, before the Gardai were called. Shannon has seen a number of similar incidents over the last number of years, including one involving TDs Clare Daly and Mick Wallace last summer. A case …

TDs Clare Daly and Mick Wallace are due to appear before Ennis District Court on Tuesday morning in relation to an alleged “illegal entrance” to a restricted area of Shannon Airport last July. Shannonwatch has issued a call for people to to come to the court to support the TDs , “who attempted to inspect a US military plane at Shannon”. “Their alleged offence is illegal entrance into a restricted area of the airport, and their action was in response to the failure of the authorities to inspect US aircraft at Shannon,” said a Shannonwatch spokesman. Shannonwatch have repeatedly called for an end to the US military use of Shannon. They also call for inspection of all military and suspected CIA aircraft at the airport for as long as they are being allowed to pass through. “Clare Daly and Mick Wallace have made it clear that as legislators and as citizens they have a responsibility to uphold Irish neutrality. They …