Tag Archives: US troops

MORE than 71,000 US troops passed through Shannon Airport during 2020. While the US military use of Shannon has been hugely controversial for many years now, it has also provided Shannon with a significant amount of business. The US military traffic was particularly significant last year, as the figure of 71,000 means that more than 20% of passengers at Shannon in 2020. Late last year independent figures provided in the Oireachtas showed that in the first ten months of the year there had been 65,965 troops at the airport. This month Transport Minister Eamon Ryan told the Dáil that there had been another 3,414 troops passing through Shannon in November and a further 1,884 in December. Combined, the figures show that 71,263 troops passed through Shannon over the 12 months. Interestingly the number of US troops who passed through Shannon in December was actually higher than the number of people who arrived for a stay in Ireland through Shannon in …

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 …