THOUSANDS of people from all over Ireland attended a protest against the US military use of Shannon Airport this afternoon.
From early in the afternoon Gardai closed off the main road to and from the airport, but entry and departure was faciliated by alternative routes. This evening Shannon Airport released a statement which said that access had been maintained throughout the afternoon and operations were not affected.
Earlier this year protestors had staged a sit down protest which blocked all traffic from entering or leaving for a period of time, but Gardai were prepared today, and the same issues did not arise, despite a huge number of protestors attending.
From early in the afternoon there were cars and buses parked all over Drumgeely, such was the attendance. Some residents were understandably put out at the inconvenience caused by the huge numbers taking over all available parking spaces in a part of the town where there are many older people.
Protestors assembled in two groups at roundabouts close to the airport, before the larger group near the roundabout closest to the Jaguar Landrover building made their way back out to join with the other group, further away from the airport.
From there the protestors began to disperse somewhat and there were some rather strange scenes with protestors walking around the industrial estate. There was at least one sit down protest at a junction, causing some minor inconvenience to motorists. While tempers certainly frayed at times, there didn’t appear to be any serious issues.
As time went by the protestors began to reassemble close to where the Garda roadblock had been established outside the airport and a presence remained there for some time.
It will have been a major relief to Shannon Airport management that operations continued throughout the afternoon and in a statement just before 6pm a spokesperson said, “We are pleased to confirm that throughout the protest, there were no disruptions to airport operations. An Garda Síochána implemented planned road diversions, which allowed passengers to access the airport without issue, despite traffic operating on one lane. A shuttle bus service was also in operation, transporting some passengers to the terminal building. Passengers had been advised via the airport’s social media channels in the days leading up to the event to allow extra time for their journey. All flights at the airport operated on schedule, and there were no delays or cancellations as a result of the event.”
The Clare Champion spoke to the protestors this afternoon who had travelled from areas as far apart as Cork and Belfast, while there was a wide range of ages present.
A member of the Cork Palestine Solidarity Campaign said she felt it had been important to travel and to bring her children. “The Ditch have reported how many planes have passed through and it’s just not acceptable. Flying over and then the arms being used to slaughter men, women and children. It shouldn’t be happening.”
She said two buses had left Cork, along with other protestors driving privately. “It’s all a bit split up today, but the turnout is very good. More and more people are coming on board all the time. It’s pretty hard for any good-hearted person to ignore what’s going on.”
A retired gentleman from Kilrush said he was protesting at Shannon for the first time. “It’s awful to see all the people dying in Gaza. The arms are from the USA, a lot of them, going through Shannon, and we want to object to that.”
He said that some Irish soul searching is required. “We see the constant bombing in Gaza, and now in Beirut. What’s our part in it? Are we colluding in it?”
Ciara Moynihan from Quin said I thought it was really important to come down today. The US military shouldn’t be running planes out of Shannon Airport anymore and it’s quite sneaky the Government are saying we’re doing a lot for Palestine when we’re transporting weapons and allowing planes to refuel that are bombing children in Gaza.”
Owen Ryan has been a journalist with the Clare Champion since 2007, having previously worked with a number of other publications in Limerick, Cork and Galway. His first book will be published in December 2024.