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Two charged with criminal damage to US navy place
Ed Horgan

Two charged with criminal damage to US navy place

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A VETERAN peace activist charged with causing criminal damage to a US navy plane, has revealed that as he was being arrested he handed gardaí a list of names of children who have been killed in the Middle East.

Edward Horgan was one of two men arrested at Shannon Airport on Tuesday who were subsequently charged at Ennis District Court with causing criminal damage to an aircraft.

It is understood that the words ‘danger, danger, don’t fly’ were written in marker on the plane.
Mr Horgan (71) has an address at Newtown, Castletroy, Limerick while his co-defendant, 35-year-old Dan Dowling, has an address at Grace Dieu in Waterford City.

Speaking after appearing in court, Mr Horgan said, “I believe that the list I gave to the guards had almost a thousand [names]; there were 35 pages. The total list, unfortunately, has almost one million people since 1991”.

He added, “I handed it to the gardaí at the time of the arrest and they gave it back to me. I also gave it to them as evidence at the garda station”.

Mr Horgan said he will be raising this list during a future hearing. “I will use it as evidence in the case myself. I want the gardaí to be aware that because they are not searching the planes, we and they are complicit in the killing of these innocent children.

“Since 1999, including half a million killed in the sanctions in Iraq, up to one million children have died in Afghanistan, Pakistan, Yemen, Syria, Iraq, Libya and Palestine,” he claimed.
At court on Wednesday, Garda Carmel O’Malley of Shannon Garda Station gave evidence of the arrest of the two men the previous night at taxiway 11 Shannon Airport.

Mr Dowling said, in court, that he did not want a solicitor, despite being told by Judge John King that it is a serious offence, which could incur a prison sentence.

The court heard there was no garda objection to bail, subject to certain conditions.
These conditions included that Mr Dowling stay out of Clare, except for court appearances and solicitor consultations, that he sign on daily at his local garda station and that he notify gardaí of any change of address.

Mr Dowling, who said he was unemployed, said some of the conditions seemed “harsh”.

However, Judge King said he did not think they were unreasonable, while he warned that if the defendant breached them, the gardaí could bring him before the court again and ask that he be remanded in custody.

When he first addressed the court, Mr Horgan said he was not guilty but was told it was premature to enter a plea.

While gardaí initially sought similar bail conditions to those imposed on Mr Horgan’s co-defendant, these were adjusted, as Mr Horgan said he would be unable to sign on very regularly, due to travel for lecturing. He added that he will be travelling to a meeting in Brussels in the near future.
After some discussion, it was agreed he would be granted bail, subject to conditions that he stay out of Shannon and Shannon Airport, that he sign on every Saturday at Henry Street station in Limerick, that he furnish a mobile number to gardaí and keep that phone with him and that he give gardaí 24 hours notice of any proposed change of address.

While Mr Horgan said he did not require a representative, Judge King urged him to reconsider.

“I would urge you to get a solicitor, it’s a serious charge,” he said.
Both men have been remanded on bail until June 7.

By Owen Ryan

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