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This action at Shannon Airport was called at the Third Grassroots Gathering (which took place in Giros, Belfast) to protest the use of Shannon Airport by American military as part of George Bush's TWOT (the War On Terror - that is).

The Grassroots Gathering is a networking event for people involved in grassroots non-hierarchal organising in Ireland. The fourth Grassroots Gathering took place in Limerick on St Patrick's bank holiday weekend 2003.

Your direct action against apathy roving reporter jumped on the bus with the Belfast crew to bring you this report. This is a transcript of a radio report broadcast as part of Agitate FM, Belfast’s activist based radio programme on Northern Visions Radio 100.6FM (only available in the greater Belfast area). If you’d like an audio copy drop us a line.     

Sat 7^th Dec 2002  7pm Belfast

We’re outside Queens Belfast in the cold & wet waiting for a bus to take us to Shannon, what’s it all about?

Steve: Shannon is part 2 of a weekend of resistance. Two simultaneous marches have taken place today in Belfast & Dublin lots of marching around holding banners distributing propaganda with people selling newspapers. Now we’re waiting for the bus to Shannon airport where something more spectacular is going to happen. At the minute in Shannon Airplanes used by the US Military are being used US Navy & Air Force on their way to Afghanistan & Iraq to do all kinds of horrible things.

What motivates you to spend something like 7 hours on a bus with 17 hippies to go & protest at a cold & wet Shannon Airport when you could be drinking pints or going to see Holly Valance like everyone else in Belfast?

Alistair: I’m not sure. This is the first time I’ve traveled such a distance for a protest. I think it’s a very important issue. Ireland maintains it’s a neutral country yet it's supporting America to wage a war in Afghanistan & probably in Iraq at the minute. For me that’s a very big hypocrisy & it’s something we need to get as many people as possible to protest about.

How is us going to protest in Shannon going to have an impact?

Bronagh: Basically it’s a long shot but if people keep up the pressure & continually go to Shannon it highlights to the Irish society what is going on & it gives more people the opportunity to voice their opposition.  As far as the Government is concerned I don’t think we live in a democratic society so I don’t think their gonna listen; take for example the Nice Treaty.

So why are you giving up a weekend with your kids to come & protest here at Shannon?

Lesley: This is terribly important for my kids' future

How is it gonna impact on their future?

Lesley: It's going to show them that you can still make a difference & get out on the street & support what you believe.

Philip: We’re here to do our little bit to go for peace & hopefully start a movement that will see the futility of war & I personally feel very happy to be a part of it.

 7 hours & 15 piss stops (& 19 people on a 17 seat bus) later the Belfast crew arrive in Limerick & catch some much-needed beauty sleep. 

Sun 8^th Dec 1pm Shannon Community Hall:

Around 200-300 people arrived by bus from Limerick, Cork, Dublin, Galway & Belfast, & people from all over the country, a few hundred people in the hall for the legal briefing. There is a big emphasis on this being a peaceful protest. This is the first action I’ve attended in Ireland where bust cards have been produced.

2pm: Everyone leaves the hall & begins to walk through the town towards the airport.  There are around 300 people & a good atmosphere. No mass central action has been planned; & there is a lot of colour & creativity. The gardai have a fairly visible presence & are filming us. Quite a few people are masked up.

So do you think being masked up is a good strategy for today?

Masked Man: It puts off passers by, but if the cops are filming us there’s no harm in masking up just to frustrate them if nothing else. It’s also a good idea in the cold weather because it’s bloody freezing.

Is this action called by the SWP?

Tina: It’s not really important who calls the action. I think there’s a mixed bunch of people here from different backgrounds & that’s what’s important, there’s a wide based support for opposition to the war rather than one particular group leading it.

The Protest & Play Collective have brought along their Sound System to keep everyone in good spirits with techno & anti-war reggae & what sounds like gabba coming from the generator being wheeled in a shopping trolley! Further up the front a death march is played on fiddles & drums & for good measure someone seems to have brought a pantomime camel.

Philip (carrying a coffin): The coffin represents Irish Neutrality when the American military refuel here it’s a breach of the Irish constitution so what we are doing here is actually upholding Irish neutrality.

So people here today are actually supporting the government?

Phillip: Well the government seems to be breaking the law.

Eoin: It’s great to see all these people coming from all over the country, it’s a bit like Ecotopia again, about 40 people came out from Limerick this morning. It’s a different kind of organisational structure from the last demo that had a small little committee of people calling all the shots.

I’ll just try to have a few words with the guards.

Garda: I thought you’d have a bigger crowd here today?

What do you put it at?

Garda: 250

We reckon there’s 300-400 –who do you believe?

Does anyone have any ideas about how much the military is actually using Shannon?

Tim: There’s a small plane spotting crew that’s been going for about a year & we’ve got photographs of various planes we’ve seen coming in & out. There’s the us Navy US Marine core the US Air Force as well as chartered aircraft that they use to transport troops & we’ve seen one of those come in disguised as an Aerlingus aircraft painted up in the Aerlingus colours.

Check out picture & more info at www.refuelingpeace.org 

Ok just want to get a bit of local opinion on it all.

Conor: I’m disgusted at the use of the airport by military planes. I feel unsafe & I feel the whole town is unsafe & I’m glad I’m doing something about it here today.

Is there a lot of support in the local area what do people in the town feel about what’s going on here today?

Conor: Well we gave out 1500 leaflets in the town yesterday in the shopping area & there was some great response. I see a lot of people coming from the town here today. There’s a lot of Shannon Kids here today, they led the march & showed the way.

As we reach the gates of the Airport another 50 or so are there to meet us along with the TV cameras. We enter the gate to with a dance to ‘corporate greed war for oil US military off our soil’.

Walking past the Shannon runway fence the gardai are looking very excited, some gardai are on the other side of the fence with dogs. A helicopter hovers over head keeping an eye on us (it’s just like home!) Motorists coming out of the airport are being leafleted & we’re now walking past the section of fence that was breached at the last demo, so I feel a real sense of history.

Someone has approached the fence to hang a token, I’d imagine to all the people that have died & are going to die in the American war effort in which this airport is complicit. The gardai remained pretty relaxed as he hung a pendant from the fence so that a good sign everyone is keeping fairly cool.

When we reach the terminal the police have cordoned it off effectively shutting it down, making sure anyone using the airport has an opportunity to see what’s going on; street theatre a speak out & some of the kids having a lot of fun.  

Speak out:

Bush announced I’m cutting back on welfare because all the money is needed for the war. Tony Blair refuses to pay a decent wage to the fire fighters because he says its going to cut into health & education, he didn’t mention cutting into the war fund it is costing billions & billions & billions.

Someone just returned from Baghdad with pictures of Iraqi Children:

I know it feels like the whole world is on board for this war but it is not & I think your presence here really shows this. Look at this child and remember that this child & his peers die everyday continuously & will continue if we invade Iraq please take him home in your heart.

Everyone joins hands in a large circle to the chants of  ‘ain’t no power like the power of the people cause the power of the people won’t stop’.

There have been some very eloquent speakers, some of  its been very touching & a lot of good points made to oppose the war & particularly to oppose the use of Shannon Airport by the US military. At the minute there’s a sense of waiting for someone to take the lead & maybe I’m doing that to so it’s something to think about for the future.

People have come from lots of different parts of the country so you’ve come from Galway what kind of support is there for this action in Galway?

Terry: About 50 people came down on a bus from Galway which is pretty good & there’s a very diverse collection of people here today with a lot of street theatre & a lot of creativity there’s camels for example there’s a lot of people with cool homemade banners & it was all done without any political party.

We start moving back to the main entrance.

A ‘sculpture’ (an aircraft tail in a fountain) has been transformed into a powerful shrine to the death of war. It’s adorned with pictures of Iraqi children with blood dripping down & the water in the pool has turned red.  It’s very powerful beautifully done. It says 'the war stops here.'

Speaker at pool:

In solidarity with all those Iraqi children & men & women who are now facing the terror commuting through this airport we came to name this place what it is. It is a scene of the crime & if the Gardai if they’re serious about investigating crime should be investigating the attack on Irish neutrality & the conspiracy to kill more children. Over a million children have been killed in this war in the last 12 years first through direct bombardment & then the sanctions & now their going to start bombing again. They say that Saddam has biological weapons when they are the people that targeted the sewage & water treatment in Baghdad knowing that it would release plagues of gastroenteritis cholera & typhoid biological welfare that has killed so many of the elderly & the young. I just want to congratulate you for breaking out of the silence & the apathy of the first world because all they ask of us is to be silent & sedate as they go about their killing. We have to break the silence however we can & any brothers or sisters in front of the courts we have to offer them proactive solidarity.

We’re approaching the famous Shannon fence again, you were here last time give us an explanation of what happened.

Eugene: I didn’t see the fence being broken down but I was walking down approaching the fence when a gardai van beeped past me & drove through I saw nearly everyone had crossed the fence & the fence was on the ground. It wasn’t really damaged it was just literally lying on the ground.

As darkness transcends us it’s a lovely scene we’ve got the reggae sound system keeping entertained as we walk along the fence protecting Shannon Warport. There’s a beautiful ambience because you’ve got these blue flashing lights & those bright fluorescent jackets its just like a really good night out. It’s all very social as the guards are walking among us.

So how’d it go for you today?

Garda: Very well.

Quiet enough?

Garda: Cold.

Eugene: Maybe next time we can have it in the spring.

Do you think you could put in a word to stop those planes coming down until spring because we don’t want to be protesting in the cold. Have you any influence there at all?

Garda: Absolutely not.

There’s a nice friendly carnival atmosphere. Some people touching the fence & the police are pushing them back. Some of the police getting a little agitated & are a little heavy handed with some of the kids.

You wouldn’t really call it a stand off more like a stand about. The police are guarding the fence guarding the American war effort & we’re here trying to make them think about that. & I think that’s happening. The police haven’t got a lot to say for themselves.

How do you think it's all going today.

Belfast Anarchist: (minutes before being arrested!) Not enough police brutality.

You can never rely on the police.

Belfast Anarchist: There’s a cop who’s been giving me dirty looks all day, lets go & talk to them.

Gardai: (A mass 'no comment' from the guards).

Venus: There’s a really great atmosphere it’s just a shame that the Gardai Siochana these ‘guardians of the peace’ are guarding war planes, & allowing children to be murdered across the world. But I heard that when I said that to them they all dropped their heads. So there’s something there. It’s a shit job. Hopefully one day one of them will step out & say I’m not defending wars - fuck this.

Tim: I think it went well.  The police tried to say it’s a disappointing turnout but I think it’s a very good turnout & especially the fact that it marched through the town & the media attention. People around here & in the airport are certainly aware of the opposition to what’s going on - the continued military use of the airport. It was colourful quite a few eloquent speeches made & it went off without anyone being arrested or injured. Our work isn’t done because the planes are still landing, but there’s a lot of support for the peace camp.

Get in touch with the Peace Camp (00353) (0) 61365871 tim_hourigan@hotmail.com

Some of the ‘youngsters’ make a run for the fence gardai get a bit excited.

Someone gets arrested: Belfast Anarchist (Belfast crew are jubilant as it means more room on the bus!).

Around the same time as this commotion an American Transair troop carrier lands on the airfield. This is what the gardai is here to protect US soldiers.

Peace Lover to a garda: If you’re here for peace you won’t defend George Bush’s War. This isn’t a war for peace you don’t fight for peace if you want peace you love. If your really a guardian of the peace you’ll walk away from the fence now because you know what your doing is wrong. You’re adding to the bloodshed in the world. Be honest & walk away some day when it’s getting too much it doesn’t.  I know your one of the lads & I know that makes it hard. But its hard to turn against your humans nature all the time. OK I send you lots of love & I pray for you.

Garda: Thanks

Just like to say thanks for being peaceful today.

Garda:  thanks to you too.

It’s time to wind up & go home most people have already gone & as I leave the airport grounds I pass an interesting scene a garda playing football with the kids. Very touching.

We all head back to the town for some hot soup & analysis of the day.

Ok so tell us what happened?

Belfast Anarchist: I got fucking arrested.

A find upstanding citizen like you what for?

Belfast Anarchist: Shaking the fence, with intent to shake it some more & also conspiracy to think about shaking the fence.

What did they say when you were in the van?

Belfast Anarchist: Silent treatment for about 20 minutes & asked me to provide an address in the Republic I said no. Minutes later asked again for an address & I said no. You must have a contact number, so I showed them the bust card & they took it off me. My phone was flat and they wouldn’t lend me theirs. Look at my I.D. & made me promise not to come down here again…

No charges were brought….

You were at the Grassroots Gathering specifically because you wanted to see this action taking place & you wanted to see it being called by grassroots non hierarchal activists from all over Ireland.

Conor: I think it went well, even one of the policemen came up & thanked me, and he was impressed by it I was impressed by it I think there was a lot of colour & individuality & people from Shannon came that was great. My own inexperience of organising demos kind of came out, so today was a learning curve for me for the next one. From I started coming to these demos in August during Ecotopia what we have built up has doubled tripled, & we come back here it’s 7 o’clock & we’re all still social everyone is having a cup of tea & something to eat & that’s what its all about – coming together – a total success. 

Check out other reports & pictures from the Shannon Demo & keep up to date by checking out www.indymedia.ie  

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