Standing On the Streets of Dublin

Pit Stop Ploughshares/Dublin Catholic Worker
22 August 2005

Photo Essay by Elaine

Written Report Below Photos

When you are standing at your hero's grave,
Or near some homeless village where he died,
Remember, through your heart's rekindling pride,
The German soldiers who were loyal and brave.

Men fought like brutes; and hideous things were done;
And you have nourished hatred harsh and blind.
But in that Golgotha perhaps you'll find
The mothers of the men who killed your son.

Siegfried Sassoon, November 1918


Turn left for the Revolution...Statue of Big Jim Larkin on O'Connell st.


Damien(DCW), Linda(Phoenix, Arizona), Colm, Phil(Phoenix, Arizona), Justin(Peace People)and Mick S.


Public Meeting 'The War Comes Home' with Rose Gentle, mother of British soldier killed in Basra, 2004.
Wynn's Hotel, Thursday, September 8th, 7.30pm

A day after bidding farewell to International Peace activist Caoimhe Butterly, currently on tour to promote a new documentary charting her experiences in the Jenin refugee camp in Palestine, we gathered this afternoon at Dublin's GPO to vigil against ongoing and ever-increasing Irish complicity in the Iraq war.

As the city central political landmark continues to receive a face-lift, we continue our visible stand against the US military use of Shannon, inviting the masses en transit to pause and reflect on War, it's causes, our responsibilities and War's many innocent victims.

Back in the luxurious comfort of Baghdad's 'Green Zone', the Iraqi elite and US puppets/collaborators continue to debate the role of Islam, women's rights, distribution of Iraq's oil wealth and federalism in relation to a new constitution. On the other hand, the ordinary people of Iraq outside the politics of power continue to suffer as a result of the occupation and the carnage it fuels.

Elaine, Colm, and Justin (Peace People) kicked off the vigil and were soon joined by Damien (Dublin Catholic Worker/Pitstop Ploughshares), Lawrence and Mick. Ciaron came along after his shift in a city centre homeless shelter, a source of much needed wisdom in the midst of an atmosphere of apathy to injustice.

Thoreau taught well when he wrote, - "Under a government which imprisons any unjustly, the true place for a just man is in prison." - Henry David Thoreau

As per usual a great assortment of characters engaged us and/or passed us by. We met Phil and Linda from Phoenix Arizona visiting Ireland for the first time. They greeted us with an apology for their government's imperialistic behaviour. They attempted to explain to us that, 'we're not all fascists'! They displayed an amazing Ben and Jerry's (If you haven't had their ice-cream I suggest you do so pronto.) manufactured anti-war fact-filled pen with a graphic pull-out slide show explaining the extent of US taxpayers money supporting their government's foreign policy misadventures. It's one of those pens that you've gotta see to believe.

Ben and Jerry have been supporting US anti-war mom Cindy Sheehan in her PR campaign to counteract right-wingers concerted effort to defeat the latest threat to their lies and warmongering. Last week in the US over 1,600 vigils were held nationwide in solidarity with Cindy's Peace camp outside Bush's Crawford Ranch.

A Bon Secours nun who works with the Merchant's Quay drug project gave the thumbs up as did some Marilyn Manson look-a-likes. The anti-war message attracts a beautifully diverse bunch of people.

Some passers-by may have thought that there was a counter-demo beside us as a young man sported an oversize dazzingly white t-shirt emblazoned with the caption 'Protect the American hood' over a picture of an AK-47 which looked like it needed to be transformed into a ploughshare or pruning hook. The only other challenge to our proposition of non-violent revolution was a woman proudly gliding by in a 'Kill Barbie' t-shirt.

Fr. Gerry Dempsey dropped by and encouraged us to keep up our stationary stand. Gerry is local priest of Rialto parish and former warrior for the Ogoni people in Nigeria. He was based there for 10 years from the mid-eighties and worked tirelessly against the despicable Shell Oil, now bringing their annihilative CV to the community of Rossport, aided and abetted by the Irish State.

Former Chinese students I taught English to were more than happy to join in the protest against the US military, as were an abundance of Italian battalions.

Some young Sicilian activists expalined to us that they were trying to kick the US military out of Sigonella (home of the Sixth Fleet and major US inland Naval Airbase) at a demo last June. Sigonella happens to be that very same base where the US Navy C-40A plane, disarmed by Mary Kelly and 5 days later by the Pitstop Ploughshares at Shannon in early 2003, was due to stopover before heading to the Iraq theatre of war.

Instead of heading onward to provide logistics support for the Gulf war it was sent packing back to Forth Worth, Texas.

During the previous two weeks we had invited the public to sign a book of condolences for Jean Charles De Menezes, brutally murdered by the London Met. last month. Initiated by a member of Dublin's Brazilian community, Gustavo Barbosa, the book is currently available for signing at the Amnesty shop on Fleet st. It will be sent to Jean Charles family in due course.

Standing in one place holding an anti-war banner may seem a fruitless exercise at a time when the peace movement has dissipated, but it's a humbling exercise to meet so many people of different nationalities, ages, and backgrounds who are horrified at the fact that Shannon continues to allow 25,000 troops with munitions to pass through each month.

We invite other groups to re-ignite the campaign to boycott TOP Oil (refuelling US warplanes at Shannon) or to vigil weekly at relevant site (e.g. Dail, Dept. of Foreign Affairs/Transport, Shannon Airport, IAA, etc.)

We are organising two events in the coming weeks. Firstly, we have invited Rose Gentle to speak at a public meeting on Thursday Sept. 8th at Wynn's Hotel on Abbey st. from 7.30pm. Rose's 19 year old son Gordon was a British soldier serving in Basra when he was killed by a roadside bomb in April 2004. Rose stood against Andy Ingram, Armed Forces Minister, in the most recent General Election, receiving over 15,000 votes. Along with other families of British soldiers she has become a key anti-war voice within the movement, initiating an attempt to establish an inquiry into the war which would put Blair, Hoon, et al. in the dock to answer for their crimes.

She will be joined on the platform by Gustavo Barbosa, who will reflect on the death of Jean Charles De Menezes, Britain's shoot-to-kill policy, and the struggle to bring Jean Charles' killers to justice.

The third speaker will be Ciaron O'Reilly, on trial for his involvement in the disarmament of a US warplane in Shannon in Feb. 2003. He will bring folks up to speed on the upcoming Pitstop Ploughshares Trial, due to take place at Dublin's Four Courts from October 24th '05.

On Thursday September 15th we invite you to Give Peace A Bluegrass and Irish Trad. Dance at the Lower Deck pub in Portobello for a Pitstop Ploughshares benefit gig. The gig will commence at 8pm sharp with a short documentary on the Pitstop Ploughshares first trial last March. Performers on the night will be Prison Love (Bluegrass), Whirligig (Irish Trad. Band), Paul O'Toole & Band (Anti-War Music), Joe Black (Trad. guitarist/singer), and Ruairi 'Jailbreak' McCauliffe. Entrance is 5 Euro or donations welcome.

The IAWM and other individuals and groups will return to Shannon on September 24th for a Peace Concert and hopefully lots more! As we are barred from a 5 mile radius of Shannon so we shall hold a solidarity vigil at Bunratty Castle, Co. Clare from 12 noon.

We shall vigil again at the GPO next Monday August 29th between 4-6pm (and each Monday at the same time, same place) until our trial on October 24th. Please consider joining us for a while or drop by for a chat.

This weeks vigil was once again focused on the death of Jean Charles de Menenez executed by London Met Police with seven shots to the head at Stockwell tube station. A book of condolences initiated by Gustavo at a vigil outside the British Embassy was left under a tree on O'Connell for folks to sign.

Meanwhile Cindy Sheehan maintains vigil outside a ranch in Crawford, Texas,demanding to meet with George W who spun the lies that sent her soldier son to his death in Iraq. George refuses to meet with her, she will follow him to the White House if has failed to do so before the end of his holiday at the ranch.

We are connected by our friends Vietnam Vet/Plowshares activist Peter De Mott and Catholic Worker Teresa Grady who have traveled from Ithaca, New York, to join Cindy Sheehan and others at the vigil outside George W ranch.

Peter & Teresa are part of the St.Patrick's Day Four www.stpatricksfour.org who go to trial mid-Sept on 4 felonies for a sit in at their local military recruitment centre on St. Patrick's Day 2003. This nonviolent direct action took place a few days before George W launched the air war over Iraq. The four had gone to trial in 2003, ending in a hung jury. They heard no more until three of the group were to depart for the Pit Stop Ploughshares trial in Dublin in march. The FBI raided the four defendant's house charging them with a felony of interfering with a federal officer" by occupying the office. This was multiplied to four felonies at their first appearance in Binghampton NY. The Prosecutor also argued that the travel of three of the defendants should be restricted to the district of the court because "they had been in Ireland involved in ongoing criminal activity" (by attending the Pit Stop trial)!

The book of condolences will now be left at the Amnesty International coffee shop in Temple Bar for folks to sign, it will be mailed to Jean Charles parents in Brazil when filled. Gustavo is setting up a website and producing a poster for distribution. Irish human rights activist Caoimhe Butterly has connected with the Jean Charles cousins who he was sharing an apartment with and friends. All these folks want to grieve this death and also challenge the "shoot to kill" policy once wielded covertly in the north, now mainstreamed. The shoot to kill death of Harry Stanley in London a couple of years has special significance for Irish people. Harry, a Scotsman and a carpenter, was carrying home a table leg under a blanket in the rain from his workshop. He called into a pub to escape the weather and have a drink. When he left the pub someone called the police and said someone with an Irish accent was acting suspiciously. The armed response unit arrived did not ask for him to surrender or lay down his table leg - just shot him dead.

We were joined at the beginning of this week's vigil by a crew traveling up from Wexford and at the end by Dutch parliamentarian and anti-war activist Krista Van Velzen. Krista had recently been part of a parliamentary delegation visiting Dutch troops in Afghanistan and Iraq. News comes through this morning that 16 suspected Taliban have been shot in Afghanistan, while 17 Spanish troops die there in a helicopter crash. The headline of today's Mirror screams "Ireland will be Bombed", as consequence of the militarization of Shannon Airport in the service of the U.S. war machine indiscriminately in Iraq and Afghanistan. The wars that Shannon Airpport are servicing escalate and expand the bodies passed off as collateral damage mount.

When the Pit Stop Ploughshares disarmed in February of 2003, we acted to save the lives of Iraqi people, U.S. troops and the people of Shannon Airport. We return to trial October 24th. at the Four Courts. We will maintain an anti-war vigil at the GPO, O'Connell St every Monday 4pm-6pm.

We gathered back at the GPO the afternoon after farewelling RedJade who had offered so much solidarity in our time awaiting trial for the Pit Stop Ploughshares disarmament at Shannon. We keep going publicly denouncing Ireland's role in this illegal and immoral war sustained by a sense of solidarity and community.

The old Dan Berrigan advice from the sixties of "Don't just do something stand there!" brings us back to this weekly vigil. To vigil is to stay wake while society slumbers to a war that is escalating. Standing in one place and experiencing the beauty and multiplicity of humanity is nourishing in itself. Anti-war folks from Ireland, Italy, Spain, U.S. drop by the vigil to reflect and connect. A guy who was in our Tai Chi class in Limerick Prison back in Feb 2003 (once a week only 3 of us in it so a complete reunion!)also dropped by.

Don't just do something stand there! We are reminded by the steadfastness of the Rossport 5, Les Gibbons in Bristol Prison after being arrested breaking in to Aldermaston nuke weapons factory on Friday and Cindy Sheean now camped outside Bush's ranch in Crawford, Texas, demanding to see the guy who told the lies and sent her son to kill & die in Iraq. We are reminded of of Tim & Ed and the long hours they keep watch at Shannon Airport as the culture tells them to turn away and learn to live with it. Learn to live with Ireland's role in this brutal war and 25,000 U.S. troops passing through Shannon Airport each month.

Today we have brought with us to the vigil "The Book of Condolences to the Family of Jean Charles de Menezes". Charles was brutally executed by the London Met Police and targeted by a SAS trained covert British military team in London a few weeks ago. The team that put a bullet into his shoulder and pumped 7 bullets into his head have not been suspended during the investigation. The Book of Condolences was initiated by members of the Brazilian community in Dublin at a vigil outside the British Embassy last week. it will be filled and sent to the family in Brazil, please consier signing it.

The British state has used the opportunity of Jean Charles death to mainstream the shoot-to-kill policy the practised frequently in the north of Ireland in the '80's. Like the time following Sept. 11th. all sorts of agendas that have been carefully prepared in the wings are being rushed through to shrink freedom and strengthen injustice & the warmaking state. We are promised more security by more guns and laws, we know that is a lie.

Meanwhile the war escalates in Iraq and spreads. The Pentagon announces a rise in troop levels in the second half of this year, the role of Shannon Airport will duly escalate. The Pit Stop Ploughshares will return to trial October 24th. at the Four Courts. We will maintain this weekly vigil on Mondays 4pm-6pm. You are most welcome to drop by!

Damien(DCW), Robert(Oregon), Henrietta (Netherlands) and David (Wicklow)

Amen