We need your help now
Support from readers like you keeps The Journal open.
You are visiting us because we have something you value. Independent, unbiased news that tells the truth. Advertising revenue goes some way to support our mission, but this year it has not been enough.
If you've seen value in our reporting, please contribute what you can, so we can continue to produce accurate and meaningful journalism. For everyone who needs it.
Sign in. It’s quick, free and it’s up to you.
An account is an optional way to support the work we do. Find out more.
By continuing, you are indicating that you accept our Terms of Service and Privacy Policy.
A PANEL OF TDs and senators have pledged to consider a petition asking for the Government to set up an investigation into US Military and CIA use of Irish airspace and Shannon Airport in particular.
Peace activists from the Shannonwatch organisation — including Margaretta D’Arcy, who served three months in prison earlier this year for refusing not to engage in future protests at Shannon — made a presentation to the Oireachtas Joint sub-Committee on Public Petitions.
The European Parliament, the Council of Europe and the United Nations have all expressed concern over the years about Ireland’s alleged cooperation in CIA rendition programme. A report published last year found that 54 countries, including Ireland, helped facilitate the CIA’s secret detention, rendition and interrogation programme in the years after the 2001 9/11 attacks.
Iraq and Afghanistan
Opening the Shannonwatch presentation today, Dr Edward Horgan, a former UN Peacekeeper, said the practice of allowing planes carrying troops transit through the airport meant the country had effectively been facilitating the US wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.
And he said:
Thousands of Afghan and Iraqi children are just as important as the 796 children buried at Tuam.
D’Arcy’s tirade
Launching into an impassioned, apparently off-the-cuff speech, D’Arcy said that what was happening at Shannon amounted to a “Monty Python” scenario.
The 79-year-old Aosdána member appeared to become visibly angry over the situation as she gestured at the committee members and said:
Shannon is at the centre of an aggressive illegal war that destroys people.
Referring to a fun run being organised for Shannon runway in August, she described the airport as “an absolutely crime laden place of murder and assassination” and said it would be akin to “having a fun run in Auschwitz”.
All images: screengrabs via Oireachtas.ie… Margaretta D’Arcy, her colleagues from Shannonwatch and reaction from Michael Healy Rae TD and Senator Susan O’Keeffe.
Referring to the perception of Ireland in the Middle East and elsewhere, she said that while we had previously been considered a “nice neutral country”…
“We are now a blood-ridden country… We now can be accused of being war criminals.”
And she concluded:
I would prefer to blow myself up on the runway with petrol rather than have to go down in history as being a war criminal.
[Screengrab/Oireachtas]
Ending the group’s presentation, Shannonwatch’s John Lannon said it beggared belief that successive Governments appeared to rely on “diplomatic assurances that prisoners were not or would not be taken through Shannon”.
Foreign Affairs Minister Eamon Gilmore said in 2011 that he had been assured by the US Government Shannon was not used for rendition. Last year, he said an incident when a military aircraft carrying a fixed weapon landed at the facility had been raised “at the highest possible level” with the US Embassy.
“We know from experience that the US administration have lied about what they’ve been doing around the world,” Lannon told the TDs.
He also raised concerns about how authorities had dealt with complaints about suspected rendition flights at Shannon, saying that while gardaí legally had the power to search planes, the force appeared to have a policy of not doing so.
“The number of complaints that we’ve made that have been unanswered is estimated to be over a hundred,” Lannon said.
On a number of occasions the gardaí have said that they refer to either an instruction or a policy decision or a letter of advice to the effect that US military and CIA planes at Shannon were not to be searched.
He said any possible investigation should examine how gardaí reached the understanding that they weren’t to conduct searches of US Military planes.
We need to learn what has happened in Shannon in the last ten years and ensure it doesn’t happen again.
The three Shannonwatch activists answered a number of questions from the committee members on their presentation and issues arising from it before the meeting came to an end.
Chairman Pádraig Mac Lochlainn, of Sinn Féin, said the contents of their report would be examined by members and discussed at next week’s meeting, and that the panel would be back in touch.
To embed this post, copy the code below on your site
It’s ironic that those countries she feels so much sympathy for wouldn’t allow her to speak like that to men. She’d be stuck at home, covered in a burkha with no rights. Iraqis and afghans kill more of their own citizens than the Americans ever did but listening to crackpots like her you would think they are all peace loving people.
Do you have any clue how many deaths the US caused in Iraq and Afghanistan in pretty short periods of time? Just because they kill their own doesn’t excuse the fact the US invaded sovereign countries and killed people. Just because those countries wouldn’t allow her to speak freely if she were there doesn’t mean what she says is irrelevant
Nonsense John. You know well that she is neither advocating theocracy nor dictatorships. She is, on the other hand, calling for a respect for human rights and international law and an acceptance of our role in facilitating illegal wars, kidnapping and torture. Now put head back in the sand.
Again Paolo, she has no problem with war, murder and torture when carried out by Irish nationalists? So why is it ok for them and not for the US according to Mrs Darcey?
I would be grateful if you could provide a link for her views on Republicanism. In the absence of such knowledge and assuming that your assertions are correct, I can only assume that she saw the IRA as defending people from State oppression, which undoubtedly existed until quite recently. If she sees the North as a product of colonialism, it would be consistent with her views of the Iraq war.
Should have kept the lunatic locked up !
She refused to participate in a minutes silence for Ronan Kerr murdered in 2011, long
After democracy had spoken on NI. she is a close personal friend of Mr G Adams, and has served time for terrorist activities in Long Kesh prison. These are all well known public facts
So torture, murder and war are ok in fighting colonialism but not in any other circumstances? Thanks for clearing that up
Oh my god, you goon. That the US were using Shannon for transporting prisoners for torture to countries without human rights agreements has been common knowledge for years, there is also evidence that torture occured there. And she’s a looney for speaking out about this? Disgusting comment.
Show us the evidence then. There should be plenty of it since everyone has known about it for ages.
Somebody tell Healy-Rae to take that cap off when a committee is in session.
Its a strange mix of Healy Rae trying to look older and margaretta trying look younger
An embarrasment to this Country-looks just like a member of like a certain “ethnic” minority.
Why is it the loonies always shout the loudest. Any semblance of a reasonable argument is lost in the circus.
Ask Danny Rigg, the resident expert in that field.
Says you. You’re just a crazy bigoted propaganda machine
Who are the loonies?
Empty vessels, make the loudest noise!
The Taliban , Isis and al Qaeda have no regard for children or most of the world come to think of it. Any military jet who is en route to these places for the sole purpose of stoping them should be allowed refuel. To protest against these planes is to support extremism
Who was it who funded those groups in the first place?
According to the general consensus at the moment ISIS were funded by Saudi Arabia and certain entrepreneurial activities, not the West as your implying
Saudi Arabia, and continues to do so today.
And which country is hand in hand with Saudi Arabia? Also, the Taliban has been funded in the past by the USA and Saudi Arabia, and al Qaeda has received various forms of support from the USA in the past
@Vocal Outrage
@John Bawn
Some Saudi Sunnis supported Al-Qaeda but the Saudi royal family didn’t. After all, the Saudi royal family invited the US military into Saudi Arabia to fight Saddam in 1990. Bin Laden hated the Saudi royal family.
Cirain
I agree with your post,but the Saudi leaders are financial backers to the tune of billions for the erection of Mosques and Madrass’s world wide , and those are the spawning grounds of those hate filled clerics and their mentally unbalanced new western converts.
@John Bawn
The word “madrasa” is the Arabic word for any type of educational institution, whether secular or religious (of any religion).
Just because the Saudi leaders are funding mosques and madrasahs doesn’t mean that these places are breeding grounds for extremism. As Malala Yousafzai said, the word “Islam” means “peace”.
the word ‘salam’ means peace.Islam means submission
The general consensus is seldom the full story – http://www.globalresearch.ca/the-islamic-state-caliphate-project-and-the-global-war-on-terrorism/5389530
What a load of rubbish. I work at Shannon airport since 2004. I have worked on daily with these Military flights and have NEVER NEVER seen anything that would support the crazy unfounded stories the are claimed about these flights.I have been on board these flights and have never seen any of these ‘prisoners’……….. So where is all this miss information coming from??
Tell us, what is on those flights?
Well It’s not like they would keep prisoners that they are illegally trafficking through Ireland to Guantanamo bay for torture or as they call it advanced interrogation in plain sight. Obviously they would hide them in some sort of cargo hold / hidden brig. How else would they get prisoners to Guantanamo? They wouldn’t use ships because they can only travel roughly 40 knots that’s about 20mph it would take a few weeks to ferry prisoners back and forth. So by the time they got them to Guantanamo any Intel their prisoner had would be of no value. Flying them is their only option which would take hours so naturally Ireland is the last stop before they land stateside meaning they have to be transporting prisoners.
Ciaran, a plane can be flown to the US from anywhere in Europe without Ireland being the last stop.
Then why don’t they rather than violate our neutrality by bringing weapons in why don’t they land in Spain who is involved with the coalition forces in Iraq or their sweetish ally’s rather than endanger our citizens?
*Swedish
These fecking activists!! Why give these hippies a microphone when nobody wants to listen! We are a neutral state, let America refuel here, Afghanistan can if they want too ( Can’t see that happening)
We are not a neutral state! There is no constitutional requirement or law that says we are it is a policy!
If we are a neutral state then weapons can’t be brought through on them planes or prisoners
Feckin Hippies and their lack of desire to facilitate torture!
I thought we had a referendum to make us neutral, can anyone clarify?
Mrs Darcey seems fine with murder and torture against members of the PSNI! She also counts ex members of the IRA as close friends some of whom are responsible for various acts of barbarity and torture in NI!
Vocal, No we didn’t, there was a re-run of a European referendum were parties campaigned for neutrality exemptions for Ireland. But there is no law that ensures we are neutral and there is no constitutional requirement to be neutral! It has however been the policy of successive governments
The RUC were designed as a sectarian instrument. They were not a police force in the normal sense of the word; that is why they, like the UDR and the B-Specials before them had to be disbanded. To honour someone for being part of such an organisation is understandably difficult for some, particularly those closest to the situation.
@PaoloFreire
In the eyes of the law, the RUC wasn’t disbanded; it was incorporated into the new organisation that is called the PSNI, the full name of which is: Police Service of Northern Ireland (incorporating the Royal Ulster Constabulary GC). The GC stands for the George Cross, a British honour of which the RUC is one of two groups of people that are recipients; the other group is the population of Malta because of its resistance to German and Italian bombing raids.
The officer she refused to honour was a member of the PSNI, not the RUC. You know the constitutional police force of Northern Island, the one created via the democratic and hugely backed all island vote on Good Friday. Please stop twisting facts and stick to reality
@Wayne O’Fathaigh
Who refused to honour what officer?
@Wayne O’Fathaigh
Apologies. You’ve already answered my question.
No bother Cíaran, green thumb is mine, no idea why anyone would red thumb a question but that’s the Journal for you
peter that comment is a little absurd, though almost reasonable compared to the pro western jargon and nonsense above and below. anyways if we are a neutral state why do we facilitate potential transfer of war materials/personnel, and if we are a neutral state simply allowing planes to refuel should we not carry out reasonable inspections on every tenth or twentieth plane of countries like America who are the mos frequent passers-by in Shannon? When we strip away the understandable frustration and yes somewhat hysteria of this lady and lifelong activist, who by the way is great friends with the President/President’s wife who have a great record on foreign policies as does Gerry Adams for all his alleged faults, is the above not reasonable? When 100 complaints are made to Gardai and not 1 is investigated regarding foreign military airport usage, I think that is what’s disturbing most of all. You can be sure America and other countries, even ‘neutral’ ones search any planes that land they suspect of carrying foreign military personel/weapons/hostages etc.
I know, is nobody reasonable anymore??
Oops, oops, that went up in totally the wrong place, somehow.
So unreasonable!!
@Wayne- that’s why I asked for the source above. I wasn’t sure what you were refering to.
@Ciaran- that many RUC officers and their families experienced great pain is undeniable and fair enough, disbanded may not be the correct term. Their ‘incorporation’ into the PSNI was however an admission that the organisation was beyond reform and deeply flawed.
Why why why does this convicted criminal get so much airtime and media coverage?
It makes us look so bad as a nation.
And then there’s a member of our parliament wearing a cap!!!!
Because in all honesty you are adick
@Seamus – what a ridiculous response. It doesn’t even make sense.
If you try again I’ll respond.
This is just a publicity stunt to assist her in promoting her new modelling career.
LOL
The US should stop using our land and airspace to send troops and supplies for the purpose of killing people
Is that the same US that you would have begged to come save us if the Soviet Union had overrun Europe . Just wondering!
I really don’t care for these what ifs in relation to the Cold War. This is about things that actually have happened and do happen
Maybe I wouldn’t have begged anyone to come save us, what we do know is that it never happened and almost certainly never would have happened
Dermot…. The tables have turned 180° since the cold war …..
The USA / NATO is now the new Soviet Union…. It is now proven.
They Spy on everyone..
They spread their dirty lies through the Mainstream Media..
They spread lies and disinformation to illegally raid sovereign nations (Iraq, Afghanistan, Libya)
They destabilising legitimate governments by sponsoring terrorists. (Syria, Ukraine)
Those that collaborate and finance terrorism should not be allowed use our resources.
Formidable woman of principal, who speaks the truth about the use of our soil, to promote or accommodate, any killing, at home or abroad ,at any time and by ANY State or Country .
Who cost the taxpayer €500,000 to repair a jet she damaged with a hammer! Silly beeeech
The Russians and other eastern countries stopped outside berlin as they waited for the allies to catch up….you have suffered too much of the Reds under the bed crap….go get help
No they shouldnt….why should they?
But we have the good life so so what.
Jesus Christ…it looks a scene out of Darby O Gill, one looks crazier than the next….no wonder the world laughs at us.
If D-Day had failed, the Red Army would have reached the English Channel.
By the way, the D-Day comment is a reply to Seamus O’ceadagain
There laughing at u .. get a real profile picture not someone else’s
€500,000 damage is nothing compared to the loss of property and lives caused by the US war machine, not to mention the “colateral damage” to women and children with their terror drone policy.
@Christy Bhoy Doyle
Who are you aiming that comment at?
Has the KluKluxKlan man looked at the picture of himself – He certainly is not Darby O’Gill – Too ugly to be !!!!!
Ciaran, the Red Army would have had no choice but to go all the way to the English Channel seeing as that was a Nazi occupied area
@Danny Rigg
And Western Europe would have swapped one tyrant for another. Soviet soldiers raped thousands of women in eastern Germany. The same would have happened to women in France, Belgium, Holland, Luxembourg, Denmark, Austria and western Germany. In addition to that, the Katyn massacre would have been replicated many times over.
Weak response Kerryman.
Ciaran, you have a brilliant talent for bringing things up that were never said and/or were/are not part of the conversation
The circus came to town to entertain idle TDs. Our oldest ally is the United States, the jurisdiction which illegal immigrants from Ireland gave chosen as a domicile. Why has Leinster House become a platform for a bunch geriatric hysterical biddies who gave done jail time? Better go hold the committee meeting in their own trailer park, where Mr Healy Rae’s cap would be a perfect symbol of decorum and etiquette.
Our oldest ally must have forgotten how fond it was of its little pet when they sent Geithner to enforce the maximum bondholder debt on Ireland in 2011 in order to protect against U.S financial institution (AIG particularly) exposure to Credit Default Swap.
Is the country going that well that Td’s have time to sit down and listen to lunatics like her???
Was is public money being wasted on this hippy
That should be Why
Why is €17.5 million being spent in security costs for the Americans at Shannon?.
I suggest she nips over and waxes lyrical with the headchoppers she’s defending. I’m sure they’ll be more than happy to hear her out.
Fair play to her. The govt here are a bunch of cowards. If it’s not master servant with the imf. It’s bow down to illegal rendition. Raised at the highest level possible. and what’s that exactly. Explain.
Syria is a blood ‘ridden’ country.
Answer: we are a sparrowfart of a country, always have been, always will be . we should be grateful for any support we can garner from overseas or we’ll starve.
She is a joke how she is entertained by the government is beyond me. Shannon is making money so why not they would go else where if we said no. She should act her age not be running around the airport been a annoyance and clogging up jail cells
The USA should stop going to war with everyone and then she can stop all that
Maybe there doing it for the better. A keyboard warrior like you will never achieve anything either wil she
They’re doing it to line their own profits, did you not pick up on that yet? Don’t be so quick to judge what I may or may not achieve in my life, it’s just a silly assumption. Why bother making a personal attack?
Doesn’t matter what she achieves….she is not an armchair guerrilla like a lot of people here who oppose her….banging on computers thinking their voice should be heard the loudest
She should be on her knees, praying for a quiet death.
Once US passport control arrived in Shannon, we accepted that we are in effect a colony of the US. Our government will go to court to defend Apple’s selective accounting and tax treatment here – but not quite so keen to fight on behalf of the SME’s who employ more than all of the multinationals combined.
Rubbish…the pre clearance facility at Shannon and Dublin has nothing to do with us being the 51st state…very handy for irish people who travel over.
@Mark O’Hagan
US passport control in Ireland and other countries prevents illegal entry into the US. If our government had any sense it would have border control personnel at airports outside the EU to prevent illegal immigration into Ireland. Then there’d be no need for direct provision to asylum seekers.
Why is that repugnant auld hag given such publicity.
Nothing but an uber-liberal terrorist enabling loon.
And just supposing that intelligence pointed to an attack on Irish soil where the possibility of hundreds being killed, was learned from someone supposedly ‘passing through Shannon’.
In the balance of things, would that justify Shannon’s use??
Of course we’ll never know, as the nature of intelligence is that successes never make the news, only failures.
If 911 had happened here, how would we have acted? Isn’t it in the Divine Comedy where it states, ‘The Darkest recesses of hell are reserved for those who remain neutral during a crisis’.
Nothing like 9/11 is going to happen here. There’s a reason those terrorist attacks happen in countries like the USA and the UK
@Patrick. ‘during a moral crisis’.*nit picking*
Danny
Where have you been ?
You say ‘ nothing like that happen here’
‘A reason for terrorist attacks’
I suggest you read just a little snippet of recent year back issues of Irish newspapers
It’s an insulting thing to say to the families of those people blown to bits on Both sides of the Irish border.
I’m fully aware of a the actions of both sides in Ireland. However, that is nothing like 9/11 and I am talking about the large scale terrorist attacks from Islamist groups
These few comments have clearly been in relation to the US in the Middle East, was that not obvious enough for you?
Danny Rigg
Your bias is all to obvious.
What bias?
Nigeria is a blood ‘ridden ‘country
Is she out of jail. She is scary
Hooray and three cheers for Ireland! Dr. Horgan says that allowing USA troops to transit through Shannon means that Ireland is facilitating the Americans in their wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. Good for Ireland! Ireland is contributing to world peace. Unless you supported Saddam Hussain in gassing the Kurds and exterminating the Marsh Arabs, that is something to celebrate. Unless you supported the Taliban takeover of Afghanistan and its forbidding education to women, playing of music and videos and such horrendous crimes as men shaving, Ireland is now on the side of the angels. Good old Dr. Horgan for letting us know that we have someting to be proud of!
P.s. Mrs. D’Arcy will need some matches. Has anyone got some to spare?
And yet the U.S had no issue with Saddam or Turkey gassing the Kurds in the 1980s. Apparently chemical warfare only becomes a crime against humanity when perpetrated by those not supporting U.S strategic interests.
Patrick, that isn’t why they invaded Iraq and Afghanistan
@Coddler O Toole
I know that Rumsfeld shook Saddam’s hand during the 1980s but France and the Soviet Union gave most of the assistance to Saddam.
What an inspirational woman. We are a nation of cowards who love to lie down and get shafted by anyone with a large bank balance, at least she has the courage of her convictions.
Yeah she is so opposed to war she refused to honour a minutes silence for a policeman murdered by terrorists! She is a hypocrite, happy to pick and choose and take money from
A state she accuses of war crimes she has NO principles
Bravo !!
The journal should not allow these people to ridicule themselves, it’s cruel to report on them.
They should be afforded the proper medical attention that they subconsciously seek and desperately desire.
Pickart….The send a Regulation FG dope out and whinge on his computer
How is it that we complain about politicians and the state of our democracy all of the time. Then, when someone who acts on principle challenges us to aim higher and be better, we ridicule her. Look at the idiotic comments here about her looks- utterly disrespectful of women in general and older people in particular. Look at the pathetic ‘sure it’s making money, so it’s grand’ arguments.
We have no hope of building a decent society unless it is built on the principles of democracy and solidarity and we have no soul if we don’t deal with others in the same way.
Paolo, I don’t care what she looks like but she claims to be anti war while supporting Nationalist terrorists I. Ireland?? Surely a contradiction!
She claims the Irish state has blood on its hands and is guilty of war crimes but again is happy to take a cheque from them to the tune of €20,000 per annum?
Wayne- can you play the ball please and address issues of sovereignty, foreigh policy, neutrality, human rights, international law, rendition etc. Are you saying that you agree with those aspects of what she is saying, but think she is a hipocrite for her views on the North. If not, you ware engaging in obfuscation.
With regard to payments, she is a citizen of this state; being critical of its policies does not deny one access to its social welfare system. You sound like the Americans who say to their anti-war critics ‘love it or leave’- a tad simplistic, don’t you think?
I have addressed all of your points. Ireland is not neutral, there is no legal or constitutional specification for it to be so it has been a policy of various governments.
In relation to human rights torture etc Mrs Darcey appears to think it is ok for her and her friends on the IRA to do it but not for the US that is the point I am making I never expressed any personal opinion on HR abuses etc.don’t forget she has served time for offences against the state on relation to terrorism in the UK
She is a member of Aosdána, she receives €20,000 of state grants annually, some of that could come from the profits of US jets landing at Shannon but she is happy to take it.
Did she get a smack of a plane in the mouth?
What’s kind of ironic though is that I got through Shannon airport a few weeks ago without being asked for my passport, while 3 US airforce planes were on the ground. Aren’t they meant to be obsessed with security?
They know their sh@t
To compare Shannon airport to a Nazi concentration camp is ridiculous and obscene.
Despite all of the various investigations carried out by different world bodies there is NO evidence of a smoking gun that Shannon was involved in rendition.
There is evidence to suggest a CIA Gulfstream jet landed at Shannon after a rendition flight to the Middle East to refuel.
The ONLY evidence that a prisoner was brought through Shannon was when a U.S. Marine was discovered shackled to the floor on a U.S. military flight. He was under miliary arrest at the time.
The ONLY violence at Shannon was when “peace activists” attacked U.S. Navy cargo planes, not “warplanes” at “the warport” with axes.
Strangely you never see these “peace activists” mount a protest against massacres in London, Madrid or elsewhere when Al Qaeda or it’s offshoots murder innocent people.
Yes hundreds of thousands of American troops have passed through Shannon on their way to Afghanistan helping to keep the airport alive.
The U.N. and the civilised world, including Ireland, have contributed troops and resources to try to support democracy in Afghanistan after the barbaric rule of the Taliban.
If the “peace activists” protested against the activities of the Taliban as they do against the U.S. they might have more credibility.
If they were even handed of course they would have to protest against Israel, Russia etc who also use Shannon for military cargo flights.
Jaysus ,your wan looks like the junkie from Breaking Bad !
Someone give her a can of petrol and kindly show her where the runway is…
I am truly flabbergasted at the amount of red thumbs on this page……..people really should educate themselves. The good old u.s. of a. is no longer the guardian angle of th western world, they have no interest in the like of Ireland and our ‘neutrality’. They will say and do whatever they have to to get what they want…….you’d think John Charles was still doing our thinking for us……wise up!
Jean we are not “neutral” maybe you should do some reading yourself
Jean
Your the one who needs to “wise up”
Your the one who needs to “educate” yourself,
It is the responsibility of each and every Country to promote their own interests ,be it the U.S. North Korea or elsewhere , it is in our interest to do the same, sometimes it is in our interest to support the interests of another Country,
It’s the way of the world since the dawn if time, educate yourself.
How is it in our interest?
A lot of Irish people still idolise America, just look at the sickfest that happened when Obama visited. People can have serious blind spots when it comes to power and the promise of jobs. You may as well be talking to a block of granite as trying to get some people to research beyond what they are told on the sixo ‘ clock news.
It seems ironic to me that in a month where everyone asked who knew what, how and why about the Mother and Baby homes in the past; that few, on this site at least, want to recognise one of the whats, hows and whys of our time, namely the militarisation of Shannon. Neither do they recognise our participation in illegal wars, contrary to the Constitution (Article 29) as well as in kidnapping and torture. We shame the ideals which we claim motivated us to seek and justify our independence.
What part of Article 29, that covers international relations do you believe the use of Shannon breaches? Also can you provide evidence of the flights that landed that breached the agreements in place?
How many prisoners have been found on Shannon flights?
Wayne what are you illiterate?
Above the committee was told 100 complaints were made to Gardai and not 1 was investigated because the Gards themselves have said they have diplomatically been ordered not to approach US aircraft.
Not alone that, the very fact that we do not even inspect(ie the Airport Police) do not even inspect these flights, by far away the largest number of military flights to pass through Ireland, undermines how stupid demanding people come up with evidence is. Hundreds of military planes every year fly through there-they cannot all be empty!!! Common sense would say we should at least inspect said planes regularly in light of American foreign policy over the last 40-50 years. Not direct against such inspections and then demand comically that campaigners who have gathered all the basic circumstantial evidence required for said inspections/investigations statutorily then investigate themselves!!!! A police force is supposed to investigate complaints made with basic grounds and basic evidence for complaint, and the police force is supposed to gather additional evidence where it believes is required, not the complainant themselves. The Gards need to be let off the leash but as our police are controlled politically they will not be. Common sense ain’t that common though is it!
INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS
The following is actually the law, and along with EU law is above all other law, ie statutes and government policy etc.
Article 29
1. Ireland affirms its devotion to the ideal of peace and friendly co-operation amongst nations founded on international justice and morality(a judge could potentially interpret facilitation of war carrying planes/hostage carrying planes as immoral and breaching of aforementioned committment)
2. Ireland affirms its adherence to the principle of the pacific settlement of international disputes by international arbitration or judicial determination.
3. Ireland accepts the generally recognised principles of international law as its rule of conduct in its relations with other States(it is illegal under international law to support the kidnapping of citizens as hostages or to fcailitate the transport of military personnel/weaponry for illegal military use in illegal wars, all of which Ireland surely has done in facilitating several thousand flights since the Iraq war, as despite what the idiots above post there must have been such transportations in the last 11 years, only our ridiculous stifling of Garda Authority means we actually have a policy of accepting assurances from the very army supposedly just flying a load of empty military planes through our airspace, cough)
Thanks Andy- beat me to it.
Wayne- I presume you would not object to a referendum on this issue, which anti-war campaigners have been calling for for years?
Just because we are not legally compelled to stop the flights at the moment, doesn’t mean that we can’t or shouldn’t. I believe that the majority of the population are closer to my position than yours and would be quite happy to test that hypothesis in a referendum.
Let’s see. Given the choice between a democratic ally, who has a constitution and rule of law, or the likes of ISIL, The Taliban, or the various other nations which have none of the above, I know who I’d let refuel to their hearts content at Shannon.
The USA first suggested that we had the right to freedom of speech, which those on here with strong anti-American get to use. And abuse at times.
Let’s see the same anti-American types appeal to the ISIL leadership to express their views, and see if they are given a choice of what ditch they’re placed in to be shot.
It isn’t a choice between the USA and the Taliban/ISIS, it’s a choice between the USA and no USA
Well Danny which nation would you prefer to be a superpower? Russia or China? Your continuous diatribe on the US is wearing thin. If it were not for the US the world would be in a pretty sorry state.
So pick! Russia or China, the first a pseudo democracy ruled by a quasi dictator or the second a communist state where the people have no voice. Both are corrupt, both have little or no free speech, both have human rights abuses. Pick one!
It isn’t a choice we have to make. The choice is USA using Shannon, or USA not using Shannon. The the USA saved Europe from the Nazis and then went on a rampage around the world that they’re still on today. I’m critical of US foreign policy, that’s it. What so awful about opposing such a horridly imperialistic foreign policy?
You have the freedom of speech to say what you like unless it hits a nerve with the wrong group or threatens their business interests in which case you’ll find yourself on the run or in some hellhole of a prison. There are some great people in America and some amazing contributions to culture, science etc. The ideals on which the USA was supposedly founded on are very noble and pioneering but are just a faded dream if they ever truly existed in reality.
Pretty unflattering picture
An Irish Doctor is occasionally called to see if particular detainees are well enough for onward transfer to rendition facilitative countries. Detainees need to be healthy enough to endure torture.
Weapons are routinely transported through Shannon.
We may be embarrassed by this, we may be morally compromised by this, we may be worried about offending the US administration and antagonising US multinationals in Ireland but denying what is happening is a cop out. Let’s at least have the honesty to confront the reality of Ireland’s accessory role even though our Government is obliged to deny its awareness of what is happening.
Whether we should facilitate what is happening is a moral issue but, as a US businessman and ex marine told me, “You guys don’t do that morality sh*t” and sadly he is right but let’s not be self serving key delusional.
What’s the big deal we where quiet happy in ww2 for them to die and spill there blood for us while we did nothing . Time to give something back .
The old bird is right – we have used our “neutrality status” to allow the stop-overs (I’m full sure there’s been at least some BIK from the U.S.A. for same) but we have to be grown-ups about it and admit there was agreement somewhere, allowing this to happen too.
While Ireland is not the ould country with the donkeys & the turf and the shawlies that had no knowledge of the outside world it was at the beginning of the last century, we’re far more sophisticated than that now, allegedly – sometimes, the mind boggles.
Seems to me that the vast majority of the populace are more concerned with Kanye and yer wan landing in Cork for a bit than were ever concerned with rendition flights and/or weaponry stopping off at Shannon.
Far too easy to be facetious (especially given the gobs on that pair of elected representatives) but still. The old bird has a valid point – wish they’d take it seriously.
I’m gob smacked by the amount of ad hominum attack in the comments, as apposed to addressing the issue, be it one or not.
Absolutely bonkers.
Has our country never been blood-ridden until now?
with the amount of sexist, racist, ageist, low intelligent warmongering comments on here tonight….can only mean that most decent people are watching the football…
Couldn’t they find another reason to keep her in jail?
Which as wearing a loud shirt or walking on the pavement cracks!
That’s right Peter. And most people on here don’t seem to know what neutrality is! It isn’t a case of letting any auld crook refuel as most people above seem to think. Ireland is meant to be a neutral country but really we are just money grabbing westernised neo colonial anglo parroting sleveens. in international affairs
you really all are a load of gobshytes. jaysus i thought people were copping on after the recent elections but when it comes to international affairs most Irish people really are brainwashed from western and RTE media. the few people to make reasonable non ageist non pejorative non bigoted comments on here got 90-100 dislikes.
Bunch of backward inward looking sleveens. Look at a real neutral country like Switzerland where all civilians are trained in case of a time of national/international crisis-you seriously think real neutral countries like the Swiss think neutrality is only about a few punt for some diesel and as long as they cough up don’t bother with inspections and policing of large scale military planes and transfering operations in their airspace??!!
International solidarity for the Celtic Tiger heads is about money and nothing else. The fact this country votes for the likes of Haughey, Ahern time and time again, and even recently when 42% of people copped on, a majority still voted for the same old so it’s no surprise money is all that matters I guess. Still disgraceful though.
Voted your comment down, meant to give you a thumbs up there, “the few people to make reasonable non ageist non pejorative non bigoted comments on here got 90-100 dislikes.” It’s frustrating especially when you come up against these people in everyday life and they’re psychopathic tendencies that range from the mild jerk to the monster who can make your work/home life a misery. Margaretta D’Arcy seems eccentric and god forbid she might have a messy kitchen but I’d rather listen to her any day than the smarmy lickspittles and spinless compradors that make up our political class. Also calling people who are a bit scruffy and eccentric ‘hippies’ is really a lazy, lame stereotype.
Mad as a bag of cats
Frank Aiken, Ireland’s only ever independent minded and republican minded foreign minister must be turning in his grave as well.
Aiding and abetting would contradict our “neutrality”.
have your say