FRESH calls have been made for an end to the use of Shannon Airport for US Military flights, with peace activists currently holding protest vigils outside the airport every weekend in August.
Limerick senator Paul Gavan (SF) endorsed the campaigner’s efforts, adding his voice to the protests.
The vigils are being held from 6am each Saturday and Sunday morning until the end of August, and were in place across July.
Kate Thompson, one of the protest’s organisers, claimed that “by allowing the US military to use Shannon Airport, Ireland is in breach of its duty under international law to prevent genocide”.
“We’re appealing to Irish politicians to end this complicity in war crimes in Gaza, but we also want to reach ordinary citizens who may not be aware of how their governments collude in assisting Israel to carry out genocide.
“For over two decades, Shannonwatch has tracked and documented regular US Air Force and Navy flights through the airport, and the passage of over three million US troops since 2002.
“Since October 2023 alone, Shannon Airport has facilitated 11 US military flights to fly to Israel and allowed an additional 85 flights with US armed soldiers and military materials to transit on their way to Middle Eastern destinations.
“Throughout this time, the Irish government has refused repeated calls by peace groups and opposition politicians to fulfil their obligations to inspect these aircraft.”
Speaking in the Seanad, Senator Gavan said the Biden Administration in the US has sent huge numbers of munitions to Israel, including more than 10,000 highly destructive 2,000-pound bombs and thousands of Hellfire missiles, since the start of the conflict in Gaza.
“These US bombs and munitions are being used to blow up men, women, and children in hospitals, schools, refugee camps, family homes, apartments, nurseries, playgrounds, and places of worship.
“They have resulted in the deaths of at least 38,000 Palestinians, including 15,000 children and 10,000 women – all innocent, all slaughtered with US munitions and bombs.”
When asked for a response by the Limerick Post, a spokesperson for the Department of Foreign Affairs said that “all foreign military aircraft wishing to overfly or land in the State are required, without exception, to obtain diplomatic clearance”.
“This permission is subject to strict conditions, including that the aircraft is unarmed; that it carries no arms, ammunition, or explosives; that it does not engage in intelligence gathering; and that the flight in question does not form part of a military exercise or operation.
“The permission given by Ireland to foreign military or state aircraft to overfly or land in the State is fully compatible with Ireland’s policy of military neutrality.
“In respect of military aircraft, the only transit to Israel has been of senior political and military officials from the US travelling for meetings in the region.”
