This article is from page 12 of the 2006-07-25 edition of The Clare People. OCR mistakes are to be expected so download the original SWF or the rendered page 12 JPG
THE jury in the trial of five antiwar protesters accused of criminally damaging a US aeroplane at Shannon Airport was sent to a hotel last night, after it failed to reach a verdict.
The jury, which deliberated for four hours yesterday, is expected to resume deliberations this morning at Dublin Circuit Criminal Court.
The five accused have pleaded not guilty to two counts each of causing damage without lawful excuse to a naval plane, property of the United States Government and to glass door panels, property of Aer Rianta at Shannon Airport, Clare on February 3, 2003.
They are Ciaron O’Reilly (46), an Australian national, Nuin Dunlop (34), a US citizen and counsellor, Damien Moran (26), Karen Fallon (35), a Scottish marine biologist, all of Rialto Cottages, Rialto; and Deirdre Clancy (36), a copy editor of Alverno Apartments, Clontarf.
The jury has been told that a garda was on duty in the hangar at 3.45 am when five people came running in carrying hammers and an axe or mattock.
Evidence was given that they were shouting “words of God” and went to the front, side and rear of the aircraft using the items to hit the plane. They then knelt in a circle and prayed until gardaí arrived to arrest them.
Copies of the Bible and Koran, Rosary and Islamic prayer beads, candles, flowers, St Bridget’s crosses and photographs of distressed children were among the items found at the scene in the form of a shrine at the doors to the hangar.
One of the accused, Nuin Dunlop, told the jury she “had a pretty good idea” that she might be arrested.
Ms Dunlop denied that her actions were political and calculated to draw attention to activities at Shannon. She also denied that she and her co-accused had anticipated that they would be brought to trial and looked forward to it.
Another of the accused, Karen Fallon told the jury she believed that her actions saved lives. When asked if the placement of a shrine outside the airport hangar was a stunt to gain publicity, she said,
“Not at all. It was a commemoration for the dead.”
Ciaron O’Reilly said he decided to take direct action at the airport to “non-violently disarm the war machine deploying from Shannon” and “enact the prophesies of Isaiah to beat our swords into ploughshares and study war no more”.