Protestors to hit Bray Air Display over links to war in Gaza

Irish Independent

4 days ago

Together with the Peace and Neutrality Alliance (PANA), the lobby group which campaigns to preserve Irish neutrality, a boycott of the Bray Air Display is being called for, 'until weapons manufacturers and companies complicit in genocide are dropped as sponsors'.
In a statement, on Friday, July 25, NWAG said: 'The Bray Air Display is one of the busiest days of the year for Bray, and is often one of the biggest events for locals and visitors to gather for a show. However, we must draw attention to the main event sponsors.
'Swords-based ASL Airlines has transported munitions to Israel via Ireland, and despite claims that it has stopped, has been found to use a sister firm in Belgium to continue doing so.'
NWAG has based these claims on a report, in January 17 this year, carried by the political news site, The Ditch.
ASL responded to that report on January 23, when it issued a statement, and said: 'ASL can confirm that its airlines, including ASL Ireland, ASL Belgium and ASL France, did not carry munitions or ITAR [freight, International Traffic in Arms Regulations] on any flight to Israel since our commitment not to last November. We continue to monitor all flights to Israel and are confident that no such items are being transported on our flights to Israel.
"In response to staff concerns we reviewed our network flights last week. We established that some shipments that caused concern actually related to intra-European flights between Paris, France and Cologne, Germany, that are part of our European network. We can confidently say that there were no declarations made under the relevant regulations with regard to these shipments and as such, no munitions were carried on these flights.
'We did carry dangerous goods on flights on this route last week. Dangerous goods include many categories of shipment that are labelled hazardous items for flight including flammable, corrosive or toxic items. Such items are carefully packed and segregated for safety reasons,' it concluded.
NWAG has also criticised another event sponsor, Saab, which it says is 'a Swedish weapons manufacturer with contracts with NATO and which sends military equipment to regimes accused of human rights abuses, including Saudi Arabia, Thailand, Bahrain and Egypt'.
The company describes itself as an organisation that 'serves the global market of governments, authorities and corporations with products, services and solutions ranging from military defence to civil security' and has offices in Thailand and the UAE, among other locations.
Last year, North Wicklow Against Genocide protested the presence of Lockheed Martin as a sponsor at the Bray Air Display. This year, the group contacted Simon Harris, Wicklow County Council and Bray Air Display organisers, via email, in April 2025, to demand Lockheed Martin and other weapons manufacturers be dropped as sponsors of the event.
'Lockheed Martin is a US company making heavy weaponry and missiles, military aircraft, and other military technologies, which are being used in imperialist conflicts across the world, including the ongoing genocide carried out by Israel in Palestine. It's the world's largest weapons dealer and directly arms the Israeli Occupation Forces,' they said.
"When Bray Air Display was called out about this sponsorship, they briefly replaced the Lockheed Martin logo on their website with Sikorsky's, which is a Lockheed Martin subsidiary. Sikosky's logo has now dropped from the Air Display website too.'
However, Bray Air Display has since dropped Lockheed Martin as a sponsor and no longer displays either logo on their website.
Commenting on the event, PANA chair, Stephen Kelly, said: 'The brutal reality of war should not be forgotten. The glamorised image of war that some seek to portray is deceptive. We have no problem with people having a fun day out, but this event is sponsored by companies who help countries involved in war crimes. We should be peacebuilders, not warmakers."
Also questioning the propriety of the air show, NWAG member Kellie McConnell said: 'Is this really the kind of event we want in Bray?
"Simon Harris has said it is clear that Israel has been committing war crimes in Gaza, Micheál Martin has finally admitted that it is genocide, and yet we are expected to sit by while these companies use our land and airspace to supply weapons for genocide, and sponsor events in our communities with the money they have made from war and mass murder.'
Members of NWAG have been campaigning in advance of the spectacle, distributing information leaflets at Bray Dart Station this week.
The organisers of Bray Air Display have been contacted for comment.