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RTÉ News
30-05-2025
- Politics
- RTÉ News
Almost 2,000 US military flights stopped in Ireland over three years
Almost 2,000 US military aircraft and US civil flights with declared munitions of war on-board stopped at Irish airports over the last three years. Data obtained and analysed by RTÉ News shows that only 0.1% of applications from civil aircraft carrying weapons to land or fly over Ireland were refused between 2022 and 2024. This was due to the "nature of the total munitions of war proposed to be carried", according to the Department of Transport. US civil aircraft apply for permission from the Department of Transport to carry troops and equipment across Irish airspace or land at airports, such as Shannon. Charter and cargo carriers, including Omni Air International and Atlas Air which often operate under government and military contracts are the most commonly used. Civil and military aircraft intending to carry munitions of war or weapons must apply for a special exemption from the Irish Government to land in Ireland or fly over Irish airspace. Figures from the Department of Foreign Affairs shows that no US military aircraft was prevented from landing in Ireland over that three year period. Hundreds of the civil aircraft flights were to and from common destinations such as Germany, Poland and Bulgaria - all key hubs for NATO operations. Kuwait, a long-standing US military hub in the Middle East, was also regularly travelled to. The data shows that between 2022 and 2024, a total of 978 US military flights landed at Irish airports, mostly in Shannon. During the same period, more than 1,000 applications were made by US civil aircraft with munitions of war on board to land at Shannon Airport. These applications were for what the department calls "tech stops" - brief landings to refuel and perform maintenance checks. More than 1,700 applications were made for civil aircraft with weapons on board to fly over Irish airspace. Calls have been made for inspections of US aircraft as these planes are not routinely searched or inspected by Irish authorities. Professor of International Law at the University of Notre Dame, Mary Ellen O'Connell said Irish authorities should be "very clear" that it will not permit the United States to transport weapons bound for unlawful armed conflict through Ireland. "Ireland should have complete control over planes that land at Shannon that are carrying munitions… anything destined for a war zone. "It's important for Ireland which stands tall on so many of these issues of international law to take seriously this principle not to assist a country in any way that's using military force unlawfully," she said. A majority of the munitions of war on board were "unloaded personal issued weapons of troops, with no ammunition," according to Department of Transport logs. One flight in 2022 had "ammunition only" listed in the description of munitions of war. Two of the 543 applications made to fly over Ireland last year with munitions of war were refused. On 8 July, an Omni Air International flight travelling from Budapest Ferenc Liszt International Airport in Hungary to Pittsburgh International Airport in the US was prevented from flying over Irish air space. Three weeks later, on 30 July, another aircraft from the same civilian airline was refused to fly over Irish territory from Pittsburgh International Airport in Pennsylvania to Hungary's Budapest Ferenc Liszt International Airport. The Department of Transport told RTÉ News that they were refused "based on the nature of the total munitions of war proposed to be carried". Regular use of Shannon Airport by the United States does not affect Ireland's policy of military neutrality, according to the Irish Government. A spokesperson for the Department of Foreign Affairs said Ireland's policy of military neutrality is characterised by non-membership of military alliances and non-participation "in common or mutual defence arrangements". A peace activist and contributor to Shannonwatch, a group which has monitored US activity at the airport for 20 years, said that he believes the high level of traffic shows that Shannon Airport is a de-facto military base for the United States. Edward Horgan, who has spent two decades protesting the use of Shannon Airport by the US military, said now is the time for the United States to be forbidden from using the airport. "I spent 22 years in the Irish Defence Forces, was heavily involved in logistics and logistics play a huge role in modern warfare. "Shannon Airport is being used as a logistic hub for the US military. This is particularly important at the moment and particularly inappropriate with the genocide that is happening in Gaza," he said. A retired US army officer who stopped at Shannon Airport via a civil aircraft following his deployment to Iraq in 2009 told RTÉ that even though he was surprised by the amount of US military and civilian flights to the Co Clare airport, he believes it is not a de-facto US military base. "What would distinguish it from a military base if you had fighter jets on there. If you had routine military transport aircraft, if you had US air force facilities…like what we do in the Middle East, in Qatar for example or Kuwait," said former Lieutenant Colonel (Ret), Daniel L Davis. "We have parts of the whole airfield that are fenced off and it's just US territory there, that's what I consider a base but this sounds more like a leasing agreement and an arrangement to use existing facilities," he added.
The Journal
21-05-2025
- The Journal
Woman charged over Shannon Airport protest refused travel to UK for Arts Council-funded trip
A JUDGE TODAY refused to relax bail conditions to allow a woman charged with the criminal damage of a US aircraft at Shannon airport to travel to the UK for an Arts Council-funded work trip. At Ennis District Court today, Judge Alec Gabbett said that Galway woman, Nell Buckley (29), 'is charged with serious offences' and refused an application to have Ms Buckley's passport returned to allow her travel to Great Yarmouth over three days at the end of this month. Judge Gabbett said that the incident at Shannon airport received wide publicity in the papers and on social media. He said that the great concern to the court is the serious issue about airport safety 'and there could potentially be an international incident'. Ms Buckley of Ard Omra, Ballyburke, Ballymoneen Rd, Galway who has a Masters qualification, is one of three women charged with the criminal damage of the Omni Air International aircraft at Shannon airfield on 17 May. It will be alleged that part of the front of the aircraft was spray painted with red paint. Ms Buckley is also charged with entering a restricted area beside the control tower at Shannon airport with intent to unlawfully interfere with property on the same date. All three first appeared before a special sitting of Ennis District Court at 9pm on Sunday night and Ms Buckley's co-accused were bailed to re-appear before court on 9 July on strict bail conditions. Ms Buckley also obtained bail and as part of Ms Buckley's own bail conditions, she is barred from entering any aerodrome and must return her passport. Advertisement In court today, solicitor for Ms Buckley, Daragh Hassett asked that Ms Buckley's bail be amended to allow her to travel to the UK for three days for Arts Council-funded work. Hassett said that the flight tickets were booked for Ms Buckley 'by someone in the Arts Council'. He also said that at the initial bail hearing on Sunday it was flagged that a pre-booked work trip that had been arranged for her. 'She has a job. She works in the arts,' the solicitor said. Det Garda Roddy Burke said that the concerns he outlined at the bail hearing on Ms Buckley entering an airport remain. He said: 'There is a possibility there will be further charges in this case.' Mr Hassett said that the charges Ms Buckley faces are 'serious' and she intends to contest those charges when the case comes for trial. Ms Buckley said that has lived overseas for periods and did her Masters in Holland and returned from there in 2020. Mr Hassett said that Ms Buckley's mother has an independent surety of €500 in court to allow her daughter make the journey. Mr Buckley agreed with Mr Hassett that she was travelling to the UK for work and not under the guise of a protester and would be travelling alone. Mr Hassett said that Ms Buckley's flight tickets are to fly out of Dublin on Ryanair. Judge Gabbett refused the application and remanded Ms Buckley on continuing bail to re-appear in court on July 9th. Judge Gabbett later told Mr Hassett that he was not open to an application to allow Ms Buckley travel by ferry to the UK this month.
Irish Times
21-05-2025
- Irish Times
Galway arts worker charged with criminal damages to aircraft at Shannon refused permission to travel
A judge has refused to relax bail conditions to allow a Galway arts worker charged with the criminal damage of a US aircraft at Shannon Airport to travel to the UK for work. At Ennis District Court today, Judge Alec Gabbett said that Nell Buckley (29) 'is charged with serious offences' and refused an application to have Ms Buckley's passport returned to allow her travel on work funded by the Arts Council to Great Yarmouth over three days at the end of this month. Judge Gabbett said that the incident at Shannon Airport received wide publicity. He said that the great concern to the court is the serious issue about airport safety 'and there could potentially be an international incident'. READ MORE Ms Buckley of Ard Omra, Ballyburke, Ballymoneen Road, Galway who has a Masters qualification, is one of three women charged with the criminal damage of the Omni Air International aircraft at Shannon airfield on May 17th. It will be alleged that part of the front of the aircraft was spray painted with red paint. Ms Buckley is also charged with entering a restricted area beside the control tower at Shannon Airport with intent to unlawfully interfere with property on the same date. All three first appeared before a special sitting of Ennis District Court at 9pm on Sunday night and Ms Buckley's co-accused were bailed to reappear before court on July 9th on strict bail conditions. Ms Buckley also obtained bail and as part of Ms Buckley's own bail conditions, she is barred from entering any airport and must return her passport. In court today, solicitor for Ms Buckley, Daragh Hassett asked that Ms Buckley's bail be amended to allow her to travel to the UK for three days for work funded by the Arts Council. Det Garda Roddy Burke said that the concerns he outlined at the bail hearing on Ms Buckley entering an airport remain. Mr Hassett said that the charges Ms Buckley faces are 'serious' and she intends to contest those charges when the case comes for trial. Ms Buckley said that she has lived overseas for periods and did her Masters in the Netherlands and returned from there in 2020. Mr Hassett said that Ms Buckley's mother has an independent surety of €500 in court to allow her daughter make the journey. Mr Buckley agreed with Mr Hassett that she was travelling to the UK for work and not under the guise of a protester and would be travelling alone. Mr Hassett said that Ms Buckley's flight tickets are to fly out of Dublin on Ryanair. Judge Gabbett refused the application and remanded Ms Buckley on continuing bail to reappear in court on July 9th. Judge Gabbett later told Mr Hassett that he was not open to an application to allow Ms Buckley travel by ferry to the UK this month.
BreakingNews.ie
21-05-2025
- BreakingNews.ie
Arts Council employee accused of criminal damage to US aircraft at Shannon
A judge has refused to relax bail conditions to allow an Arts Council employee charged with the criminal damage of a US aircraft at Shannon airport to travel to England for work. At Ennis District Court on Wednesday, Judge Alec Gabbett said Galway woman Nell Buckley (29) was "charged with serious offences" and refused to return her passport to allow her to travel on Arts Council work over three days at the end of this month. Advertisement Judge Gabbett said the incident at Shannon Airport received wide publicity in the papers and on social media. He said the great concern to the court was the serious issue about airport safety 'and there could potentially be an international incident'. Ms Buckley, of Ard Omra, Ballyburke, Ballymoneen Road, Galway, is one of three females charged with the criminal damage of the Omni Air International aircraft at Shannon on May 17th. It was alleged that part of the front of the aircraft was sprayed with red paint. Advertisement Ms Buckley is also charged with entering a restricted area beside the control tower at Shannon Airport with intent to unlawfully interfere with property on the same date. All three first appeared before a special sitting of Ennis District Court at 9pm on Sunday night. Ms Buckley's co-accused were bailed to re-appear before court on July 9th on strict bail conditions. Ms Buckley also obtained bail and is barred from entering any aerodrome and must return her passport. In court on Wednesday, Ms Buckley's solicitor, Daragh Hassett, asked that Ms Buckley's bail be amended to allow her to travel to the UK for three days for Arts Council work. Advertisement Det Garda Roddy Burke said the concerns he outlined at the bail hearing on Ms Buckley entering an airport remain. He said: "There is a possibility there will be further charges in this case." Mr Hassett said the charges Ms Buckley faced were 'serious' and she intended to contest those charges when the case comes for trial. Ireland Garda hospitalised following security incident at... Read More He said Ms Buckley had lived overseas for periods and did a masters' degree in the Netherlands and returned from there in 2020. Mr Hassett said Ms Buckley's mother has an independent surety of €500 in court to allow her daughter to make the journey. The court was told that Ms Buckley was going to England for work and not under the guise of a protester and would be travelling alone. Mr Hassett said Ms Buckley's flight tickets are to fly out of Dublin on Ryanair. Judge Gabbett refused the application and remanded Ms Buckley on continuing bail to re-appear in court on July 9th. The judge later told Mr Hassett that he was not open to an application to allow Ms Buckley travel by ferry to the UK this month.
Irish Daily Mirror
18-05-2025
- Irish Daily Mirror
Garda hospitalised after Shannon Airport security incident as arrests made
A member of An Garda Síochána was hospitalised following a security incident at Shannon Airport on Saturday afternoon. Three women were arrested after they allegedly gained access to the airside area of the airport and caused criminal damage to an aircraft. It's the second security incident at Shannon this month. The incident is believed to have occurred at around 4.30pm on Saturday. The last aircraft to land before the incident touched down at around 4.25pm. Once the security breach was detected, operations were brought to a standstill forcing three arriving aircraft into holding patterns. Flight crews were advised by air traffic controllers that there had been an 'incident' at the airport. The Shannon-based Irish Coast Guard helicopter, which was preparing to depart on a training exercise, was also grounded once operations were suspended. It's understood this fire cover at the airport was reduced as a result of personnel from Shannon Airport Police and Fire Service responding to the security incident thus, without the required amount of fire cover, operations were halted. Three women are believed to entered the airport an approached an Omni Air International aircraft parked at Stand 42 at the end of the terminal building. They are understood to have thrown red paint onto forward section of an Omni Air International Boeing 767-330(ER) aircraft that was parked there. All three were detained and when it was confirmed there were no other persons at large, operations at Shannon resumed. The crews of the holding aircraft were advised shortly before 5pm that operations had returned to normal. Operations were affected for less than 30 minutes. A Garda spokesperson confirmed: "Gardaí responded to an incident of criminal damage at Shannon Airport, Co. Clare that occurred shortly after 4pm this afternoon Saturday 17th May, 2025. "Three females, aged between 20 and 50 years breached the perimeter fence and caused criminal damage. The three women were arrested at scene and are currently detained under Section 4 of the Criminal Justice Act, 1984 at Garda stations in Co. Clare. "During the course of the arrests one member of An Garda Síochána was injured and has since been taken to University Hospital Limerick for assessment. Her injuries are non-life threatening. Investigations ongoing." Saturday's security incident is the second of its kind at the airport this month. On May 1, three people were arrested after they allegedly entered the airport grounds after crashing a van into a security fence. The van was stopped from entering an airport taxiway after it got stuck in a drain.
