History was made on the 26th of July when the Central Criminal Court delivered an unanimous “not guilty” verdict in the so-called Pitstop Ploughshares trial. Five anti-war activists had been charged with criminal damage after they disabled a US warplane at Shannon airport in February 2003. Two previous trials in 2005 collapsed, but it proved third time lucky for the five campaigners as their plea of “lawful excuse” was accepted by the jury.
According to this argument, the protesters legitimately damaged the plane because it might have been used to kill or injure Iraqi civilians. The decision of the jury to accept the defendants’ case was nothing short of remarkable: while there have been more than 100 similar actions by Catholic Worker activists in different countries since 1980, just three have led to acquittals, and there have been no unanimous verdicts.
Deirdre Clancy, one of the five defendants, believes that Judge Miriam Reynolds helped by taking an even-handed approach: “We felt that the previous two judges were biased against us, especially the second one.” Both trials had to be abandoned after charges by the defence that the judge might be seen as biased - on the second occasion, Judge Donagh McDonagh agreed to dismiss the jury after defence lawyers revealed that he had been a guest at the inauguration of George Bush as President in 2001.
Clancy wasn’t sure what to expect from the jury: “They were dark horses, there was no point trying to read them.” Anti-war campaigner Fintan Lane, who was in court throughout the trial, agrees: “They were like 12 poker players.” But Clancy believes this reflected intense concentration on the details of the case: “They listened to very harrowing evidence, and they took it to heart. When people are confronted with the evidence, they act on their consciences.”
Green Party foreign affairs spokesman John Gormley, who was “very, very happy” with the verdict, believes that the defendants made a big impact themselves: “What won the jury over was their sincerity.”
For the five, it brings an end to three years of nervous anticipation: as Clancy puts it, “you’re always waiting for the next trial.” But she has few complaints: “I knew I was taking on something big. I never felt a need to complain about it. It’s had a strong impact on my life, but some of that has been very positive.”
She became involved in the Catholic Worker group because of her interest in liberation theology: “I’m not religious in the institutional sense, but there is a spirituality to what I believe in.” They discussed the possibility of doing something at Shannon for several months before taking action.
It wasn’t the first time activists had attempted to highlight the use of Shannon by the US military. Fintan Lane spent 60 days in Limerick prison after refusing to pay a fine for taking part in a trespass at the airport in November 2002. His case came before the non-jury District Court, where Judge Joseph Mangan referred to the protesters as an “arrogant, egotistical minority who take the law into their own hands” before passing sentence. According to Lane, the Catholic Worker five would have had little hope in similar circumstances: “The jury system is the only way to successfully use a defence like that.”
At the time of the action, Washington’s Irish envoy Richard Haass was furious: “It’s not simply ironic that these so-called peace activists are resorting to violence. It’s outrageous. There is simply no place for it in a democratic society such as this.” The US embassy was “very disappointed” with the final verdict, according to a spokeswoman, and intended to “discuss the implications of the case with Irish government officials once we have more information.”
Meanwhile, Shannon’s role as a transport route for US soldiers on their way to Iraq remains unchanged: 330,000 troops passed through the airport in 2005. Persistent allegations that CIA planes involved in “extraordinary rendition” (kidnapping and torture of suspects) have used Shannon prompted the Council of Europe and the Irish Human Rights Commission to demand regular inspections at Shannon - a call that the Government has strongly resisted.
John Gormley believes that Ireland’s role in the Iraq war is likely to have an impact at next year’s election: “I think it’s going to be a major political issue. Politicians will have to put their cards on the table.” He is also hopeful that the mass anti-war protests of three years ago can be revived: “Don’t forget that things can swing around again very quickly.” Fintan Lane agrees, and thinks the verdict could be a rallying-point: “People will be enthused by this decision. There’s a lot of passive anti-war feeling out there, anti-war activists need to organise that.”
Deirdre Clancy vows that the pressure over Shannon won’t let up: “We’ll shut it down if we have to.”