Clare Daly injured herself scaling Shannon perimeter fence, court hears

Independent TD Clare Daly cut her lip, two fingers and suffered a swollen wrist using a rope ladder to scale a perimeter fence at Shannon Airport in an unsuccessful attempt to inspect US military aircraft, a court has heard.

The politician was arrested along with fellow Independent Mick Wallace on July 22 last year after they breached security and made it on to a grass verge next to an area known as taxiway 11, the court heard.

Ennis District Court heard a lunchtime flight from London Heathrow was making a final approach to land at Shannon when the pair were detained by airport police.

The jet landed without incident and no other aircraft were affected by the incursion, the court was told.

The TDs, Mr Wallace, of Clontarf Road, Dublin, and Ms Daly (aged 46) of Elmwood Drive, Swords, north Dublin, were charged with unlawfully entering a restricted zone at Shannon Airport.

The court heard there were two US military planes on the ground on the day which they wanted to inspect.

A rope ladder, about 12ft long with wooden slats for treads, and said to have been used by the TDs to scale the fence, was shown to the court.

Mr Wallace asked if he could have it back, which Judge Patrick Durcan said he would deal with later.

Garda evidence to the court revealed Ms Daly had been bleeding from her lip, that she had injured two of her fingers and that one of her wrists was swollen before she was detained by airport security and subsequently arrested.

The court was told the TD fell as she climbed over the fence on the rope ladder.

Ms Daly declined medical assistance but took up the offer of a cup of tea while in custody at Shannon Garda station following her arrest.

Still photos from airport CCTV were shown to the court which identified Ms Daly and Mr Wallace wearing high-visibility jackets on a grass area next to the taxiway.

Sergeant Noel O’Rourke told the court Mr Wallace made a statement to him immediately after his arrest in the airport’s immigration suite.

“His words were that they entered the airport in order to make a political statement regarding the use of Shannon Airport for military purposes and to bring it to the attention of the Minister because the Minister is not listening,” the officer said.

A series of witnesses were called as part of the TDs’ defence.

Patrick O’Toole, who worked in Shannon for a year in 2003 refilling catering trolleys on aircraft, said some US military flights were treated differently than others.

“We called them rendition flight planes. They always landed at night-time,” he said.

Mr O’Toole told the court he counted up to 14 planes landing at Shannon which were distinct from planes carrying troops or weapons and routinely parked in an isolated area of the airport.

Roberto Zamora, a lawyer from Costa Rica who successfully challenged his homeland’s support for the war on Iraq, said Ireland’s neutrality was breached by the use of Shannon by the US military.

“There is a violation of international law and there is a violation of Irish neutrality,” he told the court.

In court, the two TDs were joined by a large number of supporters, including Margaretta D’Arcy who has served two jail sentences after refusing to sign a bond that she would not enter restricted zones at Shannon.

Judge Durcan adjourned the case until March 10 to hear evidence from the TDs.