Lelia Doolan, 91, completes 220km protest walk against US military's use of Shannon Airport

In her usual charismatic style, 91-year-old peace activist Lelia Doolan completes the final leg of her walk from Shannon to Dublin. Picture: Chani Anderson

A 91-year-old woman has urged Ireland to tell its American friends "the truth" as she completed a 220km walk to protest against the US military’s use of Shannon Airport.

Lelia Doolan, from Co Clare, has walked for a fortnight from Shannon Airport and arrived at Leinster House at noon on Wednesday.

She thanked the people who supported her along the way, people who “stood in their gardens” as she passed, and the protesters who gathered with Palestine flags and posters at Leinster House.

Ms Doolan said Ireland were a people who “love peace” and urged politicians to use existing laws to bar US planes from Shannon.

An organiser said they had asked for a meeting with Taoiseach Micheál Martin and Tánaiste Simon Harris, but had received no response.

Responding to a question from Labour Party leader Ivana Bacik, who raised Ms Doolan’s protest in the Dáil chamber on Wednesday, Mr Martin said he was not aware she had sought a meeting.

He said that Shannon Airport was “not a US military base”.

Florence Lohan, the youngest of the hundreds of peace campaigners — enjoying a day off school for the occasion — is greeted by 91-year-old activist Lelia Doolan outside Dublin Castle ahead of the final leg of her walk from Shannon to Dublin. Picture: Chani Anderson

The pro-Palestine crowd sang the anti-war song written by John Lennon, Give Peace a Chance, as well as Bob Dylan’s Blowin’ in the Wind, and called for a ban on trade with illegal Israeli settlements on Palestinian land.

Ms Doolan said the demonstration was a peaceful one that called for Ireland to tell its US “friends the truth”.

Protesters accompany 91-year-old peace activist Lelia Doolan on the final leg of her walk from Shannon to Dublin. Picture: Chani Anderson

“It’s about equality. It’s about kindness, it’s about goodness, it’s about decency, and it’s about being honourable and telling your friends the truth.

“Now, we love the American people — things may be going very awry at the moment, indeed they are, and one of the things that needs to be remembered is you tell your friends the truth.

“We’ve got to tell American military the truth: Shannon is not a place for refuelling, for bringing military personnel, for bringing cargo, for bringing prisoners to.

“If Micheál only knew how beautiful the people of Ireland are, how engaged they are, with honesty and decency and telling the truth, they might get a bit of a boost to his life, the people outside this damn building might get a bit of an insight into what they’re there for, paid by us to do the job that we are not able ourselves to do.” 

Protesters accompany 91-year-old peace activist Lelia Doolan as she continues her campaign against the use of Shannon Airport by the US military. Picture: Chani Anderson

Ms Doolan began her protest on March 31 and has travelled through counties Limerick, Tipperary, Laois, and Kildare before arriving in Dublin on Wednesday.

The first female artistic director of the Abbey Theatre received several accommodation offers from people lending their support as she set out on her walk.

Members of the public travelled with her along the way as part of the pro-neutrality and pro-Palestine demonstration.

She told the Irish Examiner last month: "The only alternative was climbing over the fence at Shannon Airport.

“I felt I was too old for that, but I knew there had to be another way of raising awareness.”

In 2024, Ms Doolan did a parachute jump to raise money for MSF to mark her 90th birthday.