Shannon: one change Bertie dare not make

WHEN Aer Lingus announced its move to Belfast, Ian Paisley appeared on TV holding a model aircraft in Aer Lingus livery and wearing a grin as wide as Shannon’s main runway.

But no one was smiling in the mid-west as Bertie and his Government effectively sacrificed a vital economic interest to the St Andrews Agreement.

But there is another vital economic interest in Shannon that our Taoiseach dares not sacrifice: the US military stopover. There’s no fear Bertie will disturb his own conscience on this issue or offend President George W Bush.