99 Red Balloons - Not the Salthill War Show

galway | anti-war / imperialism | event notice Tuesday June 20, 2006 22:35 by Niall Farrell - Galway Alliance Against War

Galway Mayor and Deputy Mayor to Boycott Air Show

Galway’s newly elected Mayor, Green Party Councillor Niall Ó Brolchain and his deputy, Billy Cameron of the Labour Party have both refused to officiate at the Salthill Air Show. Instead both councillors will be in attendance at an alternative event being organised by the Galway Alliance Against War.

The Galway Alliance Against War is arranging its own air show at Nimmo’s Pier, the Claddagh at 1.30pm next Sunday as a counter event to the Salthill Air Show. Instead of warplanes and military helicopters, the Galway peace group will be floating 99 red balloons - biodegradable of course - over Galway Bay. The idea stems from the 1980s anti-war pop song of the same name, 99 Red Balloons. (Lyrics of song attached below)

Galway’s newly elected Mayor, Green Party Councillor Niall Ó Brolchain and his deputy, Billy Cameron of the Labour Party have both refused to officiate at the Salthill Air Show. Instead both councillors will be in attendance at an alternative event being organised by the Galway Alliance Against War.

The Galway Alliance Against War is arranging its own air show at Nimmo’s Pier, the Claddagh at 1.30pm next Sunday as a counter event to the Salthill Air Show. Instead of warplanes and military helicopters, the Galway peace group will be floating 99 red balloons - biodegradable of course - over Galway Bay. The idea stems from the 1980s anti-war pop song of the same name, 99 Red Balloons. (Lyrics of song attached below)

In response to the stand being taken by the Mayor and his deputy a spokesperson for GAAW stated: “We welcome the principled stand taken by both Niall Ó Brolchain and Billy Cameron. Their refusal to officiate at the war show indicates that there is widespread unease at allowing warplanes and British servicemen involved in the illegal war in Iraq to fly over Galway Bay. We have consistently argued that by allowing warplanes at the air show this event is glorifying war. By inviting four British servicemen who fought in the illegal Iraq war, the organisers have proved our point. And that point has been further underlined in the way the organisers have presented these people as celebrities. These men are no heroes; they were part of a criminal invasion of another country, an invasion that cost the lives of over 200,000 people. They are in fact war criminals and should be ostracised not wined and dined.”

GAAW is expecting a good crowd to attend their event and hoping young and old will bring along kites and other peaceful airborne objects. The peace group is also asking supporters to contact their favourite radio programmes and ask them to play the song 99 Red Balloons, as an expression of opposition to warplanes and war criminals being allowed to fly over Galway Bay. An open invitation will be going out to all politicians to come and participate in this peace event.

The Galway peace group is also asking people to phone in requests to their favourite radio stations requesting that they play the song 99 Red Balloons.

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99 Red Balloons

You and I in a little toy shop
Buy a bag of balloons with the money we've got
Set them free at the break of dawn
'till one by one they were gone
Back at base, sparks in the software
Flash the message "something's out there"
Floating in the summer sky
Ninety nine red balloons go by

Ninety nine red balloons
Floating in the summer sky
Panic bells, it's red alert
There's something here from somewhere else
The war machine springs to life
Opens up one eager eye
And focusing it on the sky
The ninety nine red balloons go by

Ninety nine decisions treat
Ninety nine ministers meet
To worry, worry, super scurry
Call the troops out in a hurry
This is what we've waited for
This is it boys, this is war
The President is on the line
As Ninety nine red balloons go by

Ninety nine knights of the air
Ride super high-tech jet fighters
Everyone's a super hero
Everyone's a Captain Kirk
With orders to identify
To clarify and classify
Scramble in the summer sky
Ninety nine red balloons go by

As ninety nine red balloons go by

Ninety nine dreams I have had
In every one a red balloon
It's all over and I'm standing pretty
In this dust that was a city
If i could find a souvenir
Just to prove the world was here
And here is a red balloon
I think of you and let it go