Salthill War Show cancelled
galway |
anti-war / imperialism |
press release
Tuesday December 04, 2007 15:47
by doug f - Galway Alliance Against War
Galway Peace Group Welcomes End of Warplanes at Salthill
The Galway Alliance Against War has issued a statement in relation to the
announcement by the organisers of the Salthill Air Show to cancel next year’s event.
“We welcome the news that there will be no warplanes polluting the skies over Galway
this coming June. Presenting warplanes, that kill and terrorise people in other
parts of the world, as a form of family entertainment is nothing more than an
obscenity. It condoned the horrors these weapons of mass destruction committed. It
is now time for us to have a festival that is all inclusive, a festival that is for
peace not for war. We would call on Galway City Council to give us the €15,000 that
had been earmarked for the war show and we will make good use of it!
“While we as a Galway peace group would love to accept the plaudits for ending this
militarised event as claimed by the organisers, we think, however, they are being
somewhat disingenuous. We have known through journalistic sources for some
considerable time that the organisers were facing a huge rise in insurance costs
after last June’s accident. Let’s face it, these warplanes conduct their manoeuvres
in close proximity to large residential areas, plus they scream across the city and
environs. Any insurance actuary worth his or her salt would surely see this event as
an accident waiting to happen. Especially when one takes into consideration the many
tragedies associated with air shows throughout the world.
“The organisers of the show have said they have been inundated with correspondence
opposing the show. This does not surprise us, the household survey we had carried
out in the Claddagh and Salthill districts last winter showed 47% of households
opposed the militarised nature of the event. That number was bound to increase after
the appearance of the “top guns” from the US Air Force’s Thunderbirds. Not only did
they pollute the sky over Galway for days in the run-up to the show, but the
pro-Bush, bellicose statements of these killers must have been extremely
uncomfortable to the majority of people in this city who oppose war and treasure
Irish neutrality.”
For further information: Niall Farrell 087-9159787 or 091-792297
printable version
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Comments (5 of 5)
Jump To Comment: 1 2 3 4 5Some welcome news for once, it is always to long between victories, big or small.
Why anyone could watch this filth in admiration with their kids is beyond comprehension unless of course they are FF members
I for one am glad to see the end of this.
Thanks for the efforts of all who opposed this for the last few years. However somehow I doubt they were listened to or that their activities contributed much to the cancellation of the show. Alas the forces of capitalism matter far more in these matters than the ethical peaceful protests of good people.
Despite all the efforts such decent folk put in, at the end of the day all it took was a little greed on the part of the insurance industry to end it in one fell swoop.
It's pretty depressing to realise that the only thing that seems to matter these days is the bottom line. Human life, ethical objections....none of those matter any more. How did we get to this dark place?
Congratulations Galway Against All War for the steadfast organising against theis militarised air show and all those who turned up to oppose it over the years.
The "air show" was an event where the rubber really hit the road in terms of the apparatus of the presence of the U.S. war machine in Ireland.Good to see it gone......
well done to all in GAAW and everyone who has supported them , a great victory!
Thought I'd pop in to act as devil's advocate (Not literally! just giving the views of someone who enjoyed the airshow)
At the last airshow, rumours had been that there wasn't the funding to do it in 2008. Well, it has come to pass, and many of us in the aviation community are saddened. We do not, and never will, differenciate between aircraft used for rescue, aircraft used for transport, and aircraft used to fire weapons, which you, in the anti-war activist community, do. We also did not differenciate between nations. A Russian aircraft would be just as welcome as an American or French or Dutch or Irish machine (However, great pride would be held in the Irish ones, our contribution to the aviation world!). No, we would come to see, compare with memory, different types of aircraft we would never get the chance to see demonstrate what they could do at any other time. We would see, and marvel at the skill of the men and women in control, and wish we could do something which was impossible to humans only four generations ago.
Politics was left out of it.
Now, with their commendable morals, the GAAW saw fit to make their presence felt, and their views known. I was pleased when I saw that they had put together a show of their own at the Spanish Arch, which those who didn't like warplanes could attend. Instead of trying to disrupt the enjoyment of those of a different viewpoint, they took the bigger, more just, option: The providing of a different focal point, and allowing those who were undecided to decide to attend one or the other. Two good events for Galway, providing, between them, for all of the spectrum of people.
Now there will be nothing.
The Sunday will pass like any other. No facepainting, no speeches, no music. The banners will be put away, the Arch thronged with the same amount of tourists that were there the Sunday before, and will be there after. The aviatiors will stand at the edge of runways, looking and taking photographs of aircraft they have seen a thousand times before, hoping that something unusual passes their way, to be commented on in an Irish aviation magazine.
I prefer the old way. But then again that's just me.