Galway - Event Notice
Thursday January 01 1970
Galway book launch on controversial anti-war action
galway |
anti-war / imperialism |
event notice
Sunday November 23, 2008 16:57
by Gway head - Gway
Galway launch of Hammered by the Irish, by Harry Browne
It was probably the most important anti-war action to happen in Ireland this century – and it was certainly the most daring.
At Shannon Airport five people took on the might of the US military – and put a Navy war-plane out of action. Even more amazingly, they ultimately convinced a jury that to do so was not a crime.
But the story of the Shannon Five has hardly been told, until now. For the first time, a new book reveals the inside story of an intrepid act of peacemaking.
book cover
On February 3rd, 2003, five Catholic Worker peace activists, calling themselves the Pitstop Ploughshares, broke into a hangar at Shannon Airport and, swinging hammers and a pickaxe, did more than $2.5 million to a US Navy transport plane.
Nearly four years later, a Dublin jury decided they could have ‘lawful excuse’ for their action, because they did it to save lives in Iraq. They were found not guilty on 10 separate counts of criminal damage.
The Pitstop Ploughshares were a mix of Irish-born and Irish-diaspora: Deirdre Clancy from Dublin, Damien Moran from Offaly, Nuin Dunlop from the US, Karen Fallon from Scotland and Ciaron O’Reilly from Australia.
‘Hammered by the Irish’ shows the people behind the hippie caricatures, and takes the reader on a rollercoaster ride: from secret planning in a Limerick monastery, to a dark and dangerous night on a runway, through three often-bizarre trials and finally a stunning legal victory for the five.
Action from Ireland (AfrI) is the Irish distributor of ‘Hammered by the Irish’ by Harry Browne, which has just been published in the United States by Counterpunch Books and AK Press. The book is available at selected shops and on amazon.co.uk and abebooks.com.
It features a short introduction from a legend of the US anti-war movement, Jesuit priest Father Daniel Berrigan, who helped to found the prophetically inspired Ploughshares tradition of disarmament actions and is now 87 years old.
Harry Browne is a journalist who worked for the Irish Times from 1990 to 2003, and has contributed to many other publications, including the Sunday Tribune, Sunday Business Post, Evening Herald, Village, the Dubliner and Dublin Review. He teaches journalism at Dublin Institute of Technology and is a frequent contributor to radio and television programmes. ‘Hammered by the Irish’ is his first book.
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Comments (13 of 13)
Jump To Comment: 13 12 11 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1Well said, Fred. They aren't the unacknowledged legislators of mankind and their poetry in this case hasn't made anything happen. (ref. Shelley and Auden)
Nice one, Harry Browne: a goodly reception in Charlie Byrne's bookshop last night here in sunny Galway and congrats with the book. It should be read by anyone interested in how events transpired. I was interested too to note how few of Galway's 'concerned' writers, some of whom have 'adopted' (should that be, more accurately, 'adapted'?) certain political causes when the promotional opportunity was right, were distinctly absent from the launching last night. Can't seem to get them down to Shannon no matter what one does. Pay them, perhaps? Only the stalwarts turned up last evening. And we could have done with some more GAAW people, too. Anyway, nice one. And good piece in the revamped The Village magazine, just out.
40 folks in attendance.
Night went well.
Books remain available at bookshop.
if you feel that Joe Duffy's handling of the discussion on rte the other day was biased then you can make a complaint here: http://www.bcc.ie/how_to_complaint/index.html
His remark that one of the judges at the original pitstop trial had to step down "because he had visited America or something" is enough to justify a complaint, but the whole discussion was biased.
Throughout the show he gave more airtime to the idiot who called up claiming that he was going to vandalise the exhibition than the other callers, who included the artist, and didn't stop this fool from interrupting and talking over people. However when people spoke in favour of the exhibition, Duffy questioned them and argued with them. He was obviously biased and not impartial in this discussion. The more complaints they receive about him the better. I have already written in about him.
Yo Fred look forward to debating these issues with you Friday night.
The media reported that 7 million euros were spent 06-08 "stopping incursions into Shannon"
...the precceding incursions were the Catholic Worker Banshees 05, CW Potato planting 03, Pitstops 03, and also Mary Kelly 03, fence pullers and occupation 02 and Eoin Dubsky 02.
My work here this past year has been to help archive the Pitstop action as dissident memory not "nostalgia as a mild form of depression" (Abbie Hoffman) like a lot of the '68 40th.a anniversary stuff seems to be.
Thus far that has meant helping out with
-Eamon's film "Route Irish"
-Harry's book "Hammered by the Irish"
-Seamus installation...which seemed to break the mainstream media censorship today on all things Shannon and NVDA. RTE rushed down a crew to do a negative piece but cut it tonight...deprive the issue of Irish complicity in the war and a rare acquittal of oxygen is the agenda there.
-and Paul and Dave's youtube song stay tuned for that one.
Yes the arts can be a safety valve in any culture...if the Soviets realised that maybe they'd still be in business...and I argued these very points at this year's Electric Picnic debates.
We Pitstops did a resistance action www.peaceontrial.com good lawyers and witnesses and ourselves did three trials, a jury did an acquittal, Eamonn did a film, Harry did a book, Paul did a song, Dave a vid clip, these folks in Galway are now doing a book launch...it's all about passing the ball of solidarity and resistance. Nothing very "messianic" in that.
You seem to confuse collective mediocrity and democracy...very common mistake in colonised countries if Australia is anything to go by...tall poppy syndrome...all a bit of a yawn really and self censoring to boot methinks. Chill out and enjoy some creativity in a destructive age.
Here is the link to the Liveline piece from earlier today.
http://www.rte.ie/podcasts/2008/pc/pod-v-251108-28m17s-...e.mp3
Mark.
I've listened to the 'Liveline' affair and naturally you have someone on from Shannon (ignoring utterly the call by Shannon Town Council for immediate inspections of US aircraft) going on about the rare oul' relationship between the US and Ireland "going back to the Famine." Ignores also that US firms pull out of Ireland at a terrific rate and go on to foster rare oul' relationships in the Far East, where wages are lower. I have read Harry's book. I did not feel comfortable with the almost 'Messianic' tone around some Pitstop commentary and I do not understand how the hammer(s) used in their action end up in Temple Bar in an art gallery. This renders the action into a piece of art, which we are told it certainly wasn't, and it makes the action comfortable and consumable by 'chic' Dublin and a middle-class unconcerned with what is the reality at Shannon: you may as well exhibit the hammer in the window of Browne Thomas. If the action was merely theatre and the hammer a prop, then what was all the ruckus about? I have been to Shannon to do my own bit, and things are certainly getting spikier there, with more and more cops on the prowl. So maybe we should all call ourselves an 'installation' and apply to The Arts Council for a grant to support the next half-dozen demos?
Stand corrected there just going ballistic on Liveline about Ploughshares hammers being presently displayed at Project Gallery temple Bar
Controversial?
It was a unanimous acquittal...no controversy amongst the jury!
Pitstop Ploughshares defendent Ciaron O Reilly will also be speaking in Charlie Byrne's on Friday
A small review of this book can be found on our website at www.twwc.ie, just click on 'Kiosque!' on the right-hand column and scroll down.
I'm about half way through reading this book and I have to say it's a great read. I've bought two copies of it so far, and might get myself a few more on Friday for friends and family.
Good luck at the launch, see you there.
Mark.
Book launch starts at 6pm sharp at Charlie Byrnes book shop on Middle St., Galway.
Please come along and bring your friends. Spread the word.