Killaan
Woodlawn
Ballinasloe
Co Galway

Dear Trevor

As you know members of the Local Community have several concerns about the Greenstar proposed landfill site in Killconnell. The situation came to a head over 2 weeks ago when I was forced to exercise my rights under Local Agenda 21 to stop Greenstar destroying a public Right of Way used by many members of our Local Community for generations. A stand-off developed and this was defused when the local Fine Gael TD Paul Connaughton arranged a meeting of all concerned people and Greenstar. The result of this meeting was that Greenstar would supply proof that they were entitled by law to dig up a Public Right of Way and they would not disturb the surface of the Public Right of Way until the matter was resolved to everyone's satisfaction.

Indymedia photo essays of Ploughshares’ anti-war vigils Saturday‘s Vigil at College Green | Still on the Loose… Daily vigils last week | Rebel Priest Joins Ploughshares Vigil | Keep Death Off Our Runways | Vigil For Jean Charles de Menezes, killed by UK police on London Underground | Budapest Solidarity | London Solidarity | Melbourne Solidarity | WashingtonD.C. solidarity

In August Ciaron O’Reilly of the Pit Stop Ploughshares spoke at the Greenbelt festival in the UK. As their trial begins, this essay is a reflection on his talk, and of how the actions of the Catholic Worker Five challenge all of us. The war still rages in Iraq and the situation is deteriorating, without any sign of the US-led coalition withdrawing. While the mass media presents little challenge to US use of Shannon, the Ploughshares trial keeps Irish participation in the war at the forefront of our minds.

“Together with Deirdre Clancy, Nuin Dunlop, Karen Fallon and Damien Moran, Ciaron is one of the group known as the Pit Stop Ploughshares. In early February 2003, these five took part in the non-violent disarmament of a US Navy War Plane at Shannon airport. They have been charged with US$2.5 million damage to the plane, which was forced to return to Texas rather than continue its journey to Iraq. Their trial begins on Monday at the Four Courts“.

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