Irish activist says “more actively disruptive protests” needed for Palestine

A heroic activist alleged to have been one of three people who spray painted a US military warplane at Ireland’s Shannon airport has said Palestine campaigners need to escalate beyond “marches, speeches and rallies”. 

Conan Kavanagh has been charged with:

…criminal damage of the main body of a Boeing 737-700 belonging to the US Navy Reserve at Shannon airport on November 22nd.

Police say he and his comrades crashed through an airport barrier before making their way to the warplane used by the United States military for its global terror campaigns. They are then alleged to have used a “modified fire extinguisher” to douse the offensive object with green spray paint. Showing the extent to which the Irish government will go to protect its US master, Irish soldiers aimed guns at the non-violent activists.

Speaking to Al Jazeera, Cavanagh said:

I took part in the action out of a general frustration with the Irish establishment and society.

He continued:

For a country that prides itself on a shared history of colonialism and resistance, I think we’re incredibly limited in how we express support for the Palestinian people.

A lot of Palestinian activism in Ireland is centred around marches, speeches and rallies, which while good needs to be escalated upon with more actively disruptive protests if we hope to actually force the hands of the state.

Palestine direct action: Shannon hit several times, but more needed

There have been four incursions into the genocide-enabling airport since March 2024, including three in the last year. In the first one on the 30th of that month, three activists got on the runway with a banner which read “US military out of Shannon”. On 1 May 2025, three activists are alleged to have again used a van to breach the airport perimeter, though a trench prevented further progress. 16 days later, another trio got into the facility and spray-painted a US military-contracted Omni Air International Boeing 767 with red paint.

More must be done to match the scale of criminality, however. The airport has for years been a key refuelling point for the US empire. Shannon Watch details this feeble surrender to American militarism, stating that:

Since 2002 close to 3 million US troops have gone through Shannon Airport.

Shannon is also used as a means to ferry munitions across the world. The Irish government has to grant exemptions for overflights or landing at the airport. Shannon Watch show that 1354 of these were issued in 2024. Al Jazeera quote Irish senator Alice Mary Higgins saying:

…it is known that the largest number of exemptions have been sought by Germany and the United States.

The Ditch has reported the Irish government admitting that Shannon has been used to ferry munitions – the tools of genocide – from the US to so-called ‘Israel’. Lately, warplanes have been landing at Shannon before heading on to Germany’s Ramstein Air Base. It is the main US staging post for its illegal assault on Iran.

The Irish government has been unwilling to carry out inspections of planes to see if they are carrying weapons likely to be used to carry out war crimes. This is unsurprising for a government determined to completely end Ireland’s always imperfect position of neutrality. Taoiseach Micheál Martin has been enthusiastically covering for Trump’s mass murder, including during a truly pathetic display at the White House on St Patrick’s Day.

Promising escalation against Collins and GAA

Al Jazeera also spoke to Aine Ni Threinir, who was arrested following the March 2024 action. She agreed with Kavanagh, saying opposition to the US military presence at Shannon:

…should be something that we all mobilise strongly around.

Ni Threinir said people “absolutely could do more”. She acknowledged the risks when the criminal Irish state is determined to invert reality by prosecuting activists attempting to uphold international law.

The South of Ireland has seen increasing use of direct action in the last year. Activists have repeatedly targeted the Cork offices of Collins Aerospace. The company transferred munitions to the Zionist entity via Shannon. On March 30 campaigners from Palestine Action Éire improved the premises’ facade with the use of a hammer and spray paint can. Two activists from the group are alleged to have caused £100,000 of damage during an action on 13 October 2025. In the supposedly more radical North, those backing Palestine are yet to hit equivalent targets such as Aldergrove airport or the companies Act Now named as helping manufacture F35 warplanes.

The effectiveness of direct action was seen again when campaigners took over a Gaelic Athletic Association (GAA) conference at Croke Park. They were opposing the continued use of Allianz as a sponsor, who help insure Zionist land thieves taking Palestinian territory. The pressure resulted in GAA boss Jarlath Burns being provoked into making tone-deaf comments comparing the occupation of the GAA building to the occupation of Palestine.

The sporting organisation’s continued resistance to dropping Allianz suggests direct action will be needed again. Similarly, the Football Association of Ireland must be shown they face a cost if they continue with their plan to play the Nations League match against the genocidal apartheid pseudo-state.

Featured image via the Canary