An anti-war activist was yesterday banned from entering Co Clare for two years after pleading guilty to using threatening, abusive and insulting behaviour to a Garda at a protest at Shannon airport.
Rebecca Garcia (41) of the Boat Yard, Baltimore, Skibbereen, Co Cork was also fined €500. Judge Joseph Mangan told Garcia that "those who profess to seek peace in the world should begin to behave peacefully".
Garcia, along with 75 other anti-war protesters, gathered in Shannon on December 15th, 2001 to protest at US military planes refuelling at the airport during the bombing of Afghanistan.
Garda Margaret Kelly told Tulla District Court that gardaí were outnumbered by protesters on the day and she noticed that one man was trying to pull down the perimeter fence.
Away from the main crowd, Garda Kelly said that Garcia stood in her way and would not move. She told the court that Garcia "was very aggressive towards me and I felt very threatened."
Garda Kelly said Garcia was waving her hands in the air resulting in her Garda hat being knocked off. She then told the court that a number of Garcia's colleagues gathered around her and were pulling and dragging at her.
"I was totally isolated from my colleagues and was very insulted by what Ms Garca said to me," she said. The court heard that Garcia called Garda Kelly "stupid" in the incident.
In evidence, Ms Garcia - who is unemployed - said that she had heard of US troops going through Shannon, but when she and other protesters saw 350 troops coming off an aircraft it shocked everyone there.
Ms Garcia's solicitor, Mr Declan Keating, told the court that Ms Garcia was at the airport on the day purely out of humanitarian concern. He said: "She didn't set out to confront the Garda. She was there to exercise her democratic right to protest at the refuelling of US planes at Shannon, but things got out of hand. What happened was entirely inexcusable."