Teacher avoids conviction for 'disrupting traffic' during Shannon protest over Gaza war

AN IRISH and history teacher who was arrested while attending a protest at Shannon Airport over the war in Gaza has escaped a criminal conviction.

At Ennis District Court, this Wednesday, Judge Alec Gabbett imposed the Probation Act on Daithi Mac An Bhaird, aged 46, of Nás na Ríogh, Co Chill Dara who was prosecuted under public order legislation following an incident on November 17, last.

Sergeant Frank O’Grady told the court that on the day protesters were blocking the airport and Mr Mac An Bhaird didn’t comply with a garda direction to clear the road.

In the case, Mr Mac An Bhaird - who has no previous convictions - pleaded guilty to offence under Section 9 of the Public Order Act whereby he prevented or interrupted the free passage of vehicles on a road close to Shannon airport.

In court, solicitor for Mr Mac An Bhaird, Tara Godfrey said her client travelled to Shannon Airport as “he had made all sorts of efforts to highlight concerns he had about the lack of checking of planes in Shannon in circumstances where the International Court of Justice had said that there were to be no arms passing through the country”.

Asking to have the charge dismissed Ms Godfrey said: “My client wouldn’t consider himself a criminal at all." 

She added that the offence is at the very lowest end of the public order scale and that the potential fine is effectively a parking ticket in terms of sanction. She said it was a reflection of how Mr Mac An Bhaird carried himself on the day.

Ms Godfrey handed into court a prepared written statement by Mr Mac An Bhaird.

Having read the contents to himself, Judge Gabbett said he respected Mr Mac An Bhaird’s right to peaceful protest.

He told him: “I get why you are here and you are entitled to do what you did provided that it is done peacefully."

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In his written statement, Mr Mac An Bhaird said: “I am accused of trying to disrupt the traffic to Shannon Airport on a day in November and I accept the charge."

He added: “The International Court of Justice on July 19, 2024 called for an arms embargo and in light of the Government and this State’s refusal to uphold Irish neutrality, I felt compelled to act in defence of international law.

“Given the fact that foreign military personnel and aircraft were passing through Shannon Airport on the date in question, uninspected, my conscience forced me to take this small action, along with others.

“I simply want the outgoing and incoming Governments to uphold the law, international and domestic. “I am not a criminal. My small action was a political and moral one.”

Opting not to convict Mr Mac An Bhaird and to invoke the Probation Act instead, Judge Gabbett said that he was doing this as Mr Mac An Bhaird has no previous convictions.

Speaking outside Ennis courthouse after the case had concluded, Mr Mac An Bhaird said: “I don’t consider there should be any charge of punishment for what I did.

“All I did was ask that Irish and international law be applied, I feel I suppose that the wrong people were arrested on the day - I was there in a non-violent way to try to get the Government to implement the law."

He added: “The judge mentioned me being a teacher - I am conscious of the fact that the children of Gaza haven’t had education for more than a year. All of their schools have been bombed deliberately and I felt obliged to act because I am a teacher of young children of a similar age and the children of Gaza are being bombed, vaporised, killed and terrorised.

Mr Mac An Bhaird further stated: “There was a protest organised and I felt morally obliged to go down and protest and to bring awareness to our Government that it is not satisfactory that there are US war planes passing through the country.”