Today in the Dublin Circuit court Colm Roddy and Dave Donnellan had a preliminary hearing designed to pave the way towards confirming their trail date as 2nd March. The offence they are charged with is linked to their attempts to search and investigate some US military aircraft at Shannon on 25 May 2016. That's almost four years ago.

The wheels of justice move very slowly in Ireland if you are a peace activist charged with attempting to ensure that the Gardaí at Shannon do their duty and apply the law as it should be applied.

Six peace activists are now before the Circuit Court in Dublin having had their trials first transferred upwards from Ennis District Court to Ennis Circuit Court, thus ensuring a jury trial, and then transferred from Ennis Circuit Court to Dublin Circuit Court to ensure an unbiased jury trial. In addition to Colm Roddy and Dave Donnellan's trials, Dan Dowling and Edward Horgan are due to go on trial on 18th May this year also for peace actions at Shannon Airport on 25th April 2017 (three years ago), when they also entered Shannon Airport to attempt to search and investigate two US military aircraft, or have these aircraft searched and investigated by an Garda Siochana. In 2019 two other peace activists, members of Veterans For Peace from the USA, Kenneth Mayers and Tarak Kauff, also entered Shannon Airport on St Patricks Day, and on a similar peace mission to search and investigate US military aircraft.

Ken and Tarak's trail will not take place until 2021.