99 Red Balloons Over Galway Bay
Forsaking morality & in order to make a 'fast buck', certain prominent Salthill businesses once again decided to promote the only air force in the world that is killing civilians on a weekly basis. Amazingly these people see no conflict in attending Church services on Sunday morning-to honour a peace-preaching Christ that abhored violence- and then a few hours later officiating at a military dominated air show extravaganza in the skies over Galway Bay where the top act is the US Air Force's latest state-of-the-art killing machines
The media said over 80,000 (exaggerated) watched the military airplanes in action while only a few hundred took part in the anti-war demonstration at the famous Spanish Arch. The latter event though had some prominent speakers including the new Galway City Mayor (Councillor Tom Costello) and an ex-commandant of the Irish Army (Ed Horgan). But though small in number, the anti-war participants proudly stood up for the principles of neutrality and anti-imperialism that inspired the founders of our state to take up arms against our British occupiers who were then engaged in a world power struggle where millions of ordinary people needlessly died serving in a war that was portrayed as a gallant war for peace and democracy against tyranny ("...a war to end all wars..."). Shades of today's 'Global War Against Terrorism'.
Anyway, I was proud to attend the demo with my young son Dáire. I also had the following letter published in the weekly 'Galway Independent' in the days before the air-show:
Forsaking morality & in order to make a 'fast buck', certain prominent Salthill businesses once again decided to promote the only air force in the world that is killing civilians on a weekly basis. Amazingly these people see no conflict in attending Church services on Sunday morning-to honour a peace-preaching Christ that abhored violence- and then a few hours later officiating at a military dominated air show extravaganza in the skies over Galway Bay where the top act is the US Air Force's latest state-of-the-art killing machines
The media said over 80,000 (exaggerated) watched the military airplanes in action while only a few hundred took part in the anti-war demonstration at the famous Spanish Arch. The latter event though had some prominent speakers including the new Galway City Mayor (Councillor Tom Costello) and an ex-commandant of the Irish Army (Ed Horgan). But though small in number, the anti-war participants proudly stood up for the principles of neutrality and anti-imperialism that inspired the founders of our state to take up arms against our British occupiers who were then engaged in a world power struggle where millions of ordinary people needlessly died serving in a war that was portrayed as a gallant war for peace and democracy against tyranny ("...a war to end all wars..."). Shades of today's 'Global War Against Terrorism'.End the Support of Terrorist Bombers
Dear Editor, Over the last few years, American airplanes in Afghanistan, Iraq
and Somalia have killed thousands of civilians including children and old people in their homes, at weddings, in hospitals, in market places, in vehicles and at places of worship. Whole villages have been flattened as a result of carpet-bombing. Yet while this barbarity continues, certain Salthill business people have deemed it suitable ‘family entertainment’ for the US Air Force to show off their weapons of mass destruction in the skies above Galway. They are calling on us all to adulate a killing machine that has even been condemned by the present US-supported Afghani government for its indiscriminate air bombing of civilian areas that has only led to an upsurge in recruitment to those forces fighting the Americans. Tactics such as ‘Shock and Awe’ with their accompanying obliteration of residential neighbourhoods and infrastructure has resulted in the victims undertaking armed retribution against the perpetrators of this madness. To compound the misery of those that survive the initial onslaughts, the US Air Force has no hesitation in dropping anti-personnel cluster bombs containing hundreds of bomblets that transform the targetted farms and villages into massive mine-fields thereby increasing the death toll for years to come. 
The US regime believes that their aerial strategy will force the acquiescence of the populations being bombed. Yet they have learnt nothing from their own recent history. The 9/11 bombings caused the majority of Americans to support a ‘revenge’ war on Afghanistan. The US Air force’s blanket-bombing of North Vietnam, though it led to the killing of over 200,000 people and the virtual wipe-out of urban life south of Hanoi, only stiffened the resolve of the survivors to fight on and to ultimately win their war against the USA. The ‘gung-ho’ attitude and incompetence of many American pilots has been widely condemned recently as a result of the large number of incidents where Allied soldiers were killed by ‘friendly-fire’. It is reprehensible that the Salthill Air Show organisers glorify these evil terrorist bombers who commit such atrocities against innocent people. As someone that enjoys with my family the many delights of our local seaside resort most weekends, I fail to understand why their business leaders promote weaponry that continues to kill and to maim so many families.
Check out an article that I wrote regarding last year's Salthill Airshow, the content of which formed the basis for a letter to the 'Galway Independent' newspaper.
Sights & Sounds of US Warplanes Reawakens Fear in Galway
and Somalia have killed thousands of civilians including children and old people in their homes, at weddings, in hospitals, in market places, in vehicles and at places of worship. Whole villages have been flattened as a result of carpet-bombing. Yet while this barbarity continues, certain Salthill business people have deemed it suitable ‘family entertainment’ for the US Air Force to show off their weapons of mass destruction in the skies above Galway. They are calling on us all to adulate a killing machine that has even been condemned by the present US-supported Afghani government for its indiscriminate air bombing of civilian areas that has only led to an upsurge in recruitment to those forces fighting the Americans. Tactics such as ‘Shock and Awe’ with their accompanying obliteration of residential neighbourhoods and infrastructure has resulted in the victims undertaking armed retribution against the perpetrators of this madness. To compound the misery of those that survive the initial onslaughts, the US Air Force has no hesitation in dropping anti-personnel cluster bombs containing hundreds of bomblets that transform the targetted farms and villages into massive mine-fields thereby increasing the death toll for years to come. 
The US regime believes that their aerial strategy will force the acquiescence of the populations being bombed. Yet they have learnt nothing from their own recent history. The 9/11 bombings caused the majority of Americans to support a ‘revenge’ war on Afghanistan. The US Air force’s blanket-bombing of North Vietnam, though it led to the killing of over 200,000 people and the virtual wipe-out of urban life south of Hanoi, only stiffened the resolve of the survivors to fight on and to ultimately win their war against the USA. The ‘gung-ho’ attitude and incompetence of many American pilots has been widely condemned recently as a result of the large number of incidents where Allied soldiers were killed by ‘friendly-fire’. It is reprehensible that the Salthill Air Show organisers glorify these evil terrorist bombers who commit such atrocities against innocent people. As someone that enjoys with my family the many delights of our local seaside resort most weekends, I fail to understand why their business leaders promote weaponry that continues to kill and to maim so many families.
Check out an article that I wrote regarding last year's Salthill Airshow, the content of which formed the basis for a letter to the 'Galway Independent' newspaper.Sights & Sounds of US Warplanes Reawakens Fear in Galway
