91-year-old woman walks 220km to protest over US military at Co Clare airport

A 91-year-old woman has walked 220km to protest against the US military’s use of a Co Clare airport.

Lelia Doolan, from Co Clare, has walked for a fortnight from Shannon Airport and arrived at Leinster House, home of the Irish parliament, at noon on Wednesday.

She thanked the people who supported her along the way, people who had been “standing in their gardens” in Dublin as she passed, and the protesters who gathered with Palestine flags and posters at Leinster House.

Ms Doolan said Ireland were a people who “love peace” and urged politicians to use existing laws to bar US planes from Shannon.

An organiser said they had asked for a meeting with Taoiseach Micheal Martin and Tanaiste Simon Harris, but had received no response.

Responding to a question from Labour party leader Ivana Bacik, who raised Ms Doolan’s “mammoth” protest in the Dail chamber on Wednesday, he said he was not aware she had sought a meeting.

“I wasn’t aware that (she) was seeking a meeting, I wasn’t aware of that – but I’ll see what I can do,” he replied.

“I’ve the greatest of respect, given her views and her commitment and her perseverance, and it’s an extraordinary journey to take in terms of her views of Shannon Airport.”

He added: “I admire her, and I pay tribute to her commitment to her views and her cause.”

He said that Shannon Airport was “not a US military base”, and accused some politicians of a “mischaracterisation” of Shannon Airport, which he said could damage it.

“If you want to see a military base, go to Spain, go to Italy, go to Germany,” he said.

The pro-Palestine crowd sang the anti-war song written by John Lennon, Give Peace a Chance, as well as Bob Dylan’s Blowin’ In the Wind, and called for a ban on trade with illegal Israeli settlements on Palestinian land.

Ms Doolan said the demonstration was a peaceful one that called for Ireland to tell its US “friends the truth”.

“It’s about equality. It’s about kindness, it’s about goodness, it’s about decency, and it’s about being honourable and telling your friends the truth.

“Now, we love the American people – things may be going very awry at the moment, indeed they are, and one of the things that needs to be remembered is you tell your friends the truth.

“We’ve got to tell American military the truth: Shannon is not a place for refuelling, for bringing military personnel, for bringing cargo, for bringing prisoners to.

“If Micheal only knew how beautiful the people of Ireland are, how engaged they are, with honesty and decency and telling the truth, they might get a bit of a boost to his life, the people outside this damn building might get a bit of an insight into what they’re there for, paid by us to do the job that we are not able ourselves to do.”

Ms Doolan began her protest on March 31 and has travelled through counties Limerick, Tipperary, Laois and Kildare before arriving in Dublin on Wednesday.

Members of the public travelled with her along the way as part of the pro-neutrality and pro-Palestine demonstration.

In 2024, Ms Doolan did a parachute jump to raise money for MSF to mark her 90th birthday.