*Protests in Doonbeg.
TWO GALWAY women have appeared in court over them allegedly shouting anti-war slogans and wearing anti-war T-shirts on the seventh green of Trump Doonbeg during The Irish Open while Marine One was preparing to land on Saturday afternoon.
At a special sitting of Ennis District Court on Saturday night, two prominent Pro-Palestinian activists, Emma O’Grady (41) of Inis Oírr, Co na Gaillaimhe and Áine Ní Threinír (35) of Cuirt Na Tra, Salthill, Co Galway appeared in connection with the alleged public order offence on Saturday afternoon at Trump Doonbeg golf course during the third day of the resort hosting the Amgen Irish Open.
Arising from the incident on the 7th green, theatre artist, Ms O’Grady and community worker, Ms Ní Threinír are both charged under Section 6 of the (Criminal Justice) Public Order Act where it is an offence for any person in a public place to use or engage in any threatening, abusive or insulting words or behaviour with intent to provoke a breach of the peace.
In court, Judge Adrian Harris granted legal aid to solicitor, Daragh Hassett to represent Ms O’Grady and Ms Ní Threinír.
There was no Garda objection to bail and Judge Harris remanded the two on bail to appear at Kilrush District Court on October 20th.
Judge Harris granted bail on the agreed bail condition that the two stay away from Trump Doonbeg golf resort and must be of good behaviour.
For the court hearing, there was a large presence of Gardaí at Ennis Courthouse on Saturday night with a small group of protesters and supporters of the accused locked outside the closed gates of the Ennis Courthouse site.
Speaking after the brief court hearing outside the gates of the courthouse on Saturday night, Emma O’Grady said, “At 3.05pm we were arrested by Gardaí on the seventh green just as Trump’s helicopters were in the air landing”.
Footage of the incident on social media showed Gardaí removing the two from the seventh green in front of a grand-stand of Irish Open spectators.
Ms O’Grady said, “We were engaging in a peaceful protest displaying ‘US warplanes out of Shannon’ on our t-shirts and saying that ‘Trump is unwelcome’, calling for a Free Palestine and calling for the US military out of Shannon”.
Ms O’Grady said, “We wanted to highlight that we want the US military out of Shannon and the Irish Government is spending €20m on security for a private trip this weekend. It is just wrong”.
She said, “We don’t want Trump here and to show Trump that he is not welcome here”.
Ms Ní Threinír said, “In these moments people have to do what they can to say that ‘this isn’t okay’”.
