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'Tyrone village driven mad by British army helicopters'
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11-08-2009 2:03am#1From yesterday's Sunday Tribune (available online today here: http://www.tribune.ie/news/home-news/article/2009/aug/09/tyrone-village-driven-mad-by-british-army-helicopt/):
Suzanne Breen, Northern Editor
Afghanistan: not Tyrone
Residents are demanding that the British army stop using a Co Tyrone village as a training centre for its war in Afghanistan. They say that family life and farming activity are being destroyed by low-flying helicopters late at night.
The Irish government has been asked to raise the issue with Downing Street.
"Two nights this week, my family's sleep has been disrupted and my children terrified," said Ardboe farmer Dermott McKenna (35).
"A helicopter hovered about 100 feet above our house at 11.45pm on Monday. The noise was deafening. I have three young children – aged between two and eight. They were terrified. They awoke crying – they didn't know what was happening.
"The following night, the helicopter began hovering overhead at 12.40am. It stayed there about half an hour. My cows were so frightened they ran through a fence. Thankfully, they ended up in another field and not on the road.
"The cattle were spooked by the whole experience and have been difficult to handle."
A local second world war aerodrome, near the shores of Lough Neagh, is used by the British army. SDLP assembly member Patsy McGlone said: "People had enough of military activity in this area during the Troubles.
"They thought a decent night's sleep would be part of the peace dividend. They don't want low-flying helicopters nor anything to do with a war which they don't support.
"British military spokesmen tell us how important this training is for operations in Afghanistan. There are very few Arabs and no sand in Ardboe. We have no connection with this war and no interest in being connected to it.
"These helicopters are intruding on a quiet, rural community. All Ardboe wants is to be able to sleep at night so the British army should find somewhere else to do its training."
McGlone has contacted the Northern Ireland Office about the issue and also asked the Irish government to intervene.
Dermott McKenna said he had spoken to the British Ministry of Defence after heavy helicopter activity last year. "I've already explained to the MoD that my children are terrified because they hear this horrendous noise in the dark and don't know where it's coming from.
"At night, that's impossible. The British military are doing this to piss us off. There are plenty of less populated places in Britain for them do their training where they would be wanted and wouldn't be disturbing anybody."
August 9, 2009
Where is Sinn Féin in all this? Is the SDLP the only political party in the community opposing it? Where has all that talk about demilitarisation gone now when British troops are organising and training here (and Sinn Féin is the largest nationalist party in government)?
At the very least, if the British want to impose more of their war machine in Ireland, it would only be fair that loyalist villages and the loyalist community are kept up night after night by this product of their self-confessed British "loyalty". But that would ruin the "fun", wouldn't it. Making Irish people suffer for yet another British occupation of a foreign land is simply a massive two fingers to the entire constituency that Sinn Féin claims to represent.
Yet again, Irish-Ireland is the dumping ground for the most despicable elements of British society, the plebian underclass that serve as its footsoldiers in foreign lands. This is deliberate provocation of the native Irish community by a foreign force which is, obviously, deeply resented in the community. [font="]Plus ça change, plus c'est la même.[/font]
So, how do Britain's apologists here justify this one, and how do Sinn Féin voters justify the party's silence on it? I've already written to Mícheál Martin about it.0
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Rebelheart wrote: »Presuming that everybody in the village is a citizen of Ireland, they therefore did approach their own government first, asking that it request that the 'other country' remove its troops from their village. The article is quite clear about that.
When can people get this through their heads, you are living in a dfiferent country, you pay taxes to a different exchequer (sadly), you draw the dole from a different exchequer (thankfully), you have a different government and thus the one to go complain to are in Westminister (with your own offshoot in Belfast), not the bunch of muppets that sits now and again in the Dáil in Dublin.
Actually to me that could be a plus.
Anyway didn't anybody tell you up there that Jack O'Connor (Kerry manager) has done a deal with the BA to fly over the houses of Tyrone GAA players to put them off before their upcoming matches.
They are probably looking for Brian Dooher's house
I am not allowed discuss …
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Fratton Fred wrote: »by you maybe, but the large numbers of people, north and south of the border who join up would make me think otherwise
no.. by the majority of people
Its not one comment, its your general attitude ive noticed towards anything republican or in ANY way related to people in northern ireland and the british army. Maybe I shouldnt be taking this into a/c in this thread.."A helicopter hovered about 100 feet above our house at 11.45pm on Monday. The noise was deafening. I have three young children – aged between two and eight. They were terrified. They awoke crying – they didn't know what was happening.
The following night, the helicopter began hovering overhead at 12.40am. It stayed there about half an hour. My cows were so frightened they ran through a fence. Thankfully, they ended up in another field and not on the road."
You dont find this inappropriate??? no?? i dont get it...0 -
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Living in a lovely locality in north Dublin at the moment means I have the garda helicopter overhead a couple of times a week for almost 2 years now. It's aggravating at times but that's life.
Do you? All I see is helicopter (singular)..... two nights this week.... and something about helicopter activity in the area last year. Got to go by what I see.
Sorry but where's the bigotry? If this had been "loyalist" farmland then according to the OP it would have been perfectly acceptable... THAT'S bigotry. You take an issue that could have been applied to everyone and turned it immediately into a Irish v British, nationalist v loyalist issue. THAT smacks of bigotry.
Im from Finglas, i know what its like to live under a helicopter... and thats why i can relate. The garda helicopter doesnt sit 100 feet over your house now does it??? And the garda hasnt been an oppressive force in north dublin for years now has it????
"do you??" ... do i what???? 0 -
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neil_hosey wrote: »no.. by the majority of people
Its not one comment, its your general attitude ive noticed towards anything republican or in ANY way related to people in northern ireland and the british army. Maybe I shouldnt be taking this into a/c in this thread..
You dont find this inappropriate??? no?? i dont get it...
yes it's not appropriate, but it's not exactly an issue that needs the involvement of the Irish government.
I have no problems with republicans, only idiots.The point is, that British Army forces are supposed to have been withdrawn from Ireland. This activity will unsettle residents and other more suspicious souls. It's silly of the British Army to think that it's ok to do this in Ireland, because they're preparing for another imperialist war in Afghanistan. They could easily have carried out this training exercise elsewhere.
Do you not understand that? Or do you think that people are stupid for feeling that way?
yes.
the BA have withdrawn from Northern Ireland. The united Kingdom does, however, have regiments based all it's country, as does every other country in the world.
They are preparing to go on a UN sanctioned mission, a mission that the Irish government supports along with 42 other world government.
Please explain how this is an imperial war?0 -
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