A peace campaigner was yesterday given a six-month suspended jail term after being found guilty of the criminal damage of a US Hercules jet at Shannon airport last September 4th.
At Shannon District Court yesterday, Judge Joseph Mangan convicted Eoin Dubsky (22) Whitewalls, Ballymoney, Gorey, Co Wexford, of causing the criminal damage to the US military aircraft. Judge Mangan suspended the jail term on condition that the DCU student stays out of Co Clare for two years, keeps the peace during the same period, and pays a fine of €1,000.
Prior to the sentence being delivered, Dubsky's solicitor, Mr Paul O'Shea, told the court in mitigation that what Dubsky did was in accordance with his beliefs and was not an act of vandalism.
Evidence in the case was heard at Tulla District Court in December where Dubsky claimed that the spray-painting of anti-war graffiti on the US Hercules aircraft "was an act of disarmament and was entirely justifiable".
Dubsky claimed that he had lawful excuse in carrying out the damage to the jet. The court heard that he contacted the Aer Rianta duty airport manager on the night telling him that he had just spray-painted a peace symbol on the Hercules aircraft and was waiting to be picked up.
At Tulla District Court, Dubsky had a separate charge of entering the airfield at Shannon and climbing the airport's perimeter fence dismissed after the prosecution offered no evidence on the charge.
The hearing at Tulla lasted six hours and heard evidence from 17 witnesses.
Speaking outside Shannon District Court after the four-minute hearing into his case yesterday, Dubsky said: "It is very disappointing, but we are going to appeal."
He said he would not be paying the €1,000 fine if it is upheld in lieu of the six-month jail term.
He said: "I won't be paying the fine, I didn't do anything wrong."
