Mansion House Case Thrown Out of Court
19/06/09
Ciarán Fitzpatrick and Daragh Burton, the two activists who unfurled an éirígí banner from the roof of the Mansion House earlier this year, had all charges against them dropped in a Dublin court yesterday [Thursday].
The pair had unfurled the banner on January 20 as an official state-ceremony to mark the 90th anniversary of the first Dáil Éireann took place inside the historic building. The great and the good of the Twenty-Six County establishment were reminded of the unfinished business of the British occupation when the giant banner emblazoned with the words “90 YEARS ON – NO CLOSER TO FREEDOM – END THE OCCUPATION!” was unfurled.
The Gardaí, embarrassed at such a public breach of their security cordon, proceeded to arrest and later charge Ciarán and Daragh with ‘criminal trespass’, despite the fact that the two were clearly involved in a legitimate political protest. For five months, the Twenty-Six County authorities have maintained a legal charade in the vain hope that the two would plead guilty to the charges against them.
Today, when it became apparent that both activists were entering pleas of not-guilty, the state finally conceded that they would be unable to prove criminal intent on behalf of the accused. Faced with this reality, all charges were then dropped.
Speaking outside of the courts, éirígí’s Daithí Mac An Mhaistír said: “Today’s case should never have come to court. The Gardaí and the state have known for months that they would be unable to prove criminal intent from a simple banner drop. This case is just the latest in a long line of similar cases where the state has used criminal legislation against political activists.
“The intent behind the charging of political activists is clear – to deter people from becoming involved in any form of political dissent or activity beyond the controlled environments of occasional elections to the institutions of the state.
“Today marked an important landmark in asserting the right of the people to peaceful political protest – even if the state doesn’t like it. As with previous cases involving éirígí activists charged following protests in Stormont and in Rossport, the truth has ultimately won out.”