A 57 year old mother of four who caused over 1 million euro worth of damage to a US Navy plane at Shannon Airport 8 years ago will find out today whether an appeal against her conviction has been successful.
Anti-war activist Mary Kelly was convicted of causing criminal damage to the plane at Shannon Airport with an axe, following her trial in Ennis in 2004 and was given a two year suspended sentence.
The court of criminal appeal is to deliver its verdict today into her challenge against that conviction.
Mary Kelly a nurse with an address at Fort Lorenzo, Galway admitted taking an axe to 737 US Navy plane grounded at Shannon in January 2003, striking it 30 times to disable it – and told gardai she had lawful excuse as she wanted to prevent the plane from going to Iraq "to kill innocent people".
Her first trial in Kilrush resulted in a hung jury but following a retrial in Ennis in October 2004, the mother of four was found guily of criminal damage and later given a 2 year suspended sentence, with an order to stay one mile away from Shannon Airport for 4 years.
Her challenge against this conviction was heard by the court of criminal appeal in 2008 and today, two and a half years later, the three judge court is due to deliver its ruling.
