Anti-war activist Ms Mary Kelly (50), appeared at Ennis Circuit Court yesterday charged with causing criminal damage to a US military aircraft at Shannon Airport on January 29th, 2003.
She is also charged with trespassing beyond the perimeter fence of the airport on the same night.
It is the second time that Ms Kelly has gone on trial for the alleged attack with an axe on the Boeing 737 aircraft. Last July, after a four-day trial, a jury of six men and six women deliberated for five hours on the charge of criminal damage, but was discharged by Judge Carroll Moran after failing to reach a verdict.
As a result, Ms Kelly - an Athlone nurse and mother of four - was remanded on continuing bail, and the trial has been adjourned a number of times since.
A jury is to be sworn in today and counsel for Ms Kelly told Ennis Circuit Court yesterday that the trial could last six to seven days. However, appearing for the State, Mr David Sutton, said the trial may be shorter and run to three or four days. During the trial, an ex-US attorney general, Mr Ramsey Clark, and a former assistant secretary general of the UN, Mr Denis Halliday, are expected to testify on Ms Kelly's behalf.
Both gave evidence at the previous trial in July. An international human rights lawyer, Mr Curtis Boebbler, is also travelling from Uzbekistan to testify on her behalf. The US pilot of the aircraft, Cdr William Schneider, is due to give evidence on behalf of the State. In recent weeks Ms Kelly and other anti-war activists have put information stalls in Ennis to familiarise the Clare public with the case. Last July, the trial attracted considerable media interest, with a TV crew from Qatar-based news station, al-Jazeera in Clare to cover the case.
Five other anti-war activists are facing a charge of criminal damage on the same aircraft five days after Ms Kelly's alleged attack, and their trial is expected to take place in Dublin Circuit Court in the autumn.
