Leaders of the Stop Bush campaign are to meet senior members of the Garda Síochána in Portlaoise today to finalise arrangements for a large protest in Co Clare during the visit of US President, Mr George Bush, this weekend.
Liam Reid
Organisers of the campaign are planning a mass demonstration as close to Dromoland Castle as possible on Saturday morning, where Mr Bush is due to hold talks with senior EU figures, led by the Taoiseach, Mr Ahern.
Prominent members of the Stop Bush campaign, said they would co-operate with gardaí on agreeing a venue for the protest.
"We're meeting to arrange exactly where we will be in relation to Dromoland Castle," said Mr Brendan Butler, of the NGO Peace Alliance, one of the groups involved in the Stop Bush campaign.
Encouraging families to attend Saturday's protest, he said there was no threat to the safety of protesters.
"Our demonstrations are all family-friendly and will be conducted in a most peaceful way. So we can assure everybody attending that there is no threat of violence. We believe in marshalling. We believe in a peaceful way and we do not get involved in groups who are involved in any violent way."
It is expected that protesters could be kept a considerable distance from the castle and Shannon Airport during the visit.
With a security operation involving up to 6,000 gardaí and Defence Force members, along with nearly 1,000 US and private security personnel, it will be one of the biggest ever staged in Ireland.
Gardaí have prepared a temporary detention centre in Shannon to hold any persons arrested during protests.
It is unclear at this stage whether either of the two water cannon, used during the May-Day protests at the Phoenix Park, will be deployed during the various protests taking place in the Shannon area during the visit.
The Stop Bush protest will be the largest of the weekend, with smaller protests planned by a variety of groups.
Gardaí equipped with riot gear, also used during the Dublin May-Day weekend, are also expected to be deployed. A 13-kilometre stretch of road between Shannon Airport and Dromoland Castle is also expected to be effectively closed off.
A series of road blocks and security checks is also expected to be in place around the airport, where Mr Bush is landing on Friday evening, and at Dromoland Castle. Residents and workers in the area are being issued with passes to help them avoid delays of up to two hours.
Aer Rianta is also advising airport users to add an extra two hours onto their travel time to the airport on Friday and Saturday on account of the expected delays.