If you are planning to come to Ireland via Shannon Airport, do not be too surprised
to see armed soldiers on patrol around the perimeter fence. This IS unusual for an
Irish airport and is due to the fact that there have been two recent unauthorised
breaches of the fence around the airfield by peace protestors opposed to the use
of Shannon Airport as a refuelling stop for US military aircraft on their way to the
Persian Gulf. In the first of the recent incidents, damage was done to a US military
aircraft by a lone activist with a hatchet. In the second, donated blood was spilled
on the runway, a shrine to the children of Iraq was erected and more damage may
have been done
to the same plane by a group of five protestors using hand tools. Police were
obviously not
providing adequate security so the army was called upon to prevent any further
incursions onto the airfield. Shannon Airport is economically vital to the area so it
is considered important by the Irish Government and the local chamber of
commerce that there is no disruption to it's functioning.

It has just been revealed that 200,000 US military personnel have transited Shannon in the past year. Since the attacks on the planes by the peace activists World Airways, a charter outfit in the 'States used by the US Govt. to carry military personnel, has pulled out of Shannon and relocated to Frankfurt, Germanyto the chagrin of the financially-troubled Airport and region. It is estimated that the transitees spent some $17 million while passing through - a nice boost to the local economy.
Whether Shannon (or any other Irish airport) is open to terrorist attack because we have facilitated the US is open to question. It needs to be remembered that Ireland, whilst militarily neutral (largely due to historical reasons) has very close ties with the USA & Canada and would not - at least at governmental level be hostile to American policy. That said, there is a significant portion of the population which would traditionally side with third-world countries against the rich west, this can translate into a somewhat crude anti-Americanism.
All that apart and military patrols on the perimeter Shannon is a laid-back sort of place with pleasant staff and a good duty-free (the first in the world). In view of 9/11 it could be said that nowhere in the world is safe anymore.
As for myself I shall be flying to Turkey at Easter for a short vacaction. I fully expect war to have broken out by then and technically Turkey may be a war region but hey, you take your chances. I frankly think that I'm statistically more at risk when I get behind the steering wheel of my car than flying to Istanbul.