Independent Media Centre Ireland     http://www.indymedia.ie

"Neighbours" Cop tracks OZ Anti-War Radical to London Anarchist Bookfair

category international | arts and media | press release author Wednesday October 15, 2008 12:26author by some eastern european wannabe

London Anarchist Bookfair!....
img_0244.jpg

Senior Sergeant Alan Steiger http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Allan_Steiger from Ramsay St. Erinsborough (Australian tv soap opera "Neighbours" http://neighbours.com.au/home.htm ) is closing in on his old nemisis Irish-Australian anti-war activist Ciaron O'Reilly.

O'Reilly is due to workshop Harry Browne's recent book "Hammered by the Irish" http://www.indymedia.ie/article/89386 at the London Anarchist Bookfair this Saturday Oct 18th 11 a.m. Room EB2

"Hammered by the Irish", recently published in the United States by Counterpunch http://www.counterpunch.org and AK Press http://www.akpress.org/2008/items/hammeredbytheirishakpress, deals with the $U.S.2.5 million act of nonviolent disarmament by the Pitstop Ploughshares of a U.S. Navy war plane at Shannon Airport, Co. Clare, Ireland Feb 03. http://www.peaceontrial.com

O'Reilly's stormy relationship with Steiger (aka Joe Clements, "The Package", "Big Al", "Chief Wiggum") predates the good Sergeant's initial 2004 appearance on the iconic cul de sac of Ramsey St.

Al/Joe initially engaged O'Reilly in '98, taking a seat next to him on a shuttle bus from the outback Jabiluka Blockade Camp to the Jabiluka uranium mine site (Northern Territory, Australia). O'Reilly initially suspected the short haired, athletic dude was a cop. O'Reilly's well honed counter-surveillance techniques were thrown by the stranger's ability to sing the all the versus of Helen Reddy '70's hit "I am Woman!" - but his initial hunch was to prove to be a self fulfilling prophecy! The other prophecy unleashed on this occasion, of course, was the Jabiluka Ploughshares disabling uranium mining equipment on the lease site....
http://www.plowsharesactions.org/webpages/JABILUKAPLOWS...S.htm

Acquaintances were renewed with Steiger's associates at the S11 2000 blockade of the World Economic Forum at Melbourne's Crown Casino, where O'Reilly was one of many protesters stampeded, batoned and kicked in the head by the Victorian riot police.

Seven years later, O'Reilly settled out of court and the Murdoch Press settled for making O'Reilly a poster boy for Victorian cop grievance ( http://www.indymedia.ie/article/81331 )

It's been a long time between drinks for Steiger and O'Reilly. As Australian viewers of "Neighbours" well know Snr Sgt. Steiger departed Ramsey St. in Episode 5255 for Cairns after marrying Janelle Timmins. Meanwhile British viewers of episode 5255 were lead to believe that Snr. Sgt Steiger had departed for the Solomon Islands.

Why the need for such subterfuge?

What is the Senior Sergeant doing at the London Anarchist Bookfair? - http://www.anarchistbookfair.org .

O'Reilly has recently run the gauntlet of the
PSNI in Belfast http://www.indymedia.ie/article/87990
Irish Specal Branch on the way to Brigid's Well in County Kildare
http://www.indymedia.ie/article/85992
the British Counter Terrorist Police at Luton Airport
http://www.indymedia.ie/article/84989
and the homeboys Australian Security Intelligence Organisation at Brisbane Airport
http://www.theage.com.au/news/National/Peace-activist-s....html

O'Reilly claims to be in London to workshop the recently Counterpunch publication of Harry Browne's "Hammered by the Irish". The book details......

"On a damp night in February 2003, as the U.S. prepared to invade Iraq O'Reilly & four other Catholic Workers scrambled across runways and broke into a hangar at Shannon Airport. Swinging hammers and a pickaxe, they did more than $2.5 million damage to a U.S. Navy transport plane.

The five were hit with the full weight of the law, and were quickly condemned by the media and much of the anti-war movement. But three and half years later, a Dublin jury decided they were innocent of any crime.

This is the story of how a civilian airport in the west of Ireland became a "Pitstop of Death", and how the act of conscience touched the hearts and minds of twelve jurors making political and legal history, in an epic of popular resistance."

Has Snr. Sgt. Steiger been drafted from Ramsay St/ Cairns/ the Solomons to the Anarchist Bookfair in London by some shadowy covert ops..........who knows?

*Find out!
Be there!
"Hammered by the Irish"Workshop
with Ciaron O'Reilly & Senior Segeant Steiger
11 am
Saturday Oct 18th
Room EB2
London Anarchist Bookfair www.anarchistbookfair.org
Queen Mary College
Mile End Rd.
(East End)
E1 (closest tubes Stepney Green and Mile End)
London

Comments (1 of 1)

Jump To Comment: 1
author by Ciaron - Catholiuc Worker/ Ploughsharespublication date Fri Oct 24, 2008 10:27author address author phone

Well the workshop to launch "Hammered by the Irish" went well given the restrictions of an 11 a.m. kick off.
Joe Clements did Senr Sgt. Steiger to commence preceedings.
Joe also moonlights as Ned Kelly in live performances Old Melbourne Gaol...all the way up to the scaffold.
So Joe concluded the workshop with his Ned Kelly "Such is Life" song....in between I ranted and answered questions.
One woman who came to the workshop turned up next day to volunteer at the Catholic Worker soup kitchen in Hackney.
So that worked!

Catholic Workers generally had a great bookfair, the Dalston and Farm communities table was next to some Irish RTS02 @ exiles living in London. Our Farm, Oxford, and Dalston communities are focused primarily on live in hospitality to illegals and anti-war esistance in and around London. The CW scene in England is maturing well as it seems to have hit a wall in Ireland.

I got along to Peter Marshall's talk on the new edition of his fine book "Demanding the Impossible: A History of Anarachism".
Also got along to a fine workshop by Bristol Anarchist Black Cross on prison solidarity activism. Impressive workshop by impressive commited people. In the meantime lots of chats, there was a huge crowd in attendance as the day unfolded...a lot of pluralism and tolerance and alot of networking.

Many thanx to the folks who put the work in to make it happen this year!


http://www.indymedia.ie/article/89486

Indymedia Ireland is a media collective. We are independent volunteer citizen journalists producing and distributing the authentic voices of the people. Indymedia Ireland is an open news project where anyone can post their own news, comment, videos or photos about Ireland or related matters.