Stephen Hancock
The death of Dan Berrigan, a week short of his 95th birthday, marks the passing of one of the 20th century’s most influential and inspiring Christian peacemakers. Certainly, he was the major source of inspiration – through his writings, innovative actions and wise presence – for my transition into radical activism.
Co-founder of both the Catholic Peace Fellowship and Clergy and Laity Concerned about Vietnam, in 1968,…
On 7 February, eight of us appeared at Newbury Magistrates' Court for planting vines and fig trees inside the Atomic Weapons Establishment Aldermaston last August (see PN2465).
Throughout our action we've tried to challenge both nuclear weapons and traditional protest practices and mindsets (see PN2467). One of the workshops we did during our trial preparation was entitled “Treating court as a gig”. At the time I felt it was a bit of a leftfield approach, but it…
In March of this year we attended the first trial of the Pit Stop Ploughshares in Dublin (see PN2460).Despite the eventual mistrial, it was an inspiring scene, both inside and outside court. Harnessing the momentum generated by the stand of the five defendants, we met in a pub opposite the courts to plan further nonviolent resistance. We decided to mark the 60th Hiroshima and Nagasaki anniversaries by planting vines and fig trees ata British nuclear base. With another friend we drew…
After a week of presiding over the trial of the Pit Stop Ploughshares in Dublin's Four Courts, Judge Frank O'Donnell dismissed the jury after admitting that that his actions could be perceived to be biased. He ordered a retrial for October.
On 3 February 2003, the Pit Stop Ploughshares Five disarmed a US Navy C40 plane in a hangar at Shannon Airport, County Clare, Ireland (see PN2458).
Two years later, on Monday 7 March, they finally went to trial. One hundred and fifty…
