Wallace stands over his illegal banner

April 2003

Millionaire Wexford construction king, Mick Wallace, is standing over his decision to erect another controversial banner in Dublin city centre last week, despite the fact that he knew he was breaking the law.

The huge banner, which fronted the Wallace construction site at Ormonde Quay, read ‘We have the blood of Iraqi children on our hands’.

And although it has since been taken down, it caused quite a stir while it was on display.

Wallace’s main gripe concerns the continued use of Shannon Airport by the US military and he said the banner was an expression of his ‘outrage’ over this.

‘It’s like letting your neighbour into your house to fire petrol bombs at the house across the road, and the running around to see if the victims are alright,’ he said.

‘It’s pure savagery what’s going on. And to think that our Taoiseach is part of all is very disappointing. They are bombing Iraq, but for what? It is not going to make the world a safer place, in my estimation. Every bomb they drop is creating another potential suicide bomber,’ he contended.

Dublin Corporation agreed to let Wallace leave the banner up for the weekend, after the building boss convinced them that he would take it down himself on Sunday night.

However, although he is unsure whether he will face penalties for putting up the sign in the first place, Wallace states that he intends to erect the sign again at some stage in the future.