LELIA DOOLAN, A 91-year-old rights activist, has completed a 220km walk in protest against the use of Shannon Airport as a stopover for US military flights.

Doolan, from Co Clare, began her journey at Shannon Airport and arrived at Leinster House today after more than two weeks of travelling.

Doolan outside Leinster House this afternoon The Journal The Journal

Doolan was accompanied by a crowd of fellow protesters outside Leinster House The Journal The Journal

The purpose of the protest was to highlight the threat to Ireland’s neutrality from the use of Shannon Airport as a stopover for US military flights.

Addressing a crowd outside Leinster House, Doolan thanked those who supported her along the route – including people who had been “standing in their gardens” as she passed, as well as demonstrators who gathered with Palestinian flags and posters.

91-year-old Lelia Doolan has completed her 220km protest walk from Shannon Airport to Leinster House to protest against the use of Shannon Airport as a stopover for US military flights. pic.twitter.com/AHgaSKxmru

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She said the protest was about “equality, decency and being honourable”.

“Now, we love the American people – things may be going very awry at the moment, indeed they are, and one of the things that needs to be remembered is you tell your friends the truth,” she said.

“We’ve got to tell American military the truth: Shannon is not a place for refuelling, for bringing military personnel, for bringing cargo, for bringing prisoners to.”

At the end of her speech, Doolan recited a poem by Palestinian-American poet Naomi Shihab Nye titled Kindness.

An organiser of the protest said that their request for a meeting with Taoiseach Micheál Martin and Tánaiste Simon Harris had not received a response.

In response to Labour’s Ivana Bacik, who raised Doolan’s “mammoth” protest during Leaders’ Questions today, Martin said he was not aware she had sought a meeting.

“I wasn’t aware that she was seeking a meeting, I wasn’t aware of that. But I’ll see what I can do,” he said.

“I have the greatest respect, given her views and her commitment and her perseverance, and it’s an extraordinary journey to take in terms of her views of Shannon Airport.”

Martin added that Shannon Airport was “not a US military base” and said some politicians had “mischaracterised” its role in a way that could be damaging.

With additional reporting by PA