NSA dome in Saggart ?

mick.fr

Hi guys

I can see a big white dome that looks like the NSA listener radars (Echelon Radar) in the Saggart military airport.

Something like this
http://www.sxc.hu/pic/m/f/fi/filax/291407_echelon_radar_1.jpg

Is it the case or simply a nice and kind Irish radar ?

purple'n'gold

mick.fr wrote:

Hi guys

I can see a big white dome that looks like the NSA listener radars (Echelon Radar) in the Saggart military airport.

Something like this
http://www.sxc.hu/pic/m/f/fi/filax/291407_echelon_radar_1.jpg

Is it the case or simply a nice and kind Irish radar ?

They are giant mushrooms.

cold_filter

They dont need to have one in Ireland the have a listening centre located in england (surrey i think) the GFCQ or something along those lines they (americans) and the UK used it during the cold war but its still operational and can easily listen in on irish communications

cushtac

Saggart military airport - that's a new one.

mick.fr

cold_filter wrote:

They dont need to have one in Ireland the have a listening centre located in england (surrey i think) the GFCQ or something along those lines they (americans) and the UK used it during the cold war but its still operational and can easily listen in on irish communications

Yeah I guess.
Anyway they also have radards in their ambassies.
They record everything from fax, phone call, mobile phone calls...
Well as least in Paris, I know it for a fact.

mick.fr

cushtac wrote:

Saggart military airport - that's a new one.

Well sure it is I pass through this complex 2 times a days :-)
Plus it is written on the entrance gate.
I have seen Irish pilots, military planes and helicopters and also small Irish governmental jets.

nodger

cold_filter wrote:

They dont need to have one in Ireland the have a listening centre located in england (surrey i think) the GFCQ or something along those lines they (americans) and the UK used it during the cold war but its still operational and can easily listen in on irish communications

It's between Gloucester and Cheltenham

DublinWriter

cold_filter wrote:

They dont need to have one in Ireland the have a listening centre located in england (surrey i think) the GFCQ or something along those lines they (americans) and the UK used it during the cold war but its still operational and can easily listen in on irish communications

Even the conversation we're having right now? Quick, putting your tin-foil helmet on *now* will switch us to a secure channel for the rest of this conversation.

They are called GCHQ, and are the UK equivalent of the USA's NSA. (In the states the NSA have a bigger budget than both the CIA and FBI combined).

They recently completed work on a multi-million pound new HQ and here's where they now live...

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/gloucestershire/2987158.stm

When most Irish-English phone traffic was landline, they used to have a listening post in Wales that was used to intercept the deep-sea main phone trunking line connecting Ireland with the UK. I think this facility was closed down in the early 90's.

Back to the tinfoil-hattery, I was aware that Ireland had signed up to Echelon back in 2000 (http://cryptome.org/echelon-ie.htm) but I thought it was only a cursory agreement to join and didn't involve us actually 'doing anything'?

Steyr

mick.fr wrote:

Well sure it is I pass through this complex 2 times a days :-)
Plus it is written on the entrance gate.
I have seen Irish pilots, military planes and helicopters and also small Irish governmental jets.

Do you mean the Aircraft VOR/DNE? Saggart? right.......... do you not mean EIME ? Bal?

mick.fr

Steyr wrote:

Do you mean the Aircraft VOR/DNE? Saggart? right.......... do you not mean EIME ? Bal?

Well I am not sure, I am not familiar with those things here.
This is the aerodrome between Lucan and Saggart, next to the small business area where Luftansa, Roadstone are...

the locust

Yeah they are big radars aren't they...

The ones in Cheltenam? England are definitely cold war defense stuff (especially the M.A.D. mentality) They could detect for example Russian Mig Fighters approaching the UK waters or nuclear ICBM's so they had a chance to retaliate.

Likewise the ones in Saggart are basically national defence radars right? Not against nuclear attack obviously but standard radars - you see them at loads of major airports where there are military traffic flying around and landing nearby. Anyone clarify?

testicle

They're just ATC radars. They are not specifically military.

There were 2 of them on top of Woodcock Hill near Limerick, commonly known as the golf balls, to control the Airspace for the North Atlantic from Shannon ATC. It got quite windy one weekend, and one blew away. It ended up scattered over quite a large radius over Co Limerick and Co Clare.

Here's a picture of the remaining one : http://www.flickr.com/photos/eoinoc/265122067/

aphex™

Echelon is now at Mount Gabriel, Schull, Co. Cork. Google it- i've no more info sadly.

astraboy

There are two large white domes on Mt Gabreil, you will see them up on the hill if you are ever near Schull. I believe the PIRA blew one up years and years ago, or so my Dad told me.

Steyr

mick.fr wrote:

Well I am not sure, I am not familiar with those things here.
This is the aerodrome between Lucan and Saggart, next to the small business area where Luftansa, Roadstone are...

Thats Baldonnel Business park, the Airbase your talking about is Casement AB, Baldonnel-home of the Irish Air Corps. ICAO-EIME.

Fenian

There are two large white domes on Mt Gabreil, you will see them up on the hill if you are ever near Schull. I believe the PIRA blew one up years and years ago, or so my Dad told me.

It was blown up by the INLA.
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testicle

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Fenian

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DublinWriter

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Oh goody, guess where this thread is going. I wonder which lucky mod is going to notch up another thread closure.

testicle

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Steyr

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Hagar

Dear God, does the IRA have to be dragged into every thread on these Boards?

This is not a political forum.

If anyone wants to discuss the tactics of guerrilla warfare fine but we are not here to discuss the politics of the combatants.

I've edited a few posts. If anyone disagrees with the editing of their posts PM me.

DublinWriter

Hagar wrote:

Dear God, does the IRA have to be dragged into every thread on these Boards?

Yes, and/or the Nazis. There's a popular theory regarding this and internet discussions in general.

Hagar wrote:

I've edited a few posts. If anyone disagrees with the editing of their posts PM me.

Thanks for fixing up all my spelling and grammar!

Hagar

Sharpens pointy stick...