Mark Kennedy: A chronology of his activities

Date

Place

event

organisation/campaign involved/facilitating

mark's role

target

groups/people he was in communication with

potential paper trail

additional comments

source (inc URL) media

source person (incl contact details / or ref if anonymous)

photo material yes/no

who could tell us more

noteworthy oddities

13/08/2003-17/08/2003

Yorkshire

Earth First! Gathering

Earth First!

Turned up as a punter. First time anyone has really met him. He later capitalised on the fact that people assumed he was OK as he had been at EF. MK was generally active with the Nottingham local group first and GM was what was going on at the time.

Earth First! Uk / Anti- GM

MK turned up at the Sumac centre in Notts before the gathering asking about transport to it.

anon

no

When he was talking to friends in 2005 he cited the EF! Gathering as a transformative experience; being impressed by the people and politics etc.

Autumn (2003)

UK

Anti-GM action, office occupation

Anti-GM

Driver

Bayer

Earth First! Uk / Anti- GM

? unlikely, quite long time ago

MK drove a white people carrier on the action. He impressed activists by reporting accurate information about the location of the police in the area.

anon

no

05/11/2004-06/11/2004

London

European Social Forum

European Social Forum

Main driver; delivering leaflets and food to 3 different occupied buildings during ESF. 1,000-1,200 were housed in these buildings.

Wombles

unlikely, he used his own vehicle.

anon

MK mainly used his own vehicle, a white Toyota pick up for missions.

Spring/Summer ( 2004 )

Germany, London, Brighton, Nottingham

Picked up Zapatista coffee from Hamburg Germany and transported it to social centre in North London

Ex-Grand Banks Social Centre/Wombles

Van driver

Ex-Grand Banks Social Centre/Wombles/ Cafe Rebelda ( Hamburg ) / Sumac

Spring (2004)

Ireland

Grassroots Gathering promoting G8 Scotland

Dissent!

Driver of roadshow, bingo caller

G8 Scotland

Workers Solidarity Movement, Rossport Solidarity Campaign, Shell to Sea.

Travelled extensively with Trapese collective, useful way to gain contacts and trust networking across UK and beyond.

http://www.indymedia.ie/article/97967

Was the only person at that time to have high-tech equipment such as a laptop with wi-fi connection, he always allowed people to use to check emails and research stuff.

01/05/04

Ireland, Dublin

EU summit

Supported a black bloc of over 100 people. Was on the front row of the bloc which pushed through police lines

MK part of affinity group who secured a squat to act as housing. The squat was raided. Attacking police. Supplied defensive equipment. 3 people from London, UK were arrested during the raid.

Police and government

WSM / Wombles

People serve prison sentences relating to material delivered by him from UK. Some people were in jail for a week, others were made to stay in Ireland to answer bail for 6 months until their court case.

http://www.indymedia.ie/article/97967

anon

yes

One of those taking part in the protest recalls being astonished by Kennedy's action on the day. "I saw him taking off his balaclava as he was coming out of the crowd. I was amazed that someone would stand close to police lines and take his mask off.” Unconfirmed but suspected that police had intelligence on the activities of some anti-capitalist activists who had travelled across the Irish Sea from Britain. A unit from the garda's Pearse Street station smashed its way into a flat on Leeson Street in Dublin occupied by English anarchists and arrested several people. MK had a newspaper cutting in a frame on his boat which showed line of masked up people at Dublin Mayday 2004 and he was one of them. He also had this up on the wall in his house for many years.

2004

Ireland, Dromoland Castle

Anti-George Bush protest

Participant

WSM

http://www.indymedia.ie/article/97967

anon

Ireland 2004-2006

Trainer for anarchist groups

MK made at least two other visits to Ireland over the next two years. These included acting as a trainer on a programme for anarchist activists later in 2004 on civil disobedience.