Irish police confirmed Friday that three people have been detained near Shannon Airport in western Ireland when they were trying to stage a protest against the visit of US President George W. Bush.

Those being held, two men and a woman, were arrested in a boat on the River Shannon estuary near the airport, where Bush's plane was due to touch down at 1915GMT on Friday for a two-day summit between US and EU leaders. a spokesman for the police told reporters.

Local reports quoted a Naval Service spokesman as reporting that the three protesters "were in the estuary within the exclusion zone around Shannon airport." Their boat was towed to the village of Foynes on the south shore of the estuary and the three people were being questioned by the police.

ANTI-WAR IRELAND condemned the arrest of one of its spokespersons and two other anti-war activists

" Anti-War Ireland condemns in the strongest possible terms today's arrest of Edward Horgan and other anti-war activists while they were engaged in 'an entirely lawful and peaceful anti-Bush protest on the River Shannon'.

Mr Horgan, a retired Irish Army Commandant ( Major ) who served many times with the UN, is a long-time opponent of the misuse of Shannon airport by the US military. He is also a spokesperson for Anti-War Ireland, the group organising this evening's anti-war march in Shannon.

According to Dr Fintan Lane, convenor of Anti-War Ireland, 'These arrests are an utter disgrace and demonstrate the extent to which the Irish Government is in bed with the Bush administration. Mr Horgan and his fellow peace activists were engaged in an entirely lawful protest against the presence of George W. Bush in Ireland, and there can be no justification for their detention.'

'The involvement of the US security services in these arrests is particularly sinister.'

He concluded: 'We demand the immediate release of these anti-war activists, and we are asking the Garda to explain their heavy-handed behaviour. This is about the civil liberties of everybody in this country. Do we have the right to engage in peaceful protest or not?'

- Xinhaunet News Service contributed to this report.