The protester who took to the track and disrupted yesterday's Formula One British Grand Prix at Silverstone is believed to be an Irish priest, Father Neil Horan, originally from Scartaglen, Co Kerry, but now living and working in London.
The incident took place on lap 12 of the race as the leading cars were turning on to the Hangar Straight section of the Silverstone track.
The protester scaled crowd-control barriers and took to the middle of the track as the Formula One cars accelerated up to the 185 m.p.h. that is the top speed achievable on the straight.
Dressed in an orange kilt, with a Star of David pinned to the front, a green shirt and brandishing a banner reading "Read the Bible, the Bible is always right", the man caused cars to swerve wildly as they swept down the straight.
The protest immediately forced race organisers to deploy a safety car to guide competitors at a reduced speed. The protester was wrestled to the ground by trackside marshals before being arrested by Northamptonshire police "in connection with an offence of aggravated trespass". The police did not identify the man, beyond saying he was 56 years old.
Father Horan, who is based in Clapham, London, was ordained at St Peter's in Wexford in 1973. In recent weeks he has been issuing appeals to the media to highlight events in the Middle East which, he believes, form part of a Bible prophecy foreshadowing the end of the world in the "Armageddon of a third World War". To highlight his beliefs, Father Horan dances in public places wearing what he describes as "Irish national costume" as part of a "dance for peace".
"Over the next few weeks," reads Father Horan's statement, "I will, God willing, be parading in front of media buildings, in different parts of London, as a personal witness to this appeal [for peace in the Middle East]. I will be doing my peace dance to symbolise the wholesome entertainment which will fill the Earth. I am not a prophet, I am only the interpreter of the prophets."
It is the second time in three years that an on-track protest has disrupted a Formula One race. At the German Grand Prix in 2000, a disgruntled former employee of the Mercedes company took to the track to highlight alleged grievances. He was arrested, but not prosecuted. In a strange twist the winner on that occasion, and also yesterday, was Brazilian Ferrari driver, Rubens Barrichello.