éirígí Activists Among Four Injured By Shell Thugs in Mayo

éirígí Chairperson Brian Leeson has condemned the thuggish behaviour of Shell security personnel and Gardai who injured a number of anti-Shell activists in Mayo earlier today.  At least four protesters required medical attention for their injuries, whilst a number of other people suffered cuts and bruises.

One of the injured, éirígí’s Joe Keegan, required stitches to a head wound following an attack by a number of IRMS personnel (IRMS are the private security firm employed by Shell in Mayo).  Joe had gone to the aid of a female activist who was being manhandled by IRMS boss Jim Farrell.  Another activist, Gary Ronaghan, required stitches to his mouth after he was struck by a large piece of steel fencing which was pushed at him by IRMS staff.

Leeson said, “Today we have seen yet another example of violence from the Gardai and Shell’s hired thugs.  Those who are opposed to Shell’s operations in Mayo have a fundamental right to protest without fear of assault.  For years that right has been deliberately and systematically suppressed by the Gardai, a fact which they haven’t even tried to hide. Superintendent Joe Gannon has publicly declared that there is a ‘no arrest’ policy in relation to the Shell protests.  Instead of arresting people the state are using brute force to facilitate Shell’s robbery of the Corrib gas reserve.”

Leeson continued, “The oil and gas that lies off Ireland’s coast has the potential to secure Ireland’s energy needs for decades to come and to address many of the financial challenges we now face.  Corrib and the other oil and gas reserves belong to the people of Ireland, not to a handful of politicians in Leinster House.  They don’t have the right to give away that which is not theirs in the first place.  Those who took part in the protests and direct actions in Mayo today are acting in the interests of the people of this country.  For that they are to be applauded.”

Leeson concluded by re-committing éirígí to the battle for Corrib: 

“Through corruption, manipulation, bribery and brute force Shell have succeeded in tapping the Corrib reserve, in building their refinery in Ballinaboy and in laying their offshore pipeline.  But they have not  succeeded in laying the onshore section of that pipeline and without it they cannot extract the gas.  We in éirígí are committed to fighting the laying of every inch of that pipeline.  To fail to do so is to surrender countless billions of euro’s to Shell and the other private energy companies.”  

 

 

Shell to Sea Spokesperson Terence Conway also condemned the assaults on peaceful protesters.

He said:  "The injuries inflicted today indicate an expectation of impunity on the part of those assaulting Shell to Sea campaigners. It is clear that individual Garda and private security personnel feel confident that serious assaults on campaigners will not lead to them being prosecuted. The level of violence we have seen today against Shell to Sea campaigners engaged in civil disobedience is confirmation of how little has changed in the policing of the Corrib project."

"The Pipe" showing in the Model Cinema Sligo Tonight (Jan 21)

Risteard O Domhnaill's film "The Pipe" about the conflict over Shell's plans to construct a highly dangerous pipeline carrying raw gas through a small community in north Mayo returns to Sligo due to popular demand.

 

This follows a number of successful screenings before Christmas.  The one-off showing commences tonight (Jan 21) at 7PM in the Model Cinema, the Mall, Sligo.

 

 

For ticket information click here

For more information on the film and its background click here

Sligo - Rossport Solidarity Function

éirígí challenge “gas campaigners” over refusal to support nationalisation

A delegation from a local campaign group seeking to have the gas network extended to Sligo and the north-west met with the Junior Minister for Communications, Energy and Natural Resources Conor Lenihan on Wednesday (May 19). Amongst those taking part in the delegation was Sligo/North Leitrim's three TD's, Fianna Fáil's Jimmy Devins and Eamonn Scanlon as well as Fine Gael's John Perry.

Also participating on the delegation were Fianna Fáil Senators Marc MacSharry and Geraldine Feeney, Labour party Mayor of Sligo Jim McGarry, Hugh McConville of Sligo Council of Trade Unions, as well as representatives from Sligo Chamber and Sligo Fair Dealers.


This meeting was originally due to take place four weeks ago but had to be postponed and re-arranged due to Lenihan's unavailability. In recent weeks, another delegation which included Senator Marc MacSharry and Deputy Eamonn Scanlon, met with the CEO of Bord Gais John Mullins on this very same issue.

Deputy Devins, who has repeatedly called for the Corrib gas to be piped to Sligo because of its close proximity, described the meeting as "positive". This is despite the fact that it was re-iterated to the deputation that a government subvention of €39 million was needed before the gas network could be considered to be extended to Sligo and that the government remained unwilling to fund such a venture. Devins said they would now seek a meeting with the gas regulator to press their case further.

The role of Jimmy Devins in recent months in organising delegations to meet with Ministers and with Bord Gais on the issue of the Corrib gas and bringing it to Sligo cannot have been missed by anyone who has been following these events. His enthusiasm and dedication to this campaign has not gone unnoticed. For those who think this is commendable, think again.

As éirígí have repeatedly pointed out, under the current arrangements, the only people who will benefit from the Corrib gas, will be Shell and their shareholders. So for those who believe Devins zeal to secure a new market for the Corrib gas in Sligo is just the public spirited and altruistic actions of a public representative keen to serve his electorate, nothing could be further from the truth.


According to the Leinster House Register of Interests published earlier this year, Devins is a shareholder in Standard Life. This is a company that holds over 46 million shares in Shell oil, who have been given the rights to the Corrib gas off the Mayo coast by Fianna Fáil and is one of its biggest shareholders.


So Devins and fellow shareholders, which includes other party colleagues and TD's in Leinster House, unlike the rest of the Irish people, will benefit financially from the Corrib gas being brought ashore, sold under current arrangements and brought to Sligo. It is in his financial interest to oppose any talk of nationalising the Corrib gas and all our natural resources.

It explains quite clearly his support for Shell to get their pipeline built in north Mayo. It also explains his enthusiasm to press the government for almost €40 million of tax payers money to be spent on a project that will benefit his bank balance and that of his fellow shareholders - not the people of Sligo, the north-west or the island as a whole.

However, his enthusiasm does have limits. It does not, for example, extend to preventing his party from imposing savage cutbacks at Sligo General Hospital, with cuts of €12 million to this years budget confirmed by the HSE. This comes on top of cutbacks in recent years which have decimated services at the hospital. More than 70 beds have been removed, wards have closed, waiting lists have increased for essential procedures like colonoscopies, cancer services were removed to Galway and front-line staff numbers have been reduced to what many believe are unsustainable and unsafe levels.

Perhaps the fact that reversing those cutbacks at Sligo General will not benefit Deputy Devins financially, and will only benfefit working people in need of decent health care, explains Devins' lack of enthusiasm for campaigning on this particular issue.

If he was genuinely interested in bringing the gas to Sligo in order to benefit everyone, as éirígí and others are, then he would be wholeheartedly supporting the nationalisation of ALL our natural resources and packing Shell out of Ireland with their tail between their legs. The fact that he has consistently refused to even discuss the issue tells its own story.

Following the meeting on Wednesday éirígí Sligeach activist Gerry Casey challenged those involved in the deputation to explain why they refuse to publicly support the nationalisation of our natural resources despite being repeatedly asked to do so.

Casey said: “If these campaigners who met Lenihan today are serious about bringing natural gas to the north-west, then they need to publicly support the campaign to take back our natural resources. éirígí have already publicly and through correspondence requested that those who met with Lenihan, and previously met with Bord Gais CEO John Mullins, to publicly call for the nationalisation of our oil and gas. To date, they have refused to do so. They have also refused to explain why.”

He added: “Those on the delegation have been told that to extend the gas network to Sligo would require a once off subvention from the Dublin Government of €39 million, which to date has been ruled out. However, the simple solution is to nationalise these valuable resources, extract them safely and use that vast wealth to benefit all the people on this island, not just the shareholders of multi-national oil and gas companies.”

“Under the sea off our shores, lies hundreds of thousands of euros worth of oil and gas that rightfully belongs to the Irish people. By nationalising these resources, the vast wealth generated would make the cost of extending the network to Sligo and other parts of this island a non-issue. At the present time, lack of finance is the excuse. Nationalisation takes away that excuse.”

Casey concluded: “Once again, éirígí are challenging those delegation members to publicly justify their reasons for refusing to support such a simple and just demand that would benefit all the people of this island and not just the shareholders of oil and gas companies. At a time when savage cutbacks in income and essential public services are being imposed, if they are content with this giveaway to multinationals of hundreds of billions of euros that could instead be used to create economic prosperity for all then, let them explain to the public why that is so.”

Freedom for Pat O’Donnell

Freedom for Pat O’Donnell

éirígí chairperson Brian Leeson has called on people to come out in support of the Dublin Shell to Sea protest at Shell HQ on Friday [May 21].

The protest, which will commence at 5pm, has been called to mark Erris fisherman and prominent Shell to Sea activist Pat O’Donnell’s 100th day in prison.

Leeson said: “The imprisonment of Pat O’Donnell at the behest of Shell is a travesty of justice and a clear demonstration of the corrupt nature of the Twenty-Six County state. The rights of citizens are being subordinated to the interests of the profits of multinational corporations.

“Pat O’Donnell’s only ‘crime’ was to stand up for the rights of his community and to demand they be allowed to live in peace and safety. The imposition of Shell’s experimental high pressure gas pipeline project in Erris has been bravely resisted by that community for over a decade. For refusing to bend the knee to private profit, they have been vilified, criminalised, beaten off the streets and many activists, including Pat, have been imprisoned on trumped up charges.

“People like Pat have been an inspiration to all of us who strive for a society that puts the rights of its people before private profit.”

Leeson continued: “In a week when protestors against NAMA and the bank bailout, including éirígí activists, have faced the full brunt of state brutality, it is important that support and solidarity is demonstrated to those who have faced similar treatment from the forces of the state.

“The Shell to Sea campaign and the events of recent weeks have highlighted the fact that the state will attempt to stamp out all resistance to its defence of private profit. The Gardaí, despite the weasel words of their senior representatives at the recent GRA conference, have made it clear time and again that they are simply a force that will, at all times, defend private interests. History however, has demonstrated that the will of a risen people is not easily extinguished. The people of Erris and the Shell to Sea campaign have shown that determined and organised resistance can halt the onward march of private capital.”

Contrasting the treatment of campaigners like O’Donnell and Fianna Fáil’s banker and developer friends, Leeson said: “Over the last 12 months, despite ample evidence of endemic corruption; not one banker, developer or speculator has faced the courts. Indeed, many of these people have been rewarded for their corruption and avarice. This is not all that surprising given that Fianna Fáil, has, for decades, been bankrolled by developers, speculators and bankers.

While former Anglo Irish Bank boss Seán Fitzpatrick is free to jet around the world on sunshine holidays and former boss of National Irish Bank Michael Fingleton is given a €1 million pension pay off, honourable men like Pat O’Donnell languish in prison cells. Meanwhile, the giveaway of Irish natural resources to multinational oil corporations continues at the same time as the state is implementing savage cuts in public services: cuts that are driving down the living standards of workers and creating real hardship in working class communities across the state.

Leeson concluded: “It is becoming increasingly clear that, unless people get out on the streets and stay on the streets, this state will continue to trample on the rights of citizens. Pat O’Donnell is one of the people who have refused to bend the knee, justice needs to be served and he should be released from prison immediately. éirígí is calling on people to show their support for him on Friday.”

The Dublin Shell to Sea protest takes place on Friday, May 21 at 5pm at the Shell HQ on Lower Leeson Street, Dublin 2. For further information, check www.dublinshelltosea.com

The Reality of Shell law in Mayo

At the end of last month, in four days of special sittings at Belmullet court in County Mayo, twenty seven Shell to Sea campaigners faced charges relating to protests against Shell's planned pipeline in Erris last year. Amongst those facing charges were seven activists who were initially denied legal aid and bail by Judge Mary Devins despite being charged with minor public order offences.

Of these cases 25 out of 27 were dismissed or had the charges withdrawn. This followed the judgement by Judge Gerard Haughton who ruled in the case of Eoin Lawless, that he had been illegally detained by Gardai.

While the Gardai would have hoped to secure convictions against these activists and even secure prison sentences for some of them, in many of the cases they knew the charges would never stand up to scrutiny. However, at the time of the initial arrests last summer, their main aim was to disrupt and bring an end to the ongoing and effective protests that were taking place.

They believed these arrests in particular would cause a major disruption of the campaign to stop Shell as these activists had special sea skills including experience of using Kayaks for protests at sea. These skills made them extremely valuable assets for the campaign as the Solitaire pipe-laying ship attempted to carry out its work in Broadhaven Bay last summer. Likewise, these very skills made them targets for special attention by Shell and the Gardai who decided they needed to take these activists out of circulation and prevent them from continuing their invaluable protest activities.

Laying charges, bogus as they were, against these activists also suited the agenda of Shell and the Gardai as they attempted to portray these campaigners in the media (a largely compliant media it must be added) and, indeed the entire community opposed to Shell, as criminals.

These Garda tactics are not new however. Regularly, peaceful protests have been disrupted by the arrests of demonstrators, who subsequently are released without charge or charged with minor public order offences. We have seen the arrest and jailing of Maura Harrington and other key activists at times which the Gardai and Shell viewed as crucial times in their project.

Indeed, local fisherman and prominent Shell to Sea campaigner Pat O'Donnell is currently serving a seven month sentence in Castlerea prison. His alleged 'crimes' were public order offences. His real 'crimes' was his ongoing defiance in the face of a concerted campaign of intimidation against himself and others opposed to Shell's pipeline and the give-away of our natural resources. Removing Pat O'Donnell from Broadhaven bay and placing him in prison was once again viewed by all the various arms of the state as essential to protect their interests and the interests of Shell at this time.

The Gardai have shown themselves over and over to be nothing more than Shell's police force, enforcing Shell's law, in north Mayo. They have deliberately broken their own laws, in order to assist Shell in their activities. They have continually attempted to intimidate, bully and assault demonstrators and to suppress all forms of peaceful, legitimate protest by the local community in Erris.

The reality is that the 26 county state has abandoned its own citizens in north Mayo and has colluded at every level, political, policing and judicial, in denying them their basic civil and human rights. All of the empty rhetoric about citizens rights is cast aside once the state believes that the status quo and the interests, financial and ideological, of the wealthy elite are somehow threatened.

The reality is that, contrary to what they and their political masters claim, the Gardai and the judiciary are not there to protect the interests of the citizens of this country. Their job is to protect the interest of this state and the wealthy political and business elite who control it, which is a completely different thing from the interests of its citizens.

Countless campaigners have been harassed, assaulted and arbitarily arrested. Some have been released without charge, others charged unjustly with bogus offences and even jailed. Some have had their fishing boats impounded by Gardai. Pat O'Donnell even had his boat boarded by armed and masked thugs who proceeded to sink his boat, with Pat and his crew being left to fend for themselves and had to be rescued from the sea. Yet not one member of the Gardai or of Shell's private security company, Irish Risk Management Services (IRMS) have faced charges for their crimes and illegal activities.

Shell, a multi-national corporation with an appalling environmental and human rights record worldwide, have regularly broken the laws of this state. They have illegally entered private property. They have broken planning and environmental laws. Their security staff have assaulted protesters. Yet Shell have faced no sanction and have been assisted in breaking the law at every turn by all arms of the state.

There is no justification for piping highly dangerous raw untreated gas ashore to an inland refinery through a populated area that would be incinerated in the event of an accident. Best International practice is that this gas be refined as sea and made safe before been brought ashore.

This appalling threat to the lives of an entire community is being imposed solely in order to decrease Shell's costs and maximise profits for their shareholders and companies who hold shares in Shell, a company that even with the economic downturn worldwide made profits in 2009 of almost $10 billion.

Amongst those with a financial stake in Shell are a number of TD's in Leinster House, including Sligo/north Leitrim TD Jimmy Devins, whose wife Judge Mary Devins has shown publicly a naked hostility towards the Shell to Sea Campaign and who has played a central role in Shell's efforts in attempting to demonise and criminalise campaigners and to take key activists such as Maura Harrington off the streets at crucial times.

However, also at stake here is another major issue that is vital to the future of this country and future generations. That is the shameful giveaway of these valuable natural resources to private multi-national companies such as Shell, with no benefit forthcoming for the people of this island. There are hundreds of thousands of euro's worth of gas and oil lying under the sea bed off our coast that, instead of being used to make profits for Shell, could be used to tackle the current economic recession which has resulted in mass unemployment and ever increasing levels of poverty.

The wealth resulting from these oil and gas finds could be used to create jobs, to create efficient public services such as health and education, to reverse the savage cutbacks in pay and social welfare, to end the scandal of poverty in modern Ireland and to ensure a brighter and more equitable future for our children and grand-children.

The Fianna Fáil led administration in Leinster House say there is no alternative to their current economic strategy of pumping tens of billions of euro's into bailing out the banks, cutting essential public services and cutting social welfare and workers pay. That is a blatant lie.

There is a clear alternative and it is one that does not require the targetting of the weak and vulnerable in our society. They have the power to take back into public ownership the Corrib gas and all of our other natural resources. All that is lacking is the political will to do so.

So if they are unwilling to do so, in the weeks and months ahead, we must all intensify our efforts to ensure that Shell do not get to complete their pipeline. We must all intensify our efforts to ensure that this gas and oil is nationalised and utilised for the benefit of all the people on this island and refined at sea where it is of no threat to the local community in Erris or elsewhere.

Shell and their corrupt political allies in Leinster House must be defeated. The ramifications of who wins this struggle will be felt way beyond the Erris peninsula. This is a battle we must win, not just for the people of Erris, but for the future of our entire island and future generations. We owe it to them. Let us now make sure we dont disappoint them.

Large crowd protest for Pat O'Donnell at Castlerea prison

Sligo éirígí activist Gerry Casey has called for the immediate release from prison of jailed fisherman and Shell to Sea campaigner Pat “the Chief” O Donnell. He has also called for the immediate scrapping of Shell's planned pipeline in north Mayo, the nationalisation of the Corrib gas and the refining of that gas at sea.

He was speaking following a national demonstration held outside Castlerea prison on Saturday in support of Pat O'Donnell. Among the large attendance were éirígí activists from around the country.

The demonstration commenced at the entrance to the prison where activists and supporters had gethered. Following some traditional music played by friends and neighbours of Pat's from Erris, including Vincent McGrath of the Rossport five, and a short address by Shell to Sea campaigner Maura Harrington, those assembled marched up to the prison gates.

At the gates of the jail, Maura once again addressed the crowd calling for the release of Pat O'Donnell and an end to the giveaway of our natural resources. The large crowd also displayed banners and placards and chanted slogans calling for Pat's release before marching back down the road to the entrance of the prison once more.

Sligo éirígí activist Gerry Casey, who took part in the demonstration, said: "The jailing of O’Donnell is yet another attempt to criminalise an entire community in north Mayo and all those willing to stand up to the might of Shell Oil. Other prominent Shell to Sea campaigners, such as Maura Harrington, have been regularly intimidated, beaten, dragged before the courts on bogus charges and jailed as the state bends over backwards to do Shell's bidding.”

He added: “O'Donnell should never have been jailed in the first place and must be released immediately. His continued imprisonment is a gross miscarraige of justice.”

“The recent ruling from An Bord Pleanala has vindicated Pat and those other campaigners who all along claimed that this pipeline was unsafe and a major threat to the community in the Rossport area. This pipeline must be stopped immediately, the Corrib gas must be nationalised and the gas refined at sea, in line with international best practice. That is the only viable solution to this dispute.”

“This Fianna Fáil led coalition has already overseen mass unemployment and widespread cutbacks in social welfare, child benefit, pay and in our health and education services. Yet they are giving away billions of euros worth of natural resources, massive wealth which could be utilised to generate employment, eradicate poverty, create efficient health and education services accessible to all and increase living standards for workers.”

He concluded: “These resources must now be taken under public control. They must be used to create a better, fairer society instead of creating profits for Shell and those such as Sligo/North Leitrim Fianna Fáil TD Jimmy Devins who hold shares in companies with a major stake in Shell.”

For more photographs from Saturday's demonstration click here

National Demo tomorrow (March 27) for Pat O'Donnell at Castlerea Prison

Tomorrow (Saturday March 27) will be Pat O'Donnell's 46th day behind bars in Castlerea Prison. Pat, a prominent Shell to Sea campaigner and fisherman from north Mayo, was convicted of public order offences relating to a cavalcade in support of fellow campaigner Maura Harrington who was on hunger-strike at the time. He received a seven month jail term for his supposed offence.

A national demonstration, organised by the Shell to Sea campaign group demanding justice and the immediate release of O'Donnell, is to be held tomorrow (Saturday March 27 ) outside Castlerea Prison, County Roscommon.

éirígí Sligeach activist Gerry Casey has once again stressed the urgency and importance of people attending this show of solidarity with Pat O'Donnell and to demand his release. Speaking in advance of tomorrow's demonstration, Casey said that there were also other fundamental issues surrounding Shell's planned pipeline and the policing of it that need to be exposed.

He said: "Pat O'Donnell is in jail as a result of the unjust and corrupt political system that operates in this country. It is a system that has one law for the wealthy and powerful, another law for everyone else."


"As a result of Pat's determination to resist Shell's planned pipeline in north Mayo and to stand up to the illegal bully-boy tactics of Shell's security and Shell's police force, the Gardai, he was viewed as a threat to the status quo and the state itself."

"Pat O'Donnell's jailing is wrong. What Shell are trying to impose on the people of north Mayo is wrong. The giveaway by the political establishment of hundreds of billions of euro worth of oil and gas to Shell is wrong."

He concluded: "By attending this demonstration tomorrow, you can send a strong message to the political elite in Leinster house that Pat O'Donnell must be freed, that Shell's pipeline must be stopped and that all our natural resources must be nationalised and utilised for the benefit of all the people on this island and not just for Shell's shareholders."

Echoing the calls for a large turn-out at tomorrow's protest, éirígí Tir Chonaill spokesperson Micheál Colm Mac Giolla Easbuig says that Mr O'Donnell should be released from jail immediately and that the Twenty-Six County justice system should not be used to do the dirty work of multi-national fuel company Shell.


Mac Giolla Easbuig said, “Pat O'Donnell is now in the second month of a seven month jail sentence on trumped up public order offences. This is solely because he has taken a public stand against Shell who are forcing a pipeline, carrying high pressure raw gas, through Broadhaven Bay and ashore against the wishes of the majority of the residents of the area. This man has been vilified in the press and his life and that of his family turned upside down for the simple reason that he steadfastly refuses to let Shell run roughshod over the community in which he lives and has refused to be bought off by Shell.”


He added: “He and his son have been arbitarily arrested while fishing with no charges arising and Shell boats have torn his fishing gear from their moorings. He had his livelihood taken from him when a group of masked men boarded his fishing boat and held him and his crew at gunpoint in the wheelhouse, while some of the gang went into the engine room and scuttled his boat. Pat and his crew had to be rescued from a liferaft as his vessel sank. At demonstrations against Shell's actions Mr O'Donnell has been violently assaulted by Gardai leaving him with facial injuries and broken teeth."


"We are currently in the midst of an unprecedented economic crisis in this country and the state should not be complicit in the giving away of hundreds of billions of euros worth of oil and gas to private business interests. Rather it should be used by the state for the people of this island and refined at sea in a safe and environmentally friendly manner in line with best international practices."

He concluded: “We in éirígí are reminding people and once again calling for as many people as possible to attend this national protest outside Castlerea Prison at 3.30pm tomorrow, to demand the immediate release of Mr O'Donnell and to secure justice for him and the people he represents. The hope is that this protest will send a message, not only of support to Mr O'Donnell, but a message to Shell and the Twenty-Six County government that the Irish people will not be walked on for the interests of foreign multi-national companies and their shareholders."

Anyone wishing to travel to the protest from Donegal can contact éirígí Tír Chonaill on 086 8845476

Anyone wishing to travel to the protest from Sligo can contact éirígí Sligeach on 087 1501952

éirígí urge support for Castlerea demo in support of Pat O'Donnell

éirígí have re-iterated calls for the release of jailed fisherman and prominent Shell to Sea campaigner Pat “the Chief” O Donnell. They have also urged people from throughout the north-west to attend a national demonstration, organised the Shell to Sea campaign, outside Castlerea prison in County Roscommon on Saturday next March 27 at 3.30pm in support of O'Donnell.

On February 11, Pat O’Donnell received a seven month prison sentence at Castlebar Circuit Court. relating to two separate incidents that occurred in September 2008. These incidents occurred during a cavalcade organised in support of another prominent Shell to Sea campaigner Mayo woman Maura Harrington, who was on hunger-strike at the time.

Sligo éirígí activist Gerry Casey said: “As Pat O Donnell enters his second month unjustly imprisoned at the behest of Shell, éirígí want to re-iterate our demand for his immediate release. We also pledge our ongoing support for the community of Rossport and surrounding areas in their struggle against the oil giants Shell, a multi-national company with an appalling human rights and environmental record worldwide.”

He added: “Pat's real crimes are not the politically motivated offences for which he was convicted. His real 'crime' is his continued defiance in the face of a concerted campaign of intimidation against himself and other opponents of Shell's planned pipeline by the so-called forces of law and order in this state on Shell's behalf. Many have been jailed and have suffered assault as a result of their opposition to this pipeline. Indeed, Pat has been assaulted on numerous occasions, has been repeatedly harrassed and arrested by Gardai and has his fishing boat sank by armed and masked thugs.”

“Pat O Donnell, and others like the Rossport five and Maura Harrington who have also suffered such intimidation and imprisonment at Shell's behest, are be commended for their resilience. Their selfless sacrifice, their willingness to endure hardship for the safety of their community and the common good and their unwillingness to be intimidated or bought off with bribes is an inspiration. It stands in stark contrast to those politicians and sections of the media who sought to demonise and criminalise honourable people such as Pat and others opposed to the giveaway of our natural resources to Shell and their construction of an unneccessary and unsafe pipeline carrying raw unrefined gas through their community.”

He concluded: “The bottom line is that Shell has no right to extract this gas. It belongs to the Irish people and must be nationalised and used for their benefit, not to boost Shell's profits. Pat O Donnell should be released immediately. éirígí would urge people to take part in Saturday's national demonstration outside Castlerea prison to lend their support to the demand for his release and to support the campaign to stop Shell's pipeline and to take back our natural resources."

éirígí slam Devins hypocrisy over Corrib gas controversy

Sligo éirígí activist Gerry Casey has accused local Fianna Fáil Deputy Jimmy Devins of hypocrisy following recent comments in which he called for the extension of the Corrib Gas Field to Sligo and the north-west.

Casey said: “According to Devins, ways of extending the Corrib gas field for the benefit of the north-west need to be explored. Yet this a deputy who has steadfastly supported the shameful give-away of these valuable natural resources worth hundreds of billions of euro to create profits for the shareholders of multi-national companies such as Shell.”

He added: “Contrary to the suggestion by Devins that extending the Corrib gas to Sligo and the north-west would somehow benefit the region, the reality is that under the current circumstances where Shell own and control the gas, the only people who will benefit from this will be the shareholders in Shell.”

“While he has been extremely reluctant to publicly say so, amongst those set to benefit financially will be Deputy Devins himself. According to the Leinster house Register of Interests, Devins is a shareholder with Standard Life, a company which owns over 46 million shares in Shell and is one of their biggest shareholders.”

“If Devins was genuine in seeking the people of the north-west and the people of this island in general to benefit from the Corrib gas field, then the only way to do that is to support ending Shell's involvement in exploiting our natural resources and their proposed pipeline through north Mayo. If he has the interests of the north-west at heart then he will support the nationalisation of the Corrib gas field and other similar fields, to support the refining of the gas at sea and and to use the vast revenue obtained to create effective and efficient public services, to eradicate poverty and to increase living standards for workers.”

Casey concluded: “If he fails to support such demands, then his comments about this gas being of “benefit” to the north west will be seen for the gross hypocrisy that it is. The only ones to benefit if the state and Shell get their way will be himself and the other shareholders in Shell or companies that hold shares in Shell at the expense of the people of this island.”

The courts do Shell’s dirty work: Release Pat O’Donnell

éirígí chairperson Brian Leeson has condemned the jailing of a prominent Mayo Shell to Sea campaigner and vowed that the party would continue to support the Rossport community in its fight against the notorious oil giant.

On February 11, local fisherman Pat ‘The Chief’ O’Donnell received a seven month prison sentence at Castlebar Circuit Court. The sentence relates to two separate incidents in September 2008 during the course of a cavalcade that was organised in support of Mayo woman Maura Harrington, who was on hunger-strike at the time.

Local Gardaí, who had followed the cavalcade as part of an ongoing campaign of harassment against local activists, alleged that Pat O’Donnell and a number of others engaged in threatening and abusive behaviour and a breach of the peace. Despite using video surveillance to monitor the cavalcade, the Gardaí could produce no evidence to back up their claims, nor was there any damage to the Garda car that O’Donnell and others were alleged to have attacked.

Astonishingly, the Gardaí in question claimed that they were in fear for their lives and compared the incident to the 1988 funeral of IRA volunteer Caoimhghín Mac Brádaigh in Belfast, which was attacked by two undercover British soldiers. Local Garda Aidan Gill blubbered in court: “They were abusive and shouting ‘get out you bastards’ and were banging on the car. It was a terrifying, frightening experience which lasted for about five minutes but it felt like an eternity.”

Notwithstanding their apparent terror, the Gardaí were still able to single out Pat O’Donnell from a crowd of over 60 people.

The jailing of O’Donnell follows a, by now, all too familiar pattern in which the Twenty-Six County state has sought to criminalise those willing to stand up to the corporate might of Shell Oil. Other prominent Shell to Sea campaigners, such as Maura Harrington, have been regularly harassed, beaten and hauled before the courts on spurious charges as the state does all in its power to facilitate Shell.

Harrington was brought before the courts again this week and given a one-year driving ban. While the state deems it a crime to defend your community and to highlight the fact that €420 billion [£365 billion] worth of oil and gas has been given away to private companies, the bankers and developers who brought the economy to its knees are free to roam the streets waiting for their next opportunity to mug the Irish people.

Paying tribute to Pat O’Donnell, éirígí chairperson Brian Leeson said: “Pat O’Donnell has been a stalwart defender of his community’s right to live in safety. He has paid a heavy price for his refusal to be bought off by Shell. Last June, masked men held Pat and his crew man Martin McDonnell at gunpoint and sank his boat and now he is facing a seven month prison sentence on trumped up charges. It is people like Pat who continue to provide an inspiration to those of us campaigning for people and communities to be put before private profit.”

Leeson continued: “The stance taken by the community in Rossport was vindicated last December when An Bord Pleanála ruled that the proposed route of Shell’s high pressure gas pipeline risked the lives of those living in close proximity to it. Yet those who fought this battle and brought the issue to national and international prominence are the ones to be imprisoned. Pat should be released from prison immediately and Shell’s project in Mayo abandoned once and for all. The community in Rossport have a right to live in peace and safety and the people of Ireland and not Shell have the right to benefit from the country’s oil and gas resources.”

---

Please write letters of support to Pat O’Donnell, c/o Castlereagh Prison, County Roscommon.