Of these cases 25 out of 27 were dismissed or had the charges withdrawn.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.
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.
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.”
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."
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.”
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.
Leeson said: "The sentences that Maura Harrington and Niall Harnett today received are part of an ongoing attempt by the Twenty-Six County state to intimidate the Shell the Sea campaign and the residents of north-west Mayo. These attempts will ultimately prove futile."
"Earlier this month, the Dublin government released a report which recommended sweeping cuts in public services and social care. Today, the same government jailed two people for daring to make the reasonable point that the natural gas off the west coast could be exploited to fund the public purse. Clearly, Fianna Fáil cares more about Shell Oil than it does about Irish citizens."
