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."

James Connolly, Monarchy & Labour Party Hypocrisy

The tweet below was posted by Labour party TD for East Galway Colm Keaveney on the first day of the Windsor visit and was reproduced in the Galway Independent newspaper the following day in its May 18th issue.

Below is the contents of a letter from éirígí Sligeach activist Gerry Casey in response to Keaveney's remarks which was published in yesterday's Galway Independent (May 25th).  Just click on the image below to read the digital edition or click here to read it on the papers website.

The following text is the full content of the response to Deputy Keaveney.

A chara

Please allow me to respond to the Labour TD Colm Keaveney's ill-informed tweet relating to the Windsor visit published in last weeks Galway Independent. In it he describes the socialist republican party éirígí as 'thugs'.

So what merits such a tag in Deputy Keaveney's eyes?

Is it upholding our right to organise a series of protests against the visit of the British head of state, all of which were peaceful despite huge provocation from Gardai? Is it our refusal to be intimidated by persistent Garda actions who, in the run-up and during the visit, intimidated and threatened activists engaged in legal political activity?

Party members erecting posters in Dublin, including myself, were illegally stopped and searched and interrogated by Gardai refusing to show ID or cite what act they were acting under as obliged by law. Despite having permits to poster, these were torn down and the remainder seized by Gardai.

éirígí Dublin City Cllr Louise Minihan had her car searched by up to a dozen Gardai who seized a banner that read 'Fund Communities Not Royal Visits' deeming it to be 'offensive'. Other similar banners and flags were also seized as Gardai tried to prevent peaceful protests taking place. I was grabbed from behind and thrown to the ground by Gardai as I videoed their attempts to prevent people joining a protest at the Spire.

While the Union Jack flew over government buildings, Gardai effectively banned our national flag from Dublin city centre, seizing tri-colours and throwing them in refuse trucks.

As someone who has watched Gardai police anti-Shell protests in north Mayo, this intimidation, illegality and blatant attempts to prevent peaceful protest does not surprise me. But if Deputy Keaveney is concerned about 'thugs' he would be better served taking on those 'thugs' for which his government are responsible i.e the Gardai. Or does Deputy Keaveney think that the right to engage in legal political activity and peaceful protest should only extend to other countries and not here?  Does he believe the thuggery outlined above is acceptable?

Is mise

Gerry Casey

éirígí Sligeach

Labour TD Colm Keaveney

Previously a full-time Trade Union official with SIPTU until his recent election to Leinster House, Keaveney and his colleagues in the Labour party would like us all to believe that they are following in the footsteps of James Connolly and James Larkin.

Speaking at Arbour Hill just two days before he welcomed the first English Monarch to visit the 26 counties in 100 years off her plane, Keaveney's party leader Eamon Gilmore said: 

"It is an occasion to honour the memory of a man who, through his ideals; through his vision; and through his sacrifice; bequeathed to us a living legacy. That legacy is the Labour Party."

Gilmore welcomes Windsor to Dublin

 

He added:

"So as we gather to celebrate the life of James Connolly - the values he stood for, the ideals he fought for - we might also reflect on our own call to duty."  

So what were those values of Connolly's that the Labour party leader wanted to celebrate?  What for instance were Connolly's views on Monarchy and of royal visits to Ireland?

Speaking in the advance of the last 'British royal' visit in 1911 Connolly made his views absolutely crystal clear "that the occasion will be utilised to make propaganda on behalf of royalty and aristocracy against the oncoming forces of democracy and National freedom".

James Connolly

 And in comments that could just as easily be directed now at Gilmore and Keaveney he said:

"Let the capitalist and landlord class flock to exalt him; he is theirs; in him they see embodied the idea of caste and class; they glorify him and exalt his importance that they might familiarise the public mind with the conception of political inequality, knowing well that a people mentally poisoned by the adulation of royalty can never attain to that spirit of self-reliant democracy necessary for the attainment of social freedom."  

Gilmore and the Labour party have portrayed  this visit as one of the greatest moments in Irish history, as they grovelled before the English monarch, the head of what Connolly described as "a survival of the tyranny imposed by the hand of greed and treachery upon the human race in the darkest and most ignorant days of our history."

 

While Connolly along with other socialist republicans was leading the opposition to the last 'royal visit' to Dublin,  Gilmore and the Labour party were shutting down large sections of the city, using their political police to try to prevent protests against this visit.   Cheered on by a largely compliant and unquestioning media, they attempted to demonise and criminalise those who dared take to the streets in opposition to this visit in the same way that Connolly and Markieveicz were treated in 1911 by the British authorities.

Clearly at odds with the current Labour party view of monarchy, Connolly described it as deriving its only sanction "from the sword of the marauder, and the helplessness of the producer, and its gifts to humanity are unknown, save as they can be measured in the pernicious examples of triumphant and shameless iniquities."

So while Gilmore, Keaveney and the rest of the Labour party may wish people to believe that they are following in the footsteps of James Connolly, do they seriously think he would have welcomed the Commander in Chief of the British army to our shores while they continue to occupy part of our country?

They may want us to believe that Connolly would have wined and dined in Dublin Castle rubbing shoulders with the political and capitalist classes that have caused so much suffering to Irish workers  in order to honour  an English monarch, but does anyone with capacity for rational thought seriously believe them?  

Unlike Eamon Gilmore and the Labour party, James Connolly was avowedly opposed to capitalism, to monarchy and to all forms of privilege.  Unlike them, he was a staunch defender of workers rights and of the poor.  Unlike them, he was not a social democrat - he was a socialist and a revolutionary socialist at that.  Unlike them, he was an anti-imperialist opposed to the occupation of any part of Ireland by a foreign government.

In his final statement which was given to his daughter Nora on the eve of his execution, Connolly re-iterated his position on the British occupation in no uncertain terms.

"The British Government has no right in Ireland, never had any right in Ireland, and never can have any right in Ireland" 

JAMES CONNOLLY,
Commandant-General, Dublin Division,
Army of the Irish Republic

May 9th 1916 


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Resistance to Shell Pipeline in Mayo set to Continue

Despite the decision by An Bord Pleanala yesterday (Jan 20) to grant permission to Shell to proceed with laying their onshore pipeline in north Mayo, campaigners against the plan have vowed to step up resistance in the weeks and months ahead.

This latest application by Shell, which follows two previous applications which were rejected on safety grounds, will see them construct a high pressure pipeline to carry raw unrefined gas from the landfall site at Glengad through Pollathomais, Aughoose and Leenamore to their refinery at Bellanaboy. Shell's application for a foreshore licence to construct a tunnel through Sruwaddacon estuary is still awaiting a decision by Green Party Minister John Gormley.

Reacting to the decision, Terence Conway who is a spokesperson for the Shell to Sea campaign group said it came as no surprise since An Bord Pleanala had moved from being adjudicators of this project into co-designers of it. He also flatly rejected their claims that the people of Mayo and Ireland would benefit from this decision.

Mr Conway said: “An Bord Pleanala commented in their report that this decision would benefit the people of Mayo and Ireland. However, the only people to benefit from this decision will be the shareholders of Shell, Statoil and Vermillion. The Government’s own estimates are that there is at least €600 billion worth of oil and gas off Ireland’s coast, but it seems hell-bent on ensuring none of the benefits go the Irish people.”

He added: “An Bord Pleanala recommends that Shell create an €8.5 million community fund. The board still seems to to think our community can be bribed into accepting a project that places us in danger. This bribery fund would also be fully tax deductible for Shell under Ireland’s current oil and gas exploration licensing terms.”

In conclusion Mr Conway pledged a continuance of protests against the plan. "In November 2009” he said “An Bord Pleanala turned from adjudicator into co-designers of this project, so it's no surprise they approved the suggestion they made to Shell. Of course protests will continue and given the current economic situation we see our support growing everyday”

According to the environmental protection group An Taisce, the decision to grant permission was “fundamentally legally flawed”. They said it was totally contrary to EU law and completely ignored the legislative requirements of the EU Habitats, Birds and Environmental Impact Assessment directives.

Also reacting to the decision was éirígí Sligeach activist Gerry Casey who said that the twenty six county governments stubborn insistence on giving away to Shell hundreds of billions of euros worth of natural resources amounted to economic treason.

Casey said: “We are currently in the midst of probably the worst economic crisis ever endured by the Irish people. What passes for government in Leinster House have set about slashing the living standards of working class people. They have cut child benefit, social welfare and wages including the minimum wage, imposed new taxes and levies, increased the cost of fuels including electricity and slashed budgets for public hospitals and schools.”

“The lie repeated by Fianna Fáil and the Greens is that there is no option but to impose savage cutbacks that have resulted in widespread poverty, mass unemployment and the emigration of thousands of our brightest young people, the very people that should be the future of this island.”

He added: “Despite all this, the coalition insist on pressing ahead with giving away to Shell, and other large multinationals, the right to exploit our natural resources. The vast wealth located under the seabed off our shores could help eradicate poverty, make any excuse for cutbacks redundant and would ensure that essential public services such as health and education could receive proper investement enabling the creation of the first class public services that people deserve. It would also enable investment in creating long term sustainable employment, to cut the dole queues and reverse the flow of emigration from our shores.”

“The only people to benefit from this latest decision by An Bord Pleanala to allow this experimental pipeline to proceed, despite the obvious dangers it poses to the environment and the local community, will be the shareholders of Shell. It also condemns the people of the Erris peninsula to continued suffering under the reign of terror imposed on them by Shell and the state for the forseeable future.”

Casey concluded: “This is economic treason and must be resisted at all costs. For our part éirígí will continue to support the people of north Mayo in their struggle to prevent this monstrosity being imposed upon them without their consent. We will also continue to highlight the need to send Shell packing and take back our natural resources, refine the gas at sea and use the wealth produced for the public good and not to line the pockets of the shareholders of multinational companies.”

Unnecessary Health Cuts & the Give-away of our Natural Resources

Opinion piece by éirígí's spokesperson in Donegal Micheál Cholm MacGiolla Easbuig.  This article was carried in yesterdays Tir Chonaill newspaper (Aug 4th 2010)

In recent weeks, the Fianna Fáil/Green party coalition have been flagging up yet further cutbacks they plan to introduce in the upcoming budget. This follows a series of the most savage budget cutbacks imposed since the foundation of the 26 county state.

This administration's policies has decimated the economy, created mass unemployment (22,000 + in Donegal alone), driven thousands of families into poverty, forced tens of thousands of young people to emigrate once more and systematically stripped down our hospitals and health services to crisis point.

Letterkenny General Hospital

Not content to see tens of thousands of people lose their jobs, the government heaped further misery on already struggling familes by slashing their social welfare, cutting child benefit, ending the Chrismas bonus, introducing the carbon Tax and increasing fuel costs. All this has led to a sharp decline in people's living standards and has caused increased poverty.

Institute of Public Health in Ireland research published in 2007 claimed that fuel poverty directly effects people’s health. According to the Report, every year during the winter months, almost 3,000 people die due to preventable, cold-related illness.

Figures from the Central Statistics Office show that, in 2008, more than four per cent of people were living in consistent poverty, with almost 15 per cent at risk of poverty. Almost a third of those living in consistent poverty were children. All those figures will have risen dramatically over the past two years as unemployment soared and wages and welfare were cut.

In recent weeks we have seen HSE proposals to slash services even further at Letterkenny General Hospital and elsewhere throughout the state. Smaller hospitals such as Lifford's community hospital and the Sheil Hospital in Ballyshannon face closure also. Such cuts, if the government get their way, will mean severe reductions in essential services, longer waiting lists, increased workloads for already overburdened front line hospital staff and increased suffering and even deaths for patients who will not get the medical care and assistance they need when they need it.

However, if that was not bad enough, the HSE's political masters are now intent in forcing through even more severe cutbacks in the upcoming budget. They are planning to slash the Health, Education and Social Welfare Budgets by €1.1 billion, €700 million of that from an already underfunded, understaffed and under-resourced health service.

Fianna Fáil say these cuts are necessary but the reality is the opposite. There is no excuse for cutting funding and services for hospitals. It is a deliberate political decision and strategy based on Fianna Fáil's and the now-defunct PD's right wing privatisation ideology.

When it comes to throwing tens of billions of euros to bail out the banks or €8 million to bring the Commander in Chief of the British army Elizabeth Windsor to this state next year Fianna Fáil and the Greens have no problem. Yet ask them to invest in our hospitals and and they tell us the money is not there.

But the money is there, only they believe bailing out banks is more important than our health. This remains a wealthy state, however the wealth is controlled by a small minority. As workers and those on welfare have seen their incomes slashed, the rich in this state have become even richer. Yet the administration in Leinster House refuses to introduce a wealth tax and refuses to nationalise our natural resources which would bring in hundreds of billions of euros that could be used to create a first class health service for all.

Under the seabed off the coast of Mayo, Sligo and Donegal lies oil and gas that rightfully belong to the Irish people. These valuable resources are worth at least €500 billion and in all likelihood far in excess of that. Yet, in one of the most shameful decisions ever made, Fianna Fáil signed away the rights to this vast wealth to private multinational oil giants like Shell, who have an appalling environmental and human rights record around the world.

But it is not too late to do something about this – all that is lacking is the political will. This wealth, could and should be used to reverse the savage welfare and pay cuts and to create jobs and stem the flow of young people emigrating. It should be used to eradicate the shameful blight of poverty that continues to increase. It should be used to, not just reverse the cuts at Letterkenny General Hospital and elsewhere, but to invest in creating efficient health and education services accessible and available to all based on need, as opposed to a person's wealth.

In short, it should be used to create a fairer society, one that cherishes all the children of the nation equally in line with the 1916 proclamation, with a better standard of living for all. So the next time you hear a Fianna Fáil politician telling you how these cuts are unavoidable and how hard decisions have to be made, dont hesitate in telling them that the decisions they need to make are to tax the wealthy, nationalise our natural resources and to fund our hospitals, not the banks. Your health is more important than keeping the wealthy political and business elite living in the luxurious lifestyles they are accustomed to.

Shell to Sea Activist Pat O’Donnell Released From Prison

Large numbers gathered yesterday (Saturday July 17) for a rally outside Castlerea prison in County Roscommon to celebrate the release of jailed Shell to Sea and Human Rights activist Pat 'the chief' O'Donnell.

Pat was released  having served more than five months of a seven month imposed after he was convicted of 'public order' offences following a cavalcade in support of fellow campaigner Maura Harrington who was on hunger strike at the time. Niall Harnett remains imprisoned in Castlerea on similar charges having served almost three months of his six month sentence so far.

They are campaigning against the building by Shell of an experimental pipeline carrying raw unrefined gas through their community in north Mayo and against the giveaway of our natural resources to Shell, resources believed to be worth at least €500 Billion.

Amongst those there to greet Pat on his release was his wife and children, friends and neighbours from north Mayo, Shell to Sea campaigners and activists from a number of political parties including éirígí.

Speaking at the gates of the prison following his release Pat said that his time in prison had not damaged him or his resolve. He described it as a “learning experience” and said that he was stronger and remained defiant.

In relation to his time in jail Pat said that “the real criminals are walking the streets”.  He continued: “By that, I mean the bankers, the developers and the politicians.”

Maura Harrington who has been jailed on five seperate occasions for her role in protests against Shells planned pipeline read out a statement of support from Independent Cllr Luke 'Ming' Flanagan, the Mayor of Roscommon County Council. In his statement to Pat, Cllr Flanagan said: “Your bravery in standing up to tyranny should be commended. It was not people who hid under the beds that won freedom for Ireland. It was people like yourself.”

Cllr Flanagan continued: “It was not crooks like Bertie Ahern and Ray Burke that this state was created for. It was for people like you. Your dedication to what is right is what gives hope that things can change. Without people like Pat O'Donnell this country would be a lesser place. Keep up the fight. Why keep quiet simply because you are bloody well right.”

Amongst those in attendance was éirígí Sligeach activist Gerry Casey. He praised Pat's resiliance and pledged the party's continued support to the Shell to Sea campaign.

He said: “Pats jailing, as with that of Niall Harnett who remains in prison, is a massive miscarraige of justice. Pat's real crime was refusing to be bought off by Shell or intimidated by various arms of the state, including the Gardai and judiciary. He and his colleauges in the Shell to Sea campaign are to be praised for their resilience and defiance despite all the odds being stacked against them. The are an inspiration and their honesty and integrity stands in stark contrast to that of the wealthy business and political elite who have brought the economy of this country to its knees.”

He added: “The lives of the people living along the route of this planned pipeline and the economic future of this island are at stake here.  The giveaway of these natural resources to the likes of Shell continues at the same time as the state is implementing savage cuts in our health and education systems, slashing welfare and workers pay and creating hardship and poverty in working class communities throughout this island.

He concluded:  "It is long past time that this scandal was ended and the reign of terror imposed by Shell and the state on the residents of the Erris peninsula was ended.  Shell must be sent packing, the gas should be nationalised, refined at sea and utilised to eradicate poverty, create jobs and provide efficient health and education systems available to all."

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.”

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