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Belmullet District Court Report – Shell and Mayo County Council stand co-accused of obstructing the public highway. – Indymedia Ireland
in Belmullet district court Shell and Mayo County Council stood co-accused in a case for blocking the road during the disastrous attempt to deliver the Tunnel Boring Machine to Shell’s tunnelling site at Aughoose in August this year. The co-accused settled out of court with the plaintiff and had the case struck out before the details were made public.
It is rumoured however that the case was taken by a fisherman who was suing for obstruction and loss of earnings, and that the plaintiff settled out of court for one thousand Euro. During the TBM debacle in August the main Ballina North coast road was closed while Shell’s jack-knifed lorry carrying the TBM blocked the road for days.
This is dangerous territory for Shell and the County Council as literally thousands of road users were obstructed at the time in the same way. – Watch this space….
Shell to Sea cases
There were four Shell to Sea cases up for mention.
It was the first appearance for a campaigner arrested on Monday morning during an action blocking access to Shell’s tunnelling compound. An order for the Garda book of evidence was made and the case was put back to the 9th of January.
The next case was for obstructing machinery laying a water pipe to the tunnelling compound. This was also put back to the 9th of January.
The third case was for a lock-on action that blocked the TBM for a number of hours in August while in transit to Mayo from Dublin port. In his absence the defendant – who had already plead guilty – was given the probation act and so avoided conviction.
In the last case Shell to Sea spokesperson Maura Harrington was due to set dates for hearings to defend cases arising from the TBM debacle. She wasn’t in court though and a bench warrant was issued for her arrest. Sgt. Butler was visibly disappointed when she arrived in just before the court was finished for the day and the warrant was vacated.
Related Link: http://www.rossportsolidaritycamp.org
Irish Grandmother Takes On Oil Giant, Shell- A Very Human Story
In the quiet and tranquil countryside of Mayo, in the far west of Ireland lies one of the most controversial gas projects. Protestors reside in the solidarity camp at Aughoose, one of the two locations which is part of the Corrib Gas Project. The project is based along the Sruwadaccon Estuary which is designated a Special Area of Conservation. The Corrib Gas Field is located about 50 miles off Erris Head in Count Mayo,known as the Slyne Trough. An exploration license was granted to Enterprise Oil in 1993, before Royal Dutch Shell took it over in 2002.
Many locals were concerned over the environmental impacts of the project along with the health and safety aspects. What is surprising is that, despite the amount of information that is available on the Shell to Sea Campaign website, there is little information in the media. Originally in 2004, when the protests first began, the issue received a huge amount of public interest and ample media attention. Now in later years with the situation yet unchanged, it appears that mainstream media is losing interest – it is no longer ‘news’.
Interview with Moira Harrington of Shell to Sea Campaign. Interview by Eimear Clabby, Safeworld Student Writer
“We were considered bog-trotters.”
Maura, a 59 year-old local and retired school teacher, came into public attention when she began protesting against Shell in 2002.
To look at Maura, she is small in height and of slight build, a build both due to her genes, but also to the hunger strike she took part in to capture the attention of Shell and the general public.
I am quite taken aback when I first meet Maura; it’s hard for me to believe that a small, motherly woman of her stature has such power and determination to go against a major force such as Shell.
Maura explained why she is passionate about the campaign:
“On a local level, I feel I should defend this place of beauty and on a national level, I see no economic benefit from the extraction of oil and gas from Ireland.”
After the first planning application for Shell was submitted in 2002, Maura began battling against Shell. This involved five years of research and hard work, and as Maura said herself, “We knew nothing about oil and gas extraction, we lived in a green field area where there was never any heavy industry.”
Maura also spoke of how both her and her local community were really only pinpointed on the map after the troubles with Shell:
“We were always ignored, politically, and every other way until we were discovered by Shell.”
What was also apparent on Shell’s initial exploit fo Erris, was the lack of respect for the local communities and the assumption that the people of this area were somewhat less intelligent than the “movers and shakers” of Shell,
“We were considered bog-trotters.” said Maura.
Hunger Strike
After enduring 4 years of disputes with protestors, Shell’s plans were still under way and the first pipe laying ship ‘The Solitaire’ arrived at Erris on the 9th September 2008.
Maura felt desperate and began a hunger strike in protest against the arrival of ‘The Solitaire’, the pipe laying ship assisting the Royal Dutch Shells Corrib Gas Project.
Maura vouched to starve herself until such time as The Solitaire exited Irish waters, a process which took ten days outside the gates of Shell at the solidarity camp.
Initial Success
After ten days, the ship moved further out to sea until it was no longer considered within the vicinity of Irish waters. When this was confirmed, Maura ceased her hunger strike, satisfied that Shell’s efforts had been implicated once more.
“Before beginning the hunger strike I was 6 stone 9 pounds, after the 10 days I weighed in at just 6 stone, over a stone below my healthy weight range.”
For a woman of her size and build, Maura should weigh approximately 7 stone 2, but with the stress of the protest campaign and the hunger strike, Maura is far from her ideal weight.
Prison
Aside from protesting and the hunger strike, Maura has landed herself in a bit of trouble over the years. Maura is no stranger to Mountjoy Prison, or a courtroom for that matter.
Maura was jailed for 14 days for non-payment of fees relating to her protests against Shell’s Corrib Gas Project. Not only was she arrested, but was arrested outside the funeral of a local neighbour. Her sentence was furthered by 30 days when, on the day of her arrest, she assaulted a member of the Gardai.
When asked about her experience in Mountjoy prison, Maura replied:
“To be perfectly honest, it wasn’t really that bad. I had a lot of support from other women, and it also helped that my husband marched outside the prison gates everyday for the month I was in there, holding a banner “Free Maura”.
Security Forces
When security at Shell is mentioned, Maura’s facial expression morphs into a look of complete disdain. Security levels at Shell are at an ultimate high, with highly trained officials in areas such as anti-terrorism – they are not individuals to be messed with:
“I looked into a security man’s eyes one day I saw no remorse; what I saw was an evil individual, capable of anything.”
Media
Maura takes a lot of negative press in her stride and ignores most of the comments directed at her. In one particular instance, Maura found it hard to forgive and forget; Judge Mary Nevins advised psychiatric assessment for Maura due to her “bizarre behaviour”, a comment that Maura maintains, was of no benefit to the case in question, and was merely a dig in an effort to embarrass Maura.
A somewhat misunderstood individual, Maura simply fights for what she believes is right. There is no denying her dedication to protesting against this project. Even after almost 11 years, her enthusiasm still remains.
Posted Date: 18 October 2012
Link:
http://www.asafeworldforwomen.org/environment/env-europe/3134-grandmothe…
via Shell to Sea.
via Shell to Sea.
