Tripod action at Glengad
national |
rights, freedoms and repression |
feature
Thursday May 14, 2009 19:54
by anarchaeologist - Shell to Sea
Work halted at Shell's illegal compound
Shell Out Manoeuvred Again
Campaigners using a daring “tripod” technique have halted the illegal work being undertaken by Shell at the Corrib Gas landfall site at Glengad in Co Mayo.
Shell contractors were due this morning to extend the construction compound down onto the public beach at Glengad. However, early bird Shell to Sea campaigners blocked access to the beach at 5 am by erecting two specially-designed tripods, each 20 feet in height. Two men attached themselves to the top of the tripods using climbing equipment and as of lunchtime are still suspended from the tripods.
Related Links:
Shell to Sea meeting in Ennis, Co. Clare
Report on Glengad Day of Action
Shell to Sea website - CorribSOS.com
The men, who live locally, are both in good form and a party atmosphere is evident on the shoreline below them. Gardaí and Shell security have not attempted to remove them so far, as to do so would put the two men's safety at risk.
Giant tripods of this nature have been deployed by campaigners around the world as a form of direct action. This is the first time tripods have been used in Ireland for this purpose.
The compound has been erected illegally without planning permission to facilitate works along the shoreline, which themselves have yet to receive full legal consent. It is presently the subject of legal proceedings taken by An Taisce against Mayo County Council, which has facilitated Shell's illegality at every point along the way.
Shell to Sea spokesperson Maura Harrington said: “Yet again, Shell is disregarding both the law and the will of the local community by trying to extend their illegal compound onto the public beach. Today's action shows that we are as determined as ever to obstruct this obscene project, and the giveaway of Irish natural resources.”
As of 13.30, the new Garda Inspector in Belmullet, Joe Doherty, has directed the two activists to come down for their own safety under Section 8.1 of the Public Order Act. One of those suspended has asked Doherty to apologise for punching him in the stomach during the action last Saturday evening at the compound. For the time being at any rate, the Gardaí and Shell security have been out-manoeuvred.
Tripods on the shoreline
Activists still hanging around
printable version
Digg this
del.icio.us
Furl
Reddit
Technorati
Facebook
Gab
Twitter
View Comments Titles Only
save preference
Comments (43 of 43)
Jump To Comment: 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 41 42 43Well done lads. Will spread the word
Lots more of this needed.
The requirement of constant innovation is the key to community
struggle here and elsewhere in the future.
Excellent work lads !!!!!
You make me proud to be an irish woman !!!!!!
IN solidarity always !!!
What a wonderful action! My full admiration for all campaigners on site! Well done!
One word - Ingenious!!
Shell are doing a good job in this place called "Glengad" so I don'tn see what's the problem is when they are proving employment when the country is in a recession.
Fair play to ye lads, yer one in a million!
Mighty work there! Keep safe, all.
Well done all on introducing this innovative new technique.
Here ...
Caption: Video Id: S5FJFEfRMgk Type: Youtube Video
Shell to Sea Tripod Stops Shell at Glengad.
.
Come and give us a hand.
If is illegal you should have an injunction put on the works as soon as you can!! Has this been done yet?
Can someone explain what exactly is illegal about the compound?
thanks
well done
brilliant stuff... well done and hang in there!!!!
slan
The compound has been erected without planning permission.
Shell and Mayo County Council say the compound and the beach works are exempt under the gas act, and so need no planning permission.
However the law clearly states that only actual pipes are exempt, all other works, like fences and buildings need to go through the normal planning process.
An Táisce are taking an action against Mayo Council at the moment. But if you think a legal action in court can stop Shell, you haven't been watching the company for very long.
Midwest radio has refused to run an advertisement that included the term
‘Rossport 5’, describing the name as ‘politically inciting’. The 15
second advertisement, the exact same text of which is being run by RTE, is
promoting an Afri fundraising event on Sunday 17th May in aid of the Rossport
community.
The event features a number of high profile artists including Christy Moore,
Booker Prize winner Anne Enright, Dermot Healy, and Vincent McGrath and Willie
Corduff of the ‘Rossport 5’, who were imprisoned for 94 days in 2005 for
their opposition to the Shell-led Corrib Gas project. Midwest Radio apparently
believes that even to mention the name of the Rossport group, a name regularly
used even by opponents of the group, is unacceptable.
Afri described the decision by Midwest Radio as a blatant act of censorship
and
questioned the station’s impartiality vis-a-vis the Corrib Gas conflict.
“Would an advertisement paid for by Shell and referring to Shell’s claimed
environmental record, for example, be considered to be ‘politically
inciting’ and pulled from the schedule?”, asked Afri co-ordinator Joe
Murray.
As part of the May 17th event, Mr Corduff will tell the story of his being
beaten up in the Shell compound in Glengad and hospitalised while he was
taking
part in a peaceful protest last month. “This is another worrying insight
into the media which, with very rare exceptions, has also refused to report
the
beating up of Willie Corduff by sinister forces in the Shell compound in
Glengad” said Afri Chairperson, Andy Storey
Tripods have been used in Ireland against the route of the M3 through Tara.
One activist who occupied tripod had his charges against him dismissed on Wendsday in Trim court.
From Meath to Mayo let us fight against distruction lies and corruption .
Best wishes to all.
SHELL TO SEA
Well done to all involved in the justified action against Shell.
In late May, Shell will stand trial in United States federal court to answer to charges that it conspired in horrific human rights abuses in Nigeria in the 1990s. Find out more below
Fair play lads, wish i could have seen it firsthand.
Keep up the good work!
We'll be there to support you soon, folks. Hey, the Ken Saro-Wiwa poster is great. Love & solidarity!
Excellent action lads,well done.See ye all soon.
Much love,respect and solidarity to you all up there - great actuion,well documented as always .
This porject will never see the light of day.
No Pasaran!
great stuff lads, well done. any of this make it to the mainstream papers?
any further inquiry into beating Willie Corduff got, any statement from Willie
keep it goin,
dunk
The two people on the tripod came down of their own accord at 5:30 yesterday evening after 12 hours up on the tripods. At this stage all site workers excluding security had left the compound for the day. The two climbers then left the area along with supporters carrying their tripods unaccosted by the watching Gardaí. The beach was patrolled by Gardaí and Security working side by side for the rest of the night.
At 3:30 this morning under the cover of darkness Shell stripped the cliff and broke out onto the beach. They now have an enclosed compound as far as where the tripods extended yesterday.
Shell may have succeeded in breaking onto the beach but overall the community spirit is upbeat and momentum seems to be building. This really is the time to come and stand with the community
So what exactly was achieved. This was a brave but fruitless venture. Shell was delayed 12/24 hours. This doesn't make an impact in the overall picture. Still , I applaud the two men who dangled in limbo to make their point.
it didn't even get a mention on the radio or in the papers. Did it?
Come June 5th, 09, and the election (s) ,one wonders what the outcome will be For King Kenny and his merry men , given this extraordinary
on going sorry saga ,and the seemingly inactive decisions by the above party to their local electorate ,to include some of the protesters , would we
be at all surprised if indeed The Present Leader Of Fine Gael ,and local ,King Kenny , get some form of backlash they as a party have not bargained
for , Only Time Will Tell and perhaps wipe that stupid smirk ( arrgh ) from Der Leaders Face .
Now's your chance Folks .
Greens are the biggest losers from this Corrib gas debacle
http://www.independent.ie/opinion/analysis/greens-are-t....html
The bigest losers in this debacle are the people of the whole Irish nation. The almost total silence of the general public on this issue must be equated with the general silence for decades on political crime. Look what that has done to the country.
It must be general knowledge now that politicians have not given our natural resources away but have sold them for personal financial gain. I believe that some of them have ongoing financial interests ( shares etc) in this project being completed, against the peoples wishes.
How Enda Kenny can ignore the fact that Gardai are being encouraged to commit crimes in his own back yard makes me think he has something to hide.The media and general public will be ready to condemn the protesters while ignoring the fact that a lifelong hatred is being imposed on a peacefull law abiding community, what a great education for the young people of the area.
The right-wing corporate media cartel are primarily to blame for the publics ignorance on so many issues in this country. Their being fed on a diet of BS morning, noon and night by the likes of the state broadcaster and the O' Reilly media.
As for FG, we still don't know how Enda manged to pay-off FG's massive debts so quickly around the time of the jailing of the Rossport 5
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pVaUYVF-Cfk
check out the video! very inspirational...
Norway is a relatively small country with a largely homogeneous population of 4.6 million and the advantages of being a major oil exporter. It counted $68 billion in oil revenue last year as prices soared to record levels. Even though prices have sharply declined, the government is not particularly worried. That is because Norway avoided the usual trap that plagues many energy-rich countries.
Instead of spending its riches lavishly, it passed legislation ensuring that oil revenue went straight into its sovereign wealth fund, state money that is used to make investments around the world. Now its sovereign wealth fund is close to being the largest in the world, despite losing 23 percent last year because of investments that declined.
- Source, New York Times, 14/05/09
It bodes ill for Ireland that an unregulated gang of thugs & fascists is given the blind eye from the State & its tools, the Garda; it shows that the political pigs are desperate to win & keep on getting away with their crimes. They've done very well so far, & the people have barely murmured until the Rossport situation came along & five farmers, their families & supporters WOKE US UP!!!
Norway is doing fine in this economic collapse; they have their oil revenues to see them through, while ours were given away for a song with no consultation or consent. Maybe Ireland's next entry for Eurovision could tell the story.....
This is a link to an article by Peter Murtagh on Willie Corduff in todays Irish Times. You think these professionally paid journalists would get up off their ass and do some real investigative research. I doubt this guy has ever been to Rossport or spoke to a member of the local community. A lazy article.
http://www.irishtimes.com/newspaper/opinion/2009/0518/1....html
Kevin Myers gave a very intelligent assessment of the situation in last Friday's Indo..
See:
http://www.independent.ie/opinion/columnists/kevin-myer....html
I don't know what he has against the "Pagan voodoo of the Fir Bolgs" though !
Having read Myers's piece I am stunned that you describe it as a good description of the situation. I take it that you are being ironic. It's the usual imperialistic, ill-informed nonsense from our Kev. Maybe he should go down to Mayo and talk to some of the locals. I think that this issue is becoming more and more significant with every passing day. This is an issue of sovereignty and democracy, issues that terrify Kevin and his ilk.
The Greens are becoming more uncomfortable,as they should. I think their political survival will be decided in the next 6 months.
Keep up the fight in Mayo. The support is growing!
i am of the belief that kevin myers piece has actually helped shell to sea. Why ?
1) his viewpoint is generally regarded as extreme.
2) he received a reply from the b. arnold piece in the following days paper.,
QED - keep going kevin myarse.
well done all, this is incredible!!
shucks, didn't read the update...
still a really great action!!
hang in there guys
bullaí fir!
keep it lit!!
With enemies like Kevin Myers, who needs friends?
With his sad, self-defeating ironies about public sentiment re Shell, his misrepresentation of Desmond Tutu's call for all parties to stick to non-violence, his rude call for same to "shut up", his bizarre metaphors and so on ...
I suppose there are some people who enjoy a smug delight in this kind of verbal aggression, and a cheap laugh out of any reference to flatulence, but they are hardly the kind of people anybody needs as supporters.
It's sad to see so many newspapers publishing opinion pieces that hardly merit publication on the most opinionated blogger's private site. Why should anybody pay to read commentary that is as biased, as poorly researched and as crudely expressed as the ramblings of the expert leaning on the bar in the nearest pub?
Up to his old tricks again , i am surprised any one would give him a job as a journalist , although give credit where credit is due
i did hear recently , that ''The Beano'' Are Headhunting Miarse .. Watch Out Desperate Dan ........... ???