Project Info...
CORRIB ----------- This project focuses on the on-going community struggle to stop the construction of the Corrib Gas Terminal in Bellanaboy, County Mayo, Ireland. The primary shareholder of the terminal is Royal Dutch Shell. This is a very rural part of the country and is an Irish speaking, Gaeltacht area. It can best be described as a series of small villages dotted amongst larges swathes of bogland and hills, bordered to the west by long sandy beaches and high cliff faces. In June 2005, five local men were given an indefinite jail sentence, for refusing to obey a High Court order not to interfere with the construction of the Corrib gas pipeline through Rossport village. As a result of a large national campaign, the men were released after 94 days in a maximum-security jail. During the summer of 2005, a number of concerned individuals from Mayo and beyond set up the Rossport Solidarity Camp (Shell to Sea) with the support of the local community. The protest continues to this day.
Broadhaven Bay, Co. Mayo
Shell and other partners plan to lay a high pressure gas pipeline through the bay. The area is protected by European legislation as a Special Area of Conservation and a National Heritage area.
Rossport Solidarity Camp
Established in 2005 by invitation from members of the local community. The camp is no longer sited here and has moved around the area as the Shell to Sea campaign has evolved over the years.
A sign leading up to the Corrib Gas Terminal with Shell to Sea graffiti on it. This is just one of hundreds of road signs defaced by anti-Shell comments.
Terminal Gates
The main gate to the Corrib Gas Terminal. The construction site has progressively become more secure as a result of the ongoing protests. Shell have begun building a series of large concrete walls and high railings around the 400 acre site to prevent the almost weekly trespasses or ‘community visits’ as they have become known.
The daily morning protest
Every weekday morning from 7 am onwards, locals gather to picket the workers as they drive into the terminal. Many of the workers have been forced to travel in by large coaches and they are given a police escort. There can be as few as 20 protesters some mornings but at other times there can be over 100. Invariably, the Garda outnumber the protesters by two to one. Here a convoy of workers are about to turn into the site. Many of the workers are locals and are related to the people who oppose the terminal.
Shell to Sea HQ
Willie Corduff (Left), won the Goldman Environmental Prize in 2007 in recognition of the work he had done to highlight his community's protest against the Corrib Gas Terminal.
Micheál Ó’Seighin (74). Ceathrú Thaidhg, Mayo.
Micheál, a retired school teacher, was one of five men jailed for 94 days in June 2005 for continuing to obstruct Shell laying the Corrib gas pipeline. Their imprisonment caused a national outrage and they quickly became known as "The Rossport Five". The Deputy Managing Director of Shell Ireland said the Corrib project must be developed in ‘partnership with the local community.’ Micheál’s response was, ‘that is like developing a partnership with a turkey before you eat it at Christmas.’
Maura Harrington, Geesala, County Mayo.
Maura is a Head Mistress of a local school in the village of Inver. She has been one the most vocal and active members of the community against the pipeline. She has spoken nationwide to rally support for the campaign, sat in front of large trucks to prevent work and trespassed on the gas terminal construction site on numerous occasions. She is seen as a strong leader by many in the area. Maura coined the phrase ‘Bogoni’ to describe the villagers in Mayo, after the Ogoni tribe in Nigeria who are also fighting Shell. She went on hunger strike in 2008 to protest against the laying of the pipeline. She was sent to jail for 28 days in 2009 for public disorder offences while protesting.
"Protect our Children"
The Ogoni Connection
Many local residents who oppose the construction of the Corrib Gas Terminal, feel solidarity with the struggle many Nigerians have against the oil companies in their communities. One such group are the Ogoni people. These crosses are located exactly opposite the main gate to the Corrib Gas Terminal. There were originally eight crosses, which named the Ogoni men executed in Nigeria as a result of their protest against the work of Shell. The missing cross was for the most famous of the men, Ken Saro-Wiwa. It has been replaced 3 times. The smashed signed in the background, originally said ‘Murdered by Shell in 1995.’
Up Shell
Not everyone is against the gas terminal being built.
Paul Gill, Rossport Solidarity Camp
Paul was involved in many major anti-road protest in the UK during the 1990’s such as Twyford Downs, Newbury, the anti-M11 link road campaign and Fairmile. He pioneered many of the techniques used to prevent the authorities removing protesters, such as locking themselves in underground tunnels.
The Struggle Goes On
Aron Baker, Rossport Solidarity Camp
"Damhsaigh" by John Monaghan & Chris Philbin A mural on public display in the village of Ros Dumhach (Rossport), combining a well-known pose of the late Nigerian poet and peace activist Ken Saro-Wiwa with the Irish flag and a translation of one of his poems into Irish. It translates as "Dance your anger and your joys, dance the guns to silence, dance, dance, dance..." The names of eight compatriots who were executed with Ken in Nigeria in 1995 are also featured.
Dan Maloney, Rossport Solidarity Camp
Dan is from Germany, but has spent many years in Ireland at a variety of protest sites. He alternated between Rossport Solidarity Camp in Mayo and the Save the Hill of Tara camp in Meath on the other side of the country. He is part of a growing population of concerned individuals who travel the world visiting areas of protest.
Eve, Rossport Solidarity Camp
Erris Thanks You
In April, 2005, the High Court in Dublin granted Shell the right to access private lands in Rossport Village to begin laying the pipeline. It was the first time in Irish history that a private company was granted the right to compulsory purchase land off private individuals. On the 18th June 2005. Local residents began a blockade of Shell lorries on the road in and out of the village of Rossport. The locals kept a vigil 24 hours a day for 7 days. This led to a high court injunction to prevent any more obstructions. This sign marks the point at which the blockade took place.
Bob, Rossport Solidarity Camp
Justice and Freedom for Rossport Five painted on the face of hand-cut peat bog. Painted by Tom Philbin, brother to Brendan Philbin, one of the five men arrested.
Rossport Solidarity Camp
Polish couple, Ania and Wojtek spent many weeks at the solidarity camp in Mayo. They are based in Galway city, but they take time off work to lend their support to the Shell to Sea Campaign. They are both vegan and are involved in various campaigns around Europe against animal testing.
