Shell to Sea

Members of An Garda Síochána and residents of Glengad and Barnacullew disagree on whether a gated road leading to Barnacullew pier is public (which would entitle Shell's machine drivers to use it) or is on land belonging to local publican Paddy McGrath (June 2007)

Shell to Sea (in Irish, Shell chun Sáile) is a campaign based in County Mayo, Ireland which successfully opposed the proposed construction of a high-pressure raw gas pipeline through Rossport, and continues to oppose the ongoing construction by Shell of a refinery miles from the coastline at Bellanaboy intended to refine the untreated gas from the Corrib gas field. The stated aim of the campaign is that the gas be refined at sea (hence the name), thereby making it safer to transport, before it is brought ashore and past people's houses. In their own words:

"Shell to Sea is an international non-violent campaign, rooted in the Erris community. We seek to ensure the proposed Corrib gas terminal and pipeline are constructed offshore, as is best practice. In doing so we seek to highlight the negligent environmental, health, safety, planning and economic consequences of this government-backed plan. We are not the property of any party or movement and we disassociate ourselves from negative campaigning and tactics that many media outlets have attempted to associate us with. We have been campaigning for several years and continue to face intimidation, slander and significant hardship as a result. However, we are growing in strength, numbers and confidence. We will remain peaceful, committed and determined in the coming days, weeks months - and years if necessary!" [1]

The most recent poll on the issue (January 2008) showed Shell to Sea's stance is supported by three times as many people in Mayo as those who support Shell, but a significant 40 per cent said they had no opinion on the issue or were not really interested. The findings suggest that on the ground in Mayo, the issue may not be as divisive as the national media claims[2].

Background

Opposition to the gas consortium and government's plans among local residents grew during 2000, when many people felt they were not being given adequate answers to questions they had about a refinery and raw gas pipeline intended for their area. A Channel Four documentary stated that "huge pressure" had been exerted on Mayo County Council's planning office to grant permission for the inland refinery. Due to a loophole in Irish law (which still exists), no planning permission was necessary for the pipeline. The council duly granted permission, a decision that was immediately appealed to An Bord Pleanála (ABP) by local people and environmental groups.

After holding an unprecedented two hearings, and producing a damning report on the refinery proposition, ABP refused permission in 2002. Setting another precedent, this decision was reversed in 2003 after political pressure from the Fianna Fáil government.

Local landowners in Rossport were told that the raw gas pipeline would be coming through their lands, and if they didn't agree a settlement with Shell, it would be forced upon them by the use of Compulsory Acqusition Orders (made possible by government legislation not long before). Some agreed to allow Shell on their lands. Others refused, and Frank Fahey, then Minister for the Marine & Natural Resources signed thirty-four separate Compulsory Acquisition Orders for Shell. Still some people refused to back down and were threatened with legal action. Out of scores of people who had blocked Shell workers from going on people's property, five men were singled out and brought to court. After refusing to promise to allow Shell put the pipeline through their lands, the men were sentenced to jail indefinitely. They became known as the Rossport Five.

Local and national reaction was immediate. 24-hour pickets on the Shell sites at Rossport, Bellanaboy and Glengad began. Rallies in support of the men's stance were held in major towns and cities, and Shell and Statoil filling stations were frequently picketed. The Shell to Sea campaign had begun.

Motivation

The campaign has a diverse support base, including people from many different political backgrounds and those with no strong politics at all. Werner Blau, a physics professor at Trinity College, Dublin, and part-time Rossport resident, told his neighbours that the pipeline intended for Rossport would not even comply with United States standards which were "pretty lax" . Many Irish people from outside Erris are concerned about aspects of the proposed project beyond the injustice visited on the Rossport Five and the health and safety fears of Erris residents. These include allowing private companies to acquire property without the permission of the owners and what many regard as the amazingly generous terms given to the oil companies by successive Fianna Fáil governments . In its rankings of countries' facilitation of oil and gas companies, the World Bank rates Ireland in its highest, "very favourable" category, along with Pakistan and Argentina. By comparison, Nigeria is rated average. Mike Cunningham, a former director of Statoil, said: "No country in the world gives as favourable terms to the oil companies as Ireland." This is a result of legislation created by Ray Burke, a Dublin politician who was imprisoned in 2005 by the Tribunals of Inquiry into corruption allegations, dating from the time when he served as Minister of Communications and Energy .

This disgruntlement means Shell to Sea is able to draw on support across Ireland, and there are branches in almost all the cities and major towns. People from the Niger Delta now resident in Ireland have been especially interested and supportive of the campaign, having had first-hand experience of living in an area that Shell has been active in, and many have visited the area to show support. A mural of Ken Saro-Wiwa, who was executed after leading a campaign to reduce Shell's influence in Ogoniland, has been painted on a gable in Rossport.

There is also a belief amongst many people that the volume of resources declared are a fraction of those that really exist there, to prevent renegotiation by the Irish state of the less than favourable (to Ireland) terms of contract .

Smear campaign

Attempts to smear the campaign have been diverse . The most durable has been the claim that the IRA or Sinn Féin control it, or somehow pull its strings. This story has been encouraged by the former Minister for Justice Michael McDowell (an implacable foe of Sinn Féin and staunch supporter of Shell's plans), various national newspapers (Independent News and Media is a particularly vociferous opponent of the campaign) and local businessmen. Members of many different political groups are involved in the campaign, and prominent local Sinn Féin member Paddy Ruddy works for Shell (originally on the construction end, then promoted to spokesman). Most local campaigners are former Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael supporters, and Philip McGrath (one of the Rossport Five) used to be an election agent for Fine Gael leader Enda Kenny.

Before this, the caricatures were of tree-hugging hippies and "sub-intellectual" peasants. Stories of intimidation of project supporters have also been rife, but these have been rubbished by local Fine Gael TD Michael Ring. Ring was a staunch supporter of Shell to Sea until brought into line with the rest of the party by Enda Kenny. - Unsubstantiated allegations of intimidation were also made by the Gardaí, although no-one has ever been arrested or questioned for this, let alone charged. Pro-Shell businessman and president of Belmullet chamber of commerce Derek Reilly told the media that the "intimidation" is actually boycotting of pro-Shell businesses by Shell to Sea supporters. He told the Irish Times: "It has never been anything more serious than that, but that is serious enough." [3]

Current Situation

Riding a wave of public support, the Rossport Five were released in late 2005. The government felt compelled to appoint a negotiator, Peter Cassells, to arbitrate between the campaigners and Shell. As his remit did not include discussing the refinery, he was regarded as a distraction by Shell to Sea. The pickets at Bellanaboy continued for over a year, during which no work was done by Shell.

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A protester attempts to handcuff herself to a lorry removing peat from the refinery site at Bellinaboy, April 2007

On Tuesday September 26^th 2006, protesters prevented Shell's employees from entering the site of the intended refinery at Bellanaboy to begin work. Around 150 local people along with some supporters from around the country blocked the entrance to the refinery site and the Catholics among them (Mayo has the highest percentage of Catholics of any Irish county) began to recite the rosary. The workers turned back after discussions with Gardaí.

One week later on the 3^rd of October, scores more Gardaí were brought in from around the country, which increased their numbers to around 170. The Gardaí beat protesters away from the site gates and on to, then off, the roads near Bellanaboy for the first time. This marked a departure in Garda tactics which they have held to. The Irish Times reported: "The Garda baton charges that occurred on Friday morning in Bellanaboy were not the product of Sinn Féin or Provisional IRA machinations; they were the product of abject Government incompetence." A government decision to avoid arresting protesters in order to damp down the negative publicity that would ensue was discussed in the police force's magazine, Garda Review. An attempt was made to block workers' access to the site by lying on the road but protesters were dragged off the road, thrown over fences and into ditches by the Gardaí. A number of people were injured and one young woman was brought to hospital.

With the daily protests at Bellanaboy continuing, protesters occupied Shell Ireland HQ on Dublin's Leeson Street.

On the 12^th of October three people were arrested at the morning protests.

On Friday October 20th there was a large scale protest at Bellanaboy, and one protester was arrested and released without charge.

During the following weeks, incidents of Garda brutality in policing the daily protests became more frequent [4]. This was a result of Belmullet Superintendent Joe Gannon's publicly stated policy of avoiding arresting protestors so as not to create "martyrs", leaving those under his command no option but physical force, which made some violence inevitable.

A second large scale protest march was planned for Friday November 10th, the anniversary of the execution of Ken Saro Wiwa and eight other anti-Shell activists in Nigeria in 1995. When protesters worked their way around police lines, they were attacked with batons. Several were injured and some even hospitalised. Small groups of demonstrators who had been unable to get to the refinery attempted to blockade the nearby Lennon's quarry which supplies material for the construction of the site. The Gardaí were even less restrained here due to the lack of any significant media presence.

There was political controversy in Ireland about the use of such force on a peaceful demonstration. The Fianna Fáil Taoiseach Bertie Ahern said in a statement that the Irish government's position was clear in relation to the Corrib gas situation - that the negotiating is over and "that is it". In relation to the policing of the protests, he and Opposition leader Enda Kenny would only reiterate that "the law must be obeyed".

A further large scale protest at Bellanaboy scheduled for November 24th was cancelled by the protesters for fear of increased Garda belligerence that would have resulted in serious injury.

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Shell to Sea press conference, November 2006. Front (L-R):Martin Ferris TD, Jerry Cowley TD, Joe Higgins TD, Trevor Sargent TD. Back: Michael D. Higgins TD and Senator David Norris.

2007

February: there was a protest rally on the 24th, 2007, in Dublin attended by around 1,000 people. The march culminated at the GPO where protestors listened to speeches from members of the Rossport Five and politicians. This followed a smaller march at Bellinaboy the week before. After the march, about 100 protestors entered the site for an inspection, shutting down work for two hours.

April: in an escalation of the force of the Garda tactics, a photojournalist from the Press Association was thrown across a road into a ditch after he attempted to photograph Gardaí apprehending protesters who were blocking trucks. The following day, six protestors were arrested under the Public Order Act when they entered the site to monitor Shells' activities. In line with the official policy of avoiding publicity around the project, they were soon released without charge.

TD Jerry Cowley prepares to pursue the Gardaí through the courts over their alleged bugging of his phone and those of five prominent members of Shell to Sea.

Michael McDowell admits to the Dáil that the policing operation at Bellanaboy is costing almost €30,000 a day.

Demonstration and blockade at Shell's Irish HQ, Leeson Street, Dublin, May 2007

May: having been anonymously donated shares in Royal Dutch Shell (which entitles one to speak at the Shell AGM), the campaign appointed three spokesmen to travel to the Hague and speak on their behalf.

June: on the 5th, five protestors chained themselves together outside the Bord na Móna facility in Srahmore near Bangor Erris where Shell have being dumping the peat removed from Bellinaboy. While rank-and-file Gardaí calmly awaited the arrival of the fire brigade to cut through the protestors' sophisticated "lock-on", Superintendent Gannon seemed beside himself with rage, referring to one female protestor as a "cunt" [5].

On the 11th, a stand-off ensued between locals and Gardaí at the pier in Glengad. Superintendent Gannon ordered his men to break the lock on a gate leading to the private property of local publican Paddy McGrath, in order to facilitate a Rural Planning Services contractor who wished to transport material across it for Shell. When the crowd refused to give way, Gannon instructed a digger driver to drive straight into the crowd. Twenty people were injured. This action also endangered the men under his command. Eventually the Gardaí left when McGrath brought a letter from his solicitor threatening to put the Gardaí under an injunction for trespass. Shell to Sea spokesman John Monaghan was arrested for allegedly assaulting a Garda. The day's events seemed to be the last straw for many Gardaí unhappy with Gannon's handling of the protests, and he was suspended from duty. Subsequent harassment of the elderly Paddy McGrath, including visits by large gangs of police to his house pressuring him to change his mind, led to him having a stroke on the 18th. McGrath is still in Castlebar General Hospital, where a surgeon confirmed the stroke was down to the stress of recent events.

July: on the 11th, three fishermen from Porturlin were sentenced to three months for assaulting a Garda at the protests in November 2006. The Garda Ombudsman is currently investigating scores of allegations of assault by Gardaí on women, old people and teenagers, but none of these investigations have been completed yet.

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Lock-on at Bellinaboy Bridge, July 2007

On the morning of the 13th, a man from Inver and a man from Enniscrone lock themselves together through a girder welded to a van parked across Bellinaboy Bridge, blocking truck access to the refinery site for six hours. The Porturlin Three are released on bail pending their appeal. That night, a parade of about a hundred cars celebrating their release stops at the site. The gates are forced open and the site occupied until it got dark.

On the 21st, the site is again invaded and occupied for an hour by fifty people. The following week, Superintendent Gannon returns after a six-week absence.

August: on the 27th, the site is again visited (against the wishes of security guards and police) by campaigners investigating rumours of substandard steel and concrete being used on the proposed refinery structures. Shell employees tell the protesters that the rumours are true. Blockades of trucks at the site entrance increase in frequency toward the end of the month.

September: on the 12th, a protester from Dublin charged with public order offences has his case dismissed in Belmullet because of conflicting Garda evidence. Om September 13th Judge Mary Devins delivers a judgement in the case of the protesters who had locked themselves together to stop peat stripping in June. The Judge likens the protest to Tiananmen Square in 1989, and demonstrations in Dublin by groups of farmers and taxi drivers which blocked traffic. She dismisses most of the charges and sentences the five to community service for "reckless behavior". These judgements are seen as encouraging for non-violent direct action style protests in the future. The judge also disclosed that she had been receiving letters about the campaign and the cases before her, some sent anonymously.

On the 14th, hundreds of people turned up for a sit-down protest. The gates were forced open and 150 people entered the site. 60 of these scaled an inner fence and entered the area where construction work was taking place. Over 100 Gardaí (many in riot gear) forced them out of this area but the protesters then began the sit-down, linking arms. The Gardaí pulled them apart and, dragging and carrying many, ejected them from the site. No protesters were seriously injured. The sit-down continued outside the gates. The Irish embassies in London and Madrid were picketed in solidarity, as were Shell filling stations around Ireland and England.

October: on the 3rd, an all-night vigil to mark the first anniversary of Garda violence began at the site gat at Bellanaboy. Local priests led a prayer service at dawn.

Superintendent Joe Gannon is transferred to Dublin.

On the 12th, around 100 protesters blocked the roads around the site.

November: on the 9th, over 200 protesters delayed workers entering the site and prevented delivery of materials. A few dozen invaded the site works. One protester was injured when a truck drove over his foot. Of the hundreds blocking the roads and refusing Garda instructions to desist, three men were singled out for arrest and charged.

December: on the 16th, a carol and prayer service was organised outside Bellinaboy site works by the campaign.

2008

February: a day of action is planned for Bellinaboy on the 1st.

Gallery of campaign material

The Shell to Sea campaign has generated a lot of creative campaign material.

• 
  Poster of Mohandas Gandhi, Michael Davitt and Martin Luther King, Jr. at Shell to Sea campaign HQ, Bellanaboy
• 
  Mural of Ken Saro Wiwa unveiled in Erris, November 2005

See also

• Rossport Five
• Rossport Solidarity Camp
• Controversies surrounding Royal Dutch Shell
• Royal Dutch Shell safety concerns
• Movement for the Survival of the Ogoni People

External links

• Shell to Sea website
• 15 Myths and Realities of Corrib Gas