Statement Issued By The Five Jailed Mayo Men And Their Families

by Kevin Donleavy Thu Aug 18, 2005 03:56 kdonleavy at firstva dot com Charlottesville, Virginia USA

The five behind the prison walls need many supporters standing firmly behind them and their principles. Multi-national conglomerates will crush individuals; but the people united can never be defeated.

by C.Hughes Wed Jul 13, 2005 22:43

Don't give in to them, you are in the right here. If I was in a fit state of health I would go and join your protest.

Good luck, Ireland is behind you!!

by Teaghlach Ó Giobúin Mon Jul 04, 2005 16:01 maireuigh at eircom dot net

is mór an eagcóir ata á dhéanamh ag an Státchóras,an fhirinne a cheilt ar ghnáth dhaoine le fada, iad a chur sa tsáinn ina bhfuil siad, agus ag glanadh a lámha don scéal anois.

by pimp Sun Jul 03, 2005 02:09

our elected government and the permanent government, the civil service, are prostituting the country - they are selling off whatever they can and the Irish either dont know or dont care.

Its downhill from here to extinction like the dinasoars and the planet will rejoice when humans are gone

by Woodland League - Woodland League Sat Jul 02, 2005 21:39

Woodland League press release. 30th June 2005.

The Woodland League would like to express our continued support for the opposition of the Shell Gas pipeline and refinery, especially in light of the recent jailing of the five Mayo men fighting to preserve their constitutional and community rights. Our government conveniently forgets the rights of the people of Ireland when the opportunity arises to make money.

The Shell gas refinery is to be built on 165 acres of Coillte land. The land was sold by the state owned forestry company at a price that has been undisclosed, for reasons of ‘commercial secrecy’.

In the early 1970s, all the forestry under state control was given to the people of Ireland, and to the people of Ireland they belonged. It was put under the stewardship of the Land Commission. In 1988, when Coillte Teoranta was initially formed, all forest land under the control of the Land Commission was passed to Coillte Teoranta, with the sole mandate of making profit. This was possibly the biggest deceit of the Irish public in recent history. There was no referendum as to whether the public’s land, our land, should be passed to this “semi-state� body.

Now, 17 years later, we see Coillte Teoranta selling land to Shell in an action that is so obviously against the wishes of the public. The deceit continues, because after all, the public are the true owners of the land that Coillte sold – and the public, in no uncertain terms, did not agree to sell the land to Shell. Coillte are continuing their unsustainable sale of public land to private companies. Let us not forget the sale of the land under the Coca Cola factory in Ballina, and the attempted sale of the high amenity park in Monivea. Coillte’s profits last year rose by 37% from 2003, and this was by and large because of their continued land sale and development businesses that are outside their forestry remit.

We feel that the sale of land for the development of the Shell refinery and pipeline are counter the Aarhus Agreement and Local Agenda 21, as well as the States commitments to sustainable forestry under the Helsinki convention. Coillte are required to adhere to all international agreements signed by the state under their Forest Stewardship Council certificate, and yet when the time suits to make money, they ignore their requirements. This is yet another reason for their FSC certification to be revoked immediately.

This semi-state body are neglecting their core business, which is forestry, and now appear to be geared up to become one of the largest land development companies in Ireland. They are facilitating big businesses and multinationals at the continued expense of the local and indigenous communities. What are the benefits to the local community and the public at large of such developments?

On a wider scale, the entire project is counter the states commitment to Local Agenda 21 and to the Aarhus agreement. There is a groundswell of opposition to the Shell development, and the state is ignoring it.

The wrong people are in jail today. Brian Cowen, Minister for Foreign Affairs, and the Minister for State at the Department of Agriculture and Food, John Browne are the men who should be behind bars, not these five outstanding Irish citizens.

We are calling for all charges to be dropped against Philip McGrath, Willie Corduff, Vincent McGrath, James Brendan Philbin and Michael O'Seighin.

With regards,
Andrew St. Ledger (PRO) and Ciaran Hughes (Secretary)
The Woodland League

+353-(0)87-9933157

woodlandleague@yahoo.ie

www.woodlandleague.org

c/o Ciaran Hughes,
Caherawoneen,
Kinvara,
County Galway

by IT Sat Jul 02, 2005 21:07

Good article from the Irish Times, quite long, but well written and researched.
Solidarity with the Rossport 5!!!

The five Mayo men jailed for contempt of court are resolved to stand firm until Shell finds an alternative route for its proposed natural gas pipeline , writes Lorna Siggins

Micheál Ó Seighin, a 65-year-old teacher who retired after a coronary bypass, had bags packed and was only uncertain about the timing of the arrests. Mayo's hero Michael Davitt would well turn in his grave, he observed. Speaking to The Irish Times, he was calm, almost resigned, as he prepared to leave his house in Carrowteigue and turn his back on the spray of the wild Atlantic, the big sky over Broadhaven Bay and the blanket bog of Erris which the late naturalist Frank Mitchell described as one of Ireland's "most dramatic, most fragile" landscapes.

Bríd McGarry, one of the group of seven who own 50 per cent of the land required for the onshore pipeline route, was in tears when she witnessed her five neighbours - Ó Seighin, Willie Corduff, Brendan Philbin, brothers Vincent and Philip McGrath - being led away for contempt of court. She knew that these were men of principle and resolve who could not be bought by promises of compensation. Willie Corduff's relative, Harry Corduff, was jailed in the mid-1960s over a road tax campaign linked to the state of Mayo's roads.

However, McGarry, a chemistry graduate who lives with her widowed mother at Gortacragher, expressed some relief the following day. "I'm not happy with what happened, but it was worse when we were in isolation here. The truth is going to start emerging now, and more and more people are going to start asking questions."

McGarry knew it had to come to a head, after months of claims of provocation and several instances where gardaí were called to monitor attempts by Shell officials to peg out land for the pipeline route. The company chose January 11th, the stormiest day of the year, with 97 mph winds recorded at Belmullet, to make one of its first forays.

Already, the impact of the men's jailing has had a shock effect on some of the 27 landowners who did sign compulsory acquisition agreements and those who had hitherto supported the €900 million project to pipe natural gas ashore from the Corrib field 70 km west. Some would have been sceptical enough about the opposition of seven landowners who own 50 per cent of lands on the route. They would also have been sceptical of a warning issued earlier this year to Erris residents by the US environmental lobby, Global Community Monitor, which produces an annual "Other Shell Report". The group has highlighted environmental controversies involving other Shell projects ranging from Durban in South Africa to Sakhalin island in Russia, and believes Erris could be next.

The jailings have stunned Chris Tallott, a member of the Pro-Erris Gas Group (PEGG), which supports the project and disbanded after An Bord Pleanála gave final approval for the onshore terminal or refinery at Bellanaboy last year. "I know these five men, I regret very much what has happened, and perhaps it has wakened us up to reality," Tallott says. "Those men are not going to be released now unless Shell can give a firm assurance about safety, and that means looking at other options which will take this pipeline away from people's houses and lands."

Bord Pleanála inspector Kevin Moore evidently believed property protection and human safety were reasonable considerations when he issued his ruling on the Corrib gas terminal planning application in April 2003. At this stage, the majority shareholder in Corrib was Enterprise Energy Ireland (subsequently taken over by Royal Dutch Shell).

The appeals board rejected permission for the terminal because of the high risk posed by the transfer of 650,000 cubic metres of peat to adjoining blanket bog as part of the site plan. Moore gave two other reasons for rejecting the application: visual obtrusiveness and adverse environmental impact; and the risk to human health under the Seveso II directive on transfer of hazardous substances, given the proximity of the terminal site to houses.

While the inspector's remit did not extend to the linking pipeline, he pointed out that projects similar to the Corrib proposal in other parts of the world were tied back to offshore processing platforms and not to land-based terminals. The developer had not proved that an alternative option was non-viable, he said.

MOORE WAS OVERRULED by his board on these points, but not on the bog instability issue - which was to prove telling when the Dooncarton landslide occurred in the area in September 2003. The appeals board eventually approved the terminal plan with conditions in October 2004. Opponents in Mayo weren't surprised - An Bord Pleanála's future was under threat; the Government still had plans for a critical infrastructure body which would fast-track "strategic" national projects. The Corrib gas field was one, given that the State was relying on one indigenous source off Kinsale, Co Cork.

Yet the Minister for Communications, Marine and Natural Resources, Noel Dempsey, has also acknowledged the risks in the Dáil. Replying to a written question from Mayo TD Michael Ring (FG) on February 24th last, he said that the onshore pipeline had certain design considerations which were "unusual and unique both within Ireland and also within Europe", and "for this reason there is no direct precedent".

The "extremely high design pressure of 345 bar" is "well above normal design pressure experienced for onshore distribution gas pipelines", Dempsey said. "This has resulted from the relatively rare occurrence where the pipeline is connected directly to the producing wells and not via an intermediate platform or processing facility as happens in most other cases".

Urged to intervene over this week's development, Dempsey is bound to a project which Fianna Fáil has been keen to back, ever since the party entertained EEI executives in its Galway Races tent in 1998. One of his predecessors in marine, Frank Fahey, attacked critics of the project on several occasions and, at a Humbert Summer School debate in 2001, accused them of "holding up progress".

Fahey promised that towns in the west would benefit by getting gas supplies, yet it emerged that there had been no such arrangement with Bord Gáis. Changes made to the 1987 and 1992 Finance Acts also meant that the State would reap little benefit, as no royalties are paid and the tax rate is set at 25 per cent. The Irish Offshore Operators' Association says this arrangement is essential to maintain exploration interest in Irish waters, given the poor record of exploitation to date.

Under the "project splitting" arrangement, which has ensured that every aspect of the Corrib plan is handled by a number of different bodies, the Department of Communications, Marine and Natural Resources is both responsible for promoting and also for approving and monitoring key aspects of the plan. The Health and Safety Authority has no remit in relation to the pipeline, apart from the safety of construction workers employed on its laying. As a judicial review of the project, currently before the High Court, has heard, there has been no overall environmental assessment of the entire €900 million scheme.

IN DECIDING TO take its legal action against the landowners, which it says it regrets, Shell has argued that it has all the "necessary consents". These consents relate to preparatory work only, however. The Minister told the Dáil last Thursday he had not yet approved the high-pressure pipeline's commissioning and installation. An "independent" review of the pipeline's quantified risk assessment, which he must publish before consent can be given, would show that it met the highest safety standards, he said.

Mayo TD Dr Jerry Cowley (Ind) dismisses this review as purely a "desk study" of information provided by the developers, coming in the wake of another "independent" review which Dempsey commissioned - and which he had to abandon in May when it emerged that the consultants carrying it out were actually owned by Shell. Dempsey's department has also confirmed to The Irish Times this week that one of its chief advisers on the pipeline, Andrew Johnson, worked for the pipeline designers J P Kenny from 1983 to 1986.

Galway-based engineer Brian Coyle, who submitted an objection to the terminal planning application, says Dempsey and Shell are correct when they state that the pipeline is designed to the highest standards.

"No engineer wants to design a pipeline that fails," he says. "The reality is that pipelines do fail, and have done so all over the world with fatal consequences."

In July 2004, for instance, a Shell-operated pipe ruptured in Ghislenghien, 40 km south of Brussels, killing 21 people. A leak was reported on the pipeline, which runs from the Belgian port of Zeebrugge into northern France, 37 minutes before the explosion. Firefighters were among those killed when the explosions destroyed two factories in the industrial park.

On August 19th, 2000, a 45 bar natural gas transmission pipeline exploded near Carlsbad, New Mexico, killing an extended family of 12 people on a camping trip; the Corrib gas pipeline is designed for 345 bar pressure - up to four times the pressure of any Bord Gáis transmission pipeline.

"That's why a risk analysis, as cited by the Minister, is not the solution. The issue is the route this pipeline will take. The risk analysis wouldn't have to be carried out if this pipeline wasn't running so close to people's houses and lands.

"There is no precedent for this proximity, and it is not recognised by international standards including the Seveso II directive," Coyle adds. "If this Government does approve it, it will have set a precedent which could have disastrous consequences in many more places than north Mayo."

by Rossport Families, Fwded by Terry - Shell to Sea Sat Jul 02, 2005 06:46 info at shelltosea dot com

STATEMENT OF THE FAMILIES OF THE PRISONERS, Friday July 1st.

The Minister for Communications, Marine and Natural resources has stated that he
cannot intervene in the case of the 5 jailed Rossport residents due to it being
a matter for the court.

We acknowledge that this does not fall within his remit.

It is however within the remit of the Minister and his department to deal with
the concerns raised by this pipeline and to be accountable for his actions and
those of his department.

As Irish citizens a duty of care is held over us by the Minister, as enforced by the Constitution.
This duty of care must hold preference over the interests Shell E&P or its partners.

If the Minister feels that it is impossible for him to intervene in a matter that is directly
under his authority then surely it renders as invalid the involvement of the his
department in this project.

by dan Sat Jul 02, 2005 02:03 dannyshen2001 at yahoo dot com

what has shell offered the five. Anything monetary. or jut take the land?

by G.ó Conbhaí Fri Jul 01, 2005 23:02 co mhaigheo

Lean oraibh a fir cróga ag troid ar shon ceanntar Iorrais.Tá ag éirí libh agus le cúnamh Dé beidh sibh saor gan mhoill.

Lads you are achieving ,Mayo Co. Council who are faceless and not brave are now reckoning that there is a septic tank in the Rossport Compound...and no planning tut,tut perhaps you can tidy your cell and keep it in tip -top shape for the Council,Andy Pyle,Frank Fahey and inform Ray Burke that his cairde may be with him soon! The cracks are appearing ..just like in the National Aquatic Centre,Mayo would not stand a chance if the same shoddy workmanship went into the proposed gaspipe line.(and we must remember that it is still a proposed gas line as Dempsey stated in Dáil Éireann yesterday!)
There is support for your stance throughout the world and it is only a matter of time before you achieve even more success ,Go n'éirí go breá libh.

by Bernadette Fri Jul 01, 2005 22:45

Please forward any messages of support or help to
freetherossportfive@eircom.net, all messages will be passed on to the families of the Rossport Five'. Please continue to do anything you can to highlight the cause.
Keep up the good work.

by Jess Fri Jul 01, 2005 21:52

Where+when are this weekends support demo's going on in Mayo? I heard Castlebar on Sunday, also a meeting in Ennis on Monday, but if anyone has more info please clarify. Thanks

by Dunlo Tom - Shell to Sea Fri Jul 01, 2005 21:52

of today's photo's.

by unison.ie Fri Jul 01, 2005 12:03

THE Mayo farmers - dubbed The Rossport Five by their supporters - issued a list of demands from their prison cells yesterday.

They said they wanted developers and the authorities as well as the State to halt "an unauthorised development" at Rossport.

They also wanted a cessation of all current operations both onshore and offshore including the refinery at Bellanaboy and pipeline works at Aughoose, Rossport and Glengad.

They called on Shell to "withdraw all threats of imprisonment and financial ruin" from over the heads of the people of north Mayo.

Finally, they demanded that the deal on offshore gas reached some years ago be renegotiated by the Government.

The statement was read to a group of between 100 and 150 protestors at a rally in Rossport where gas from the Corrib field is scheduled to come ashore.

The Rossport rally was followed by a similar protest at the proposed terminal site in Bellanaboy about five miles away.

About 80 Bord na Mona workers walked out of a peat site at Srahmore, Bangor Erris and joined the chanting protestors.

In a separate development Mayo Co Council issued a statement revealing that warning notices had been given to Shell E&P Ireland and Roadbridge Ltd for an apparent unauthorised development - a septic tank - at the Rossport depot.

Gardai weren't visible either at Rossport or Bellanaboy reflecting the concern of both the authorities and Shell to keep the mood low key in the wake of the jailing of the men.

Mayo councillor Michael Holmes, who attended the Rossport rally, said it was a sad day for democracy when five upstanding citizens were thrown in jail for standing up for their rights.

Tom Shiel

by Mary - O Connell Fri Jul 01, 2005 02:10 michaeloconnell1 at eircom dot net

Fully support these 5 men and admire them for having the courage of their convictions. Well done. Do not let the bullies win. You are an inspiration!
Mary O'Connell
Charleville

by shipsea Thu Jun 30, 2005 23:41

Boycott them.

by curt s e Thu Jun 30, 2005 22:51

their idea of courtesy and respect is to smile and use polite words while telling you to lay down and let them walk all over you.

I wonder who their PR company is?

by l Thu Jun 30, 2005 21:10

"At Corrib (Ireland), we categorically reject that our staff have at any time bullied locals or run roughshod over local communities. Shell staff have at all times behaved with courtesy and respect towards the landowners involved"

not buillied no just got them sent them to jail