Shell to Sea
[1] The three stated aims of the campaign, as cited on its website, are that "Any exploitation of the Corrib gas field be done in a safe way that will not expose the local community in Erris to unnecessary health, safety and environmental risks", "To renegotiate the terms of the Great Oil and Gas Giveaway, which sees Ireland's 10 billion barrels of oil equivalent off the West Coast go directly to the oil companies, with the Irish State retaining a 0% share, no energy security of supply and only 25% tax on profits against which all costs can be deducted" and "To seek justice for the human rights abuses suffered by Shell to Sea campaigners due to their opposition to Shell's proposed inland refinery".
[2] Incidents of note include the 2005 jailing of the Rossport Five and the public outcry that followed,[3] the 2007 Goldman Environmental Prize received by Willie Corduff (one of the five), local fisherman Pat O'Donnell's laying of 800 crab pots at sea and Maura Harrington's hunger strike against the Allseas pipe-laying ship Solitaire in 2008, an alleged assault on Corduff in 2009 which was condemned by Desmond Tutu,[4] the 2011 "rape tape" scandal when Gardaí (police) accidentally filmed themselves joking about the imagined rape of two female protestors after arresting them,[5] and the reports of gifts of alcohol worth tens of thousands of euros from Shell to the Gardaí, which broke in 2013.
[7] Local landowners in Rossport had previously been told that the raw gas pipeline would be coming through their lands no matter what, and that they would be subject to Compulsory Acquisition Orders if unwilling to reach a deal with Shell.
[3] Rallies in support of the men's stance were held in major towns and cities, and Shell and Statoil filling stations were picketed.
On Tuesday 26 September 2006, protesters prevented Shell's employees from entering the site of the intended refinery at Bellanaboy to begin work.
[12][13] A second large scale protest march took place on 10 November, the anniversary of the execution of Ken Saro Wiwa and eight other anti-Shell activists in Nigeria in 1995.
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.
Taoiseach Bertie Ahern, leader of Fianna Fáil, 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".
[15] On 5 June, five protesters chained themselves together[citation needed] outside the Bord na Móna facility near Bangor Erris where Shell have been dumping the peat removed from Bellinaboy.
Pobal Chill Chomáin proposed moving the refinery to Glinsk, which would have removed the necessity to transport the gas near people's homes and under roads.
In August, S2S began training for marine protests in anticipation of the arrival of the Allseas pipe-laying ship Solitaire, the biggest of its kind in the world, with a collection of small boats.
In the meantime, a local Porturlin fisherman, Pat O'Donnell, laid 800 crab pots along the intended path of Solitaire, and defended them from Shell survey boats which attempted to remove them.
Harrington, who had recently retired as principal of the local Inver Primary School,[17] continued her protest until the ship left Irish waters.
[citation needed] In a separate development, An Bord Pleanála found that up to half of the final section of Shell's proposed route for the onshore pipeline was 'unacceptable' on safety grounds.
[citation needed] Shell failed to meet An Bord Pleanala's deadline in February and applied for an extension of time to put their proposals forward as to how the project might proceed.
The complaint, which was upheld, stated that RTÉ's report was inaccurate, lacked fairness, objectivity and impartiality and caused the woman involved undue harm and offence.
In May, 30 to 35 sections of wooden bog road were removed from their positions in the Shell site at Aughoose in a mass direct action by protestors.
In July, Shell attempted to transport the tunnel boring machine from Dubin Port to Ballinaboy, but were met by many direct actions.
The report, entitled 'Liquid Assets: Ireland's oil and gas resources and how they could be managed for the people's benefit', was launched by Paul Murphy, Socialist Party MEP.
[29] In February 2013, with Shell having revealed 2012 profits of €19.6 billion, people blocked trucks on their way to the multinational corporation's tunnelling compound at Aughoose.
Campaigner Maura Harrington said: "The Government are still willing to force suffering on the people of Ireland through severe cutbacks, yet at the same time give our oil and gas away to multinational companies such as Shell, with no benefit to country.
"[30] In 2018, Shell exited the project, selling its ownership stake to the Canada Pension Plan Investment Board and transferring operatorship to minority owner Vermilion Energy.
[36] In its rankings of countries' facilitation of oil and gas companies, the World Bank rates Ireland in its highest, "very favourable" category,[citation needed] along with Pakistan and Argentina.
[citation needed] 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 and a memorial to the Ogoni Nine erected.
[43] McDowell subsequently leaked the alleged faked passport application to a friend, the journalist Sam Smyth of the Irish Independent,[44] and prejudiced any potential Garda investigation.
