Cork Shell to Sea occupy Marathon Oil's Irish HQ

cork | rights, freedoms and repression | news report Friday March 30, 2007 15:45 by Ray, Gráinne et al. - Cork Shell to Sea corkshelltosea at gmail dot com

How a bunch of runners embarrassed a Marathon!

At 11:30 this morning, ten members of Cork Shell to Sea staged an occupation of Marathon Oil's Irish HQ in Mahon, Cork. Many of the people on the action were dressed as runners, both as a play on the company name and as an allusion to the marathon determination of the Erris communities and the campaign itself. Entry was swift, easy, and unforced. We were inside there for over half an hour before the Gardai arrived. A spirited and good-natured dialogue occurred between Cork S2S members and senior management at Marathon Oil. We left dragging our heels a little, making our departure protracted.

Getting into gear for the action

At 11:30 this morning, ten members of Cork Shell to Sea staged an occupation of Marathon Oil's Irish HQ in Mahon, Cork. Until now, the role of Marathon Oil in the Corrib Gas scandal has received little or no attention from either the campaign or the media. Marathon are happy to let Shell be the bloody spear-point of the Big Oil takeover of Ireland's natural resources, while Marathon themselves can pretend it has nothing to do with them. Given what has happened up in Erris over the last seven years and yes, Marathon Oil has been involved from the very beginning, Marathon's self-serving guff about 'corporate responsibility' on their website reads like a sick joke.
Many of the people on the action were dressed as runners, both as a play on the company name and as an allusion to the marathon determination of the Erris communities and the campaign itself. Entry was swift, easy, and unforced. The runners took themselves about the not-at-all-impressive corporate outpost (I have some funny footage of this, maybe later) and made a noisy friendly boisterous racket about the place. Specially-made leaflets were distributed about the building and cunningly secreted in some places. The Marathon Oil bosses were mostly uptight and from all appearances they had told the subordinates to hide and stay away from the protestors. Either that or it's the only workplace in Ireland that's all chiefs and no braves.
We were inside there for over half an hour before the Gardai arrived. A spirited and good-natured dialogue occurred between Cork S2S members and senior management at Marathon Oil. There was one executive there who didn't suffer from the defensive-aggressive paranoia of his colleagues, and was engaged in civil argument by Gráinne for much of the time we were there. We left dragging our heels a little, making our departure protracted. Stalwart delaying tactics from savvy veterans like Pat the Picket reduced a senior Guard to using words like 'please' and 'may you?', most un-Garda-like behaviour. Once Marathon and the cops had removed us from their tatty car park and nondescript office slum, they closed and locked the gates. Both us and the Gardai hung around for a while, us handing out leaflets to passing drivers and pedestrians, the cops watching us from their cars.
Soon after we went to a nearby supermarket, and had our banners prominently displayed at the crossroads there. It was then that the Gardai saw fit to arrest one of our number, Arran, allegedly for some bullshit road traffic stuff. He's still in the Bridewell Garda Station at the time of writing, and several of us are outside with our banners etc. waiting for him to be released from the clutches of those spiteful fiends. All in all a fun action to do, it gives Marathon Oil something to think about as they cower in their low-rent outpost in the neo-imperial boondocks, and we distributed 300 or more leaflets in the action. And those Marathon guys should really lighten up!

Random thought: Marathon have been in Ireland operating gas wells and yes offshore refining platforms for the last 30 years. Given the state of their local HQ, it appears Marathon are not keen on spending one cent more than they have to in Ireland.

A lying-down occupation action

Gráinne with whatshisname from Marathon Oil

Outside the gates after we left - note the closed, locked gates.

This was when Arran got arrested.