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Annual Rossport Gathering
mayo |
rights, freedoms and repression |
news report
Wednesday June 09, 2010 13:27 by Bobajob - SHELLTOSEA
Hundreds gather to support Shell to Sea campaign Supporters from around the world joined in the annual gathering over the past weekend at the Rossport Solidarity Camp at Broadhaven Bay, County Mayo in support of the Shell to Sea campaign. A large contingent of cyclists travelled from Britain via Merthyr Tydfil in Wales where another campaign is focussed to stop an ugly open-cast coal mine which is destroying the environment, polluting air and water and endangering the community. The gathering at Rossport has been held every year since the jailing of the Rossport 5 in 2005 - local residents who refused, for reasons of health, safety and clean environment, to allow Shell / Statoil to lay an experimental high-pressure raw gas pipeline through their properties. The Irish government had, in an unprecedented move, provided the multi-nationals with compulsory purchase orders. The five were given indefinite prison sentences but were released after 3 months following massive public outcry. A later hearing vindicated them when the original pipeline route was rejected because of dangerous proximity to dwellings. |
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Jump To Comment: 1 2 3 4Slight quibble with the comment that the Solidarity Gathering happened since the jailing of the Rossport 5. The first gathering actually preceded the jailing. Several of the to-be Rossport 5 were present, this was actually about a month or so before the incident that made them into that group.
Niall Harnett asked in his phonecall to the camp last weekend that the work of Terry Dunne, who pretty much initiated the original gathering and thereby the Solidarity Camp be remembered for this. Terry had been going up to Rossport since at least the Good Friday Walk in 2005, then going around NUIG & presumably several other places continually telling people about the transportation of Peat from Bellinaboy which was causing a great deal of trouble.
Willie Corduff gave an impassioned speech from the truckbed stage that year that was very forgiving to those who'd accepted Shell money.
Mihail O'Sheighin gave a different talk about alternative sites for the refinery and the oddness of designation of terminology for the Rossport part of the pipeline. I think Vincent McGrath played music. & Ray Corduff lent us a field for the weekend.
17 days after the Rossport solidarity Gathering came the callout to phone numbers collected over the weekend that there was help needed with the truck vigil created by Vincent McGrath and joined by Willie Corduff. We spent several nights sitting in Willie's van watching that the truck wasn't moved. 12 days into the vigil the farmers from Rossport including Brid Mcgarry went over for a court hearing. I saw Philip sitting in the back of the car at 4am as i left the vigil shift, about 10hours later the word came through that the 5 men had been imprisoned for contempt of court. Later word came out that Brid wasn't imprisoned because it would be bad publicity to imprison a woman.
I was there at willie's van when the wives heard the news and later the whole of the Rossport road was filled with cars that came out to support the vigil. I think the builders and security at Bellinaboy walked off work that day too.
I've been trying to remember if the movement was named ShellToSea at the Solidarity camp weekend or in the wake of the imprisonment of the 5.
I'll put up some photos from this year ina while.
4 photos taken by myself this weekend
arrival of bikes at Glengad. End of the tour for many
bringing the noise, bike tour sound system hits the beach
come boatingt in sunny Glengad, one of the boating workshops
bonfire Sunday night
I took quite a few snaps this year. Can't believe I mistitled bike arrival above as Glengad when it was Bellinaboy.
still sorting through these.
Wanted to up the sandsculpture of Pat & NIall but this thing's claiming the file's too big & I don't know how to reduce it
sandcastle building they call it
willie gives talk on local campaign
This place used to seem isolated & lonely. Old path from camp in dunes becomes this year's campground
Pat's trailer outside the McGuire's do
good to see the sandmartins are still here, just around the corner from the cliff shell destroyed
(More photos at http://www.flickr.com/photos/aaocarroll/sets/7215762423...99308)
Strength in Community
Welsh sound system near where the pipe makes landfall on the beach
Workshop
Meeting
Radio Solidarity