Rossport Five
Encyclopedia
Willie Corduff
Willie Corduff is an Irish environmental activist from the farming community of Rossport, parish of Kilcommon, Erris. Corduff's parents first arrived in Rossport in 1947, and reclaimed a farm by hand out of bogland. He became a campaigner against Shells' activities in his local area...
and Micheál Ó Seighin. All five are from Kilcommon
Kilcommon
Kilcommon is a civil parish in Erris, north Mayo consisting of two large peninsulas; Dún Chaocháin and Dún Chiortáin. It consists of 37 townlands, some of which are so remote that they have no inhabitants...
parish, Erris
Erris
Erris is a barony in northwestern County Mayo in Ireland consisting of over , much of which is mountainous blanket bog. It has extensive sea coasts along its west and north boundaries. The main towns are Belmullet and Bangor Erris. The name Erris derives from the Irish 'Iar Ros' meaning 'western...
, County Mayo
County Mayo
County Mayo is a county in Ireland. It is located in the West Region and is also part of the province of Connacht. It is named after the village of Mayo, which is now generally known as Mayo Abbey. Mayo County Council is the local authority for the county. The population of the county is 130,552...
, Ireland
Ireland
Ireland is an island to the northwest of continental Europe. It is the third-largest island in Europe and the twentieth-largest island on Earth...
and were jailed on 29 June 2005 by Justice Finnegan, President of the High Court of the Republic of Ireland, for civil contempt of court
Contempt of court
Contempt of court is a court order which, in the context of a court trial or hearing, declares a person or organization to have disobeyed or been disrespectful of the court's authority...
after refusing to obey a temporary court injunction
Injunction
An injunction is an equitable remedy in the form of a court order that requires a party to do or refrain from doing certain acts. A party that fails to comply with an injunction faces criminal or civil penalties and may have to pay damages or accept sanctions...
forbidding them to interfere with work being undertaken by Shell
Royal Dutch Shell
Royal Dutch Shell plc , commonly known as Shell, is a global oil and gas company headquartered in The Hague, Netherlands and with its registered office in London, United Kingdom. It is the fifth-largest company in the world according to a composite measure by Forbes magazine and one of the six...
on their land. The committal order was sought by Shell who intended to build a high pressure raw gas
Natural gas
Natural gas is a naturally occurring gas mixture consisting primarily of methane, typically with 0–20% higher hydrocarbons . It is found associated with other hydrocarbon fuel, in coal beds, as methane clathrates, and is an important fuel source and a major feedstock for fertilizers.Most natural...
pipeline across land in Rossport
Rossport
Ros Dumhach is a Gaeltacht village and townland in northwest County Mayo, Ireland. It is within the barony of Erris and parish of Kilcommon...
to pipe gas from the offshore Corrib Gas Field
Corrib Gas Field
The Corrib gas project entails the extraction of a natural gas deposit off the northwest coast of Ireland. The project includes a development of the Corrib gas field, and constructions of the natural gas pipeline and a gas processing plant. The project has attracted considerable...
. Three of the five men own land in Rossport: Vincent McGrath and Ó Seighin were brought to court along with them as they had assisted in blocking the Shell workers. About thirty others who had done the same were not charged.
There were protests all over Ireland during the period of the men's imprisonment, with filling stations of Shell, and its junior partner Statoil
Statoil
Statoil ASA is a Norwegian petroleum company established in 1972. It merged with Norsk Hydro in 2007 and was known as StatoilHydro until 2009, when the name was changed back to Statoil ASA. The brand Statoil was retained as a chain of fuel stations owned by StatoilHydro...
, being picketed and blockaded by both political activists and ordinary members of the public, a campaign that would eventually morph into Shell to Sea
Shell to Sea
Shell to Sea is a campaign based in Cill Chomáin parish, Erris, County Mayo, Ireland which opposes the proposed construction of a natural gas pipeline through the parish and the ongoing construction by Royal Dutch Shell, Statoil and Vermilion Energy Trust of a refinery at Bellanaboy intended to...
. Defending his company's stance, Shell Ireland's CEO Andy Pyle said: "The fact is that we've gone through a process, and we have five people who don't like the outcome." All Shell sites around Rossport and Bellinaboy were blockaded by the men's neighbours, preventing work. Local TD
Teachta Dála
A Teachta Dála , usually abbreviated as TD in English, is a member of Dáil Éireann, the lower house of the Oireachtas . It is the equivalent of terms such as "Member of Parliament" or "deputy" used in other states. The official translation of the term is "Deputy to the Dáil", though a more literal...
Michael Ring
Michael Ring
Michael Ring is an Irish Fine Gael politician. He has been a Teachta Dála for the Mayo constituency since June 1994, and is the current Minister of State for Tourism and Sport....
said that Ireland was now a "dictatorship
Dictatorship
A dictatorship is defined as an autocratic form of government in which the government is ruled by an individual, the dictator. It has three possible meanings:...
within a democracy
Democracy
Democracy is generally defined as a form of government in which all adult citizens have an equal say in the decisions that affect their lives. Ideally, this includes equal participation in the proposal, development and passage of legislation into law...
". In an unusual move by the Irish judiciary, the men were told that a judge would be on hand at any time of day or night if they wanted to purge their contempt, by promising they would no longer hinder Shell employees.
Cloverhill Prison
Cloverhill Prison is located on Cloverhill Road, Clondalkin, Dublin 22. It has a bed capacity of 431 and its average daily number of inmates resident in 2009 was 438.-History:...
on 30 September 2005, after 94 days, when Shell applied to the High Court to have the injunction lifted. This came after intense media and political scrutiny of the case.
The five men and their supporters have continued to campaign on the issue. In September 2006, a TNS/MRBI poll of adults in Mayo, commissioned by RTE
RTE
RTÉ is the abbreviation for Raidió Teilifís Éireann, the public broadcasting service of the Republic of Ireland.RTE may also refer to:* Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, 25th Prime Minister of Turkey...
, showed 66% supported the stance taken by the five men in their defiance of the court order, 20% did not.
In January 2007, an account of events leading up their imprisonment was published by the Rossport Five.
In April 2007, Wille Corduff won the Goldman Environmental Prize
Goldman Environmental Prize
The Goldman Environmental Prize is a prize awarded annually to grassroots environmental activists, one from each of the world's six geographic regions: Africa, Asia, Europe, Islands and Island Nations, North America, and South and Central America. The prize includes a no-strings-attached award of...
on behalf of Europe
Europe
Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...
. No government representative was present, though representatives were present from other countries for their winners.
In April 2008, Vincent McGrath and Mícheál Ó Seighin's wife Caitlín, among others, helped set up Pobal Chill Chomáin
Pobal Chill Chomáin
Pobal Chill Chomáin is a pressure group based in the parish of Kilcommon, Erris County Mayo, Ireland. It emerged from the larger Shell to Sea campaign in April 2008...
(PCC), a more locally-based offshoot of the Shell to Sea campaign that is seen as more moderate.
The summer and autumn of 2008 saw over forty arrests around Glengad (including Willie Corduff), the intended landfall of the raw gas pipeline. Mícheál Ó Seighin gave a reading at the blessing
Blessing of the Fleet
The Blessing of the Fleet is a tradition that began centuries ago in Mediterranean fishing communities. The practice is predominantly Catholic and a blessing from the local priest was meant to ensure a safe and bountiful season...
of the Shell to Sea Fleet in September 2008.
External links
- Official website
- Analysis from the Centre for Public Inquiry
- book review from Socialist DemocracySocialist Democracy (Ireland)Socialist Democracy is the successor to People's Democracy, a left wing current which emerged in Belfast in 1968 during the civil rights movement in Northern Ireland. During the 1970s it evolved towards Trotskyist positions and, by merging with the Dublin-based Movement for a Socialist Republic,...