Áine Ryan: 18 July 2017

IT was always about ‘sovereignty’ for retired teacher and one of the Rossport Five, Vincent McGrath. So last week’s news that Shell is in the process of selling the controversial Corrib Gas project reminded him of the lines from the War of Independence poem, Shanagolden:
“These hills are at peace again, the Saxon stranger gone.”

Speaking to The Mayo News yesterday (Monday), Mr McGrath, who with four other local men spent 94 days in jail in 2005 for flouting an injunction allowing Shell onto their lands, said: “For me it was always about sovereignty and the health and safety of our community and our Government ceded this to Shell and thus failed in their primary duty to protect their citizens in Erris.” read more

Lorna Siggins: 12 July 2017

Energy company Shell has sold its 45 per cent stake in the Corrib gas field to a unit of Canada Pension Plan Investment Board (CPPIB) in a deal worth $947 million (€830 million).

Below is a timeline of the controversial gas field’s past.

1996 – Corrib gas field discovery declared by Enterprise Energy Ireland Ltd, which submitted plans to pump it ashore and build an onshore refinery in north Mayo.

2001 – Government petroleum lease granted for Corrib field

April 2002 – Corrib acquired by Shell, which became lead developer with Norwegian company Statoil and Marathon. read more

Losses on Corrib near €2bn as Shell sells up

It had been beset by more than a decade of delays and rows with protesters before production began.

Gavin McLoughlin: July 13 2017 2:30 AM

The Corrib gas field has left Shell and its partners in the project with losses running to the best part of €2bn to date.

Shell announced yesterday it was exiting the project in a deal worth potentially as much as €1.08bn, selling its 45pc stake in the project to a Canadian pension fund, Canada Pension Plan Investment Board (CPPIB).

The deal – which is expected to complete next year – will see Shell take an impairment charge of around $350m (€307m) and write off $400m (€350m) in historical currency movements that have impacted on its valuation of the asset. read more

Extracts from an article by Colm Keena published by The Irish Times on 22 Sept 2016

Shell E&P Ireland Offshore Inc associated with Corrib gas project

Two companies registered in the Bahamas and used by Dublin property investor Paul Fenelon for investments in the UK are among companies of Irish interest on the Corporate Registry of the Bahamas.

The registry, normally difficult to access, is being made publicly available by the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists (ICIJ), of which The Irish Times is a media partner.

Shell E & P Ireland Offshore Inc, a company with an address in Nassau, has had a number of Irish directors over the years, starting in 2000.  The company is associated with the Corrib gas project in Co Mayo. read more

By REUTERS: PUBLISHED: 18:24, 4 July 2016

LONDON, July 4 (Reuters) – Anglo-Dutch oil major Royal Dutch Shell will start dismantling its nearly 40-year-old Brent Delta platform in the North Sea in 2017, a senior manager said, delaying the process by around one year.

Brent Delta, as tall as the Eiffel Tower, is the first of four Brent platforms to be decommissioned and one of the first large-scale projects to dismantle a depleted North Sea oil field.

The start of the complex work, which has been planned for 10 years, has been delayed to next year after it took longer than expected to equip the specialist vessel which will transport the 25,000-tonne topside of the platform to Hartlepool harbour where it will be taken apart. read more

Friday 6 May 2016

SHELL TO SEA campaigner Maura Harrington has been arrested in Mayo and taken to Mountjoy Prison to serve time for an unpaid fine.

It is understood she was arrested this afternoon as she left a bank in Belmullet. She was taken to Belmullet garda station and then transported to the Dóchas Centre women’s prison at Mountjoy, where she is expected to spend ten days.

The activist was convicted last year in relation to the obstruction of a tunnel-boring machine at the Shell plant in Ballinaboy. A monetary penalty of €300 was imposed as part of her sentence, but she has refused to pay it. read more

…many of those involved have been ridiculed, slandered, spied on, harassed, beaten and jailed – all for upholding their democratic right to peaceful dissent. Incidents included the 2005 jailing of the Rossport Five, who spent 94 days in prison at the behest of Shell.

Ruairí McKiernan

As gas is flared into the skies above north Mayo, it is worth reflecting on a project that has been one of modern Ireland’s greatest scandals, a stunning fiasco in planning, economics, environmental protection and the abuse of civil liberties.

Far from it being just about energy supply, jobs and development, the Corrib gas project cuts to the core of this republic and asks big questions about how the country is run.

For more than 10 years now, campaigners have attempted to highlight the project’s many flaws. read more

Peter Murtagh: 30 Dec 2015

Natural gas is flowing into the national supply grid from the Corrib gas field off Co Mayo for the first time since it was discovered in 1996.

One of six wellheads, drilled in 350m of water 84km off the west coast, was opened on Wednesday by the field developer, Shell E&P Ireland.

This started gas flowing through a 20 inch diameter off-shore pipeline to an 8.3km-long on-shore pipeline, which includes a 4.9km tunnel beneath Sruwaddacon Bay, the longest in Ireland.

It continues from there into the company’s reception terminal at Ballanaboy, near Belmullet in Co Mayo. read more

by Joe Leogue: Wednesday, August 26, 2015

Shell Ireland has officially applied to the Government for permission to operate the controversial pipeline from the Corrib gas field off the coast of Mayo.

The application is the first to be made under the Gas Act since the completion of its construction.

The pipeline is a joint venture by the Corrib Gas Partners which comprises Shell E&P Ireland Limited, Statoil, and Vermillion.

The application was sent to Minister for Communications, Energy, and Natural Resources Alex White on Tuesday, August 18. read more

The Corrib legacy: what the protests achieved

A rerouting of the pipeline and greater public awareness of how Ireland treats its natural resources were among the positive outcomes of the Shell to Sea, campaigners say

Bríd McGarry, a Mayo landowner, and Mary Corduff, wife of jailed farmer Willie Corduff, after five Mayo farmers were jailed in 2005 for refusing to give an undertaking not to obstruct the construction of the Corrib gas pipe line. Photograph: Alan Betson/The Irish Times

Lorna Siggins: Monday June 29, 2015

“You’ve gone very quiet up there.” North Mayo resident Mary Corduff reckons that if she had a euro for every time she heard this remark over the past few months, her purse could be pretty full. “People think because they don’t see us on protesting on the television that we have accepted this, but we haven’t,” Corduff says, looking out of her farmhouse window towards the Corrib gas refinery several miles away. read more

Article by Norma Costello published 23 March 2015 by vice.com under the headline:

A Massive Pipe Came Loose in an Atlantic Gas Field and Irish Environmentalists Are Not Happy

The Corib Gas pipeline project by the Western Irish fishing village of Rossport, County Mayo, has always been a source of controversy. It was established amid arrests and police batons, against the wishes of locals and environmental protesters. The project is supposed to start pumping gas this summer, and those activists remain convinced that extracting fossil fuels from an area famed for its natural beauty is a bad idea.

Just over a week ago, an 800 metre pipe that was supposed to be fixed to the sea-bed floated to the surface. Feeling that their fears may have been justified, local activists are demanding that the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) looks into it. I contacted the EPA who had previously said they would be investigating the issue. When I asked whether members of the EPA would visit the site, I was told they “don’t consider it necessary at this time”. read more

From an article by Michael T. Klare published 12 March 2015 by utne.com

Big Oil’s Broken Business Model

In the wake of collapsing oil prices, Big Oil must alter its broken business model or face being outcompeted by smaller, nimbler energy producers.

Many reasons have been provided for the dramatic plunge in the price of oil to about $60 per barrel (nearly half of what it was a year ago): slowing demand due to global economic stagnation; overproduction at shale fields in the United States; the decision of the Saudis and other Middle Eastern OPEC producers to maintain output at current levels (presumably to punish higher-cost producers in the U.S. and elsewhere); and the increased value of the dollar relative to other currencies. There is, however, one reason that’s not being discussed, and yet it could be the most important of all: the complete collapse of Big Oil’s production-maximizing business model. read more

Article by Lorna Siggins published by the Irish Times Friday 6 March 2015

Shell gig invite turned down by The Saw Doctors

Folk rock band The Saw Doctors has turned down an invitation from Shell E&P Ireland to play at a gig in north Mayo this month celebrating the competion of the Corrib gas terminal.

The Tuam band, which is currently on a break from live appearances, said it was “not interested in playing for Shell E&P Ireland”.

However, Shell has confirmed that some musicians among the company’s own staff would be performing instead.

Band manager Ollie Jennings received the invitation from Shell several months ago, and confirmed this week that the musicians refused to accept the booking. read more

Extract from an Irish Times article by Ciaran Hancock published Mon 16 June 2014

About €1.5 billion will be spent on oil and gas exploration around Ireland over the next three years, according to a study by accounting group PwC. Eighty per cent of those surveyed said they were optimistic about the chances of discovering oil here but almost two-thirds said the future development of the industry would depend on the licensing and financial terms offered by the Government. Nine out of 10 respondents said the “events” in Corrib, where Shell has been seeking to develop a natural gas field since 1996 against a backdrop of significant local opposition, had done “serious or significant damage” to Ireland’s reputation among international oil and gas companies. read more

Extracts from a review by Danny Chivers of the recently published book by retired Royal Dutch Shell Group Chairman Sir Mark Moody-Stuart: “RESPONSIBLE LEADERSHIP: Lessons from the Front Line of Sustainability and Ethics”

Article originally published under the headline:

“If this is responsible leadership, then I’m an Ogoni”

Reading this book was a strange experience. It was like stepping into a parallel Universe where extractive industries bring overwhelming benefits to communities around the world, with the only negative consequences being caused by corrupt local governments. Again and again throughout the book, Moody-Stuart seems to wilfully ignore the unequal power relations between multinational corporations and the people in whose lands they operate. Perhaps the element of the book that made me angriest was Moody-Stuart’s insistence, in relation to Nigeria and elsewhere, that Shell “did not get involved in local politics”. This ignores the wealth of evidence showing collusion between the company and Nigeria’s military regime that led to a landmark payout of $15.5 million by Shell to the families of nine executed Nigerian activists. read more

EMAIL RECEIVED FROM A MEMBER OF THE “ROSSPORT FIVE” (WITH REPLY COMMENT NOW RECEIVED FROM OSSL)

Hi, John

I am one of the Rossport 5.

I have followed the stream of detail on your web-site from OSSL in their exposé of gardai and much/many more. Thank you.
 
One very strange item  or dynamic , and not highlighted so far:-    OSSL have named many people and items that they delivered on behalf of Shell,  apart from the consignments of booze,  and the alleged recipients or gifters have in no case denied the veracity of the allegations. Of course it is more difficult to deny the matter when the goods are in existence – sheep pens, cattle crushers, TV sets, houses painted etc – than in the case of consumer items such as alcohol which have a habit of leaving no physical evidence. Surely on balance and objectively, it is not likely that OSSL people are truthful in all cases where physical remains exist and are then not truthful in the one case where physical evidence by its very nature is missing?. It seems to me that in a civil case the veracity of OSSL would have to be accepted. read more

“The Observer asked the Garda and Gilligan specifically to deny the delivery, but no denial came, only a repeat of the prepared statement. The Observer replied that, unless a denial was received, we would presume the veracity of OSSL’s story. Silence ensued.”

CLICK TO ENLARGE IMAGES OF FULL PAGE ARTICLE IN THE OBSERVER

PDF OF WHOLE PAGE ARTICLE

HEADLINE: Strange tale of Shell’s pipeline battle, the Garda and £60,000 worth of booze

Shell’s Corrib gas project has been delayed for years by strong resistance in County Mayo. Now claims are emerging of corporate sweeteners, including a consignment of alcohol for police after a clash with protesters

• Ed Vulliamy
• The Observer, Saturday 10 August 2013 12.57 BST

For 10 years, the Shell oil and gas behemoth has endeavoured to bring ashore a pipeline from the Atlantic into the heart-stopping beauty of Ireland‘s County Mayo seaboard. And for 10 years, local people whose ancestors farmed the land and fished the ocean have been determined to stop it.

The struggle has become an epic clash between the Goliath that is Shell, backed by the Irish police, and a group assembled around the umbrella protest group Shell to Sea, whose founder, retired primary schoolteacher Maura Harrington, says that, “thanks in no small measure to the Shell to Sea campaign, the project is 10 years behind schedule and its budget has trebled”. read more

The Corrib gas field in Ireland has become almost three times more expensive than planned and evoked local hatred against the company. The scandalous project is forgotten in Norway, however. Statoil is aware that the Corrib project has been controversial, but point out that Shell is operator for the development.

ARTICLES ABOUT STATOIL, SHELL & THE CORRIB GAS PROJECT, PUBLISHED TODAY IN NORWAY

1st ARTICLE

Statoil in Ireland money quagmire

The Corrib gas field in Ireland has become almost three times more expensive than planned and evoked local hatred against the company. The scandalous project is forgotten in Norway, however.

Erlend Skarsaune: Publisert: 24 mai 2013 15:26 Oppdatert: 24 mai 2013 15:27

Statoil was part of a rare gas discovery off the northwestern coast of Ireland in 1996. With its 36.5 percent share in Corrib, the company saw a green future in Ireland. The plan was to start gas production in 2003. It did not work. The scandalous Corrib project disappeared from the annual reports after Statoil referred to Ireland as a focus area in the early 2000’s.

Read the response from Statoil and Shell here: read more

The report refers to evidence of “a pattern of intimidation, harassment, surveillance and criminalisation” of those peacefully opposing the gas project.

UNITED NATIONS SPECIAL Rapporteur on Human Rights Defenders, Margaret Sekaggya, has called on the Irish government to investigate all allegations and reports of intimidation, harassment and surveillance in the context of the Corrib Gas dispute.

Sekaggay visited Ireland in November last year and met with a delegation, which included seven members of Shell to Sea, to discuss challenges faced by those protesting the project in Mayo. At the time she said she was “concerned” about the situation faced by activists. read more

In a report submitted to the UN Human Right Council last Monday (4^th March), the UN Special Rapporteur on Human Rights Defenders Margaret Sekaggya, called on the Irish Government to “Investigate all allegation and reports of intimidation, harassment and surveillance in the context of the Corrib Gas dispute in a prompt and impartial manner”. [1]

Mrs Margaret Sekaggya visited Ireland last November to assess the situation for Human Rights Defenders in Ireland. On the 21^st of November she met with a delegation from Shell to Sea.[2] read more

By John Donovan: We have published below the content of an email sent on 1 March 2013 to Shell CEO Peter Voser by a former Shell supplier in Ireland: The OSSL Company. Basically it is alleged that Shell involved the company in corruption, facilitating bribes given to third parties on Shell’s behalf, including the Irish police. This activity all related to the highly controversial Corrib Gas Project in Ireland, dogged by allegations of corruption, threats, imprisonment of protestors, and misconduct by Shell from the outset. OSSL claims that invoices were falsified at the instruction of Shell as part of the conspiracy. The email message has a typically Irish flavour…

CONTENT OF THE OSSL EMAIL TO PETER VOSER

A man in a SHELL HAT asks for a car engine …we ask why us?

The man in the SHELL HAT explains its for him …we ask who will pay and explain we don’t sell car engines …

The man in the SHELL HAT say he will pay and as a favour to him can we locate it and buy it

We think he’s wearing a SHELL HAT he must be a man of integrity or SHELL would not give him that hat.

We tell the man in the SHELL HAT your engine is here  …fine he says i will come and see you…

He arrives in our premises in person in the HAT ….now about that engine it’s not actually for me… now even although you thought it was because I told you it was read more

Big Oil has watched the Irish scene and its public protests and court cases with trepidation. John O’Sullivan, technical director with Providence Resources, told the Financial Times, “We’ve definitely seen a Corrib ripple effect…. [Potential investors] go through the technical assessment, it gets to their main board and then someone who has worked at Shell or read about Corrib says they are not going to touch Ireland.”

11 November 2012

Ireland’s troubled economy received a jolt of hope last month with the news that an oil field off the achingly beautiful coast of West Cork may contain as much as 1.7 billion barrels of oil, with 280 million barrels of that recoverable in the short term at a rate of 100,000 barrels a day, That’s more than the entire country consumes and you would think “Eureka!” is the word. But few are doing cartwheels just yet, given the legacy of futility that has plagued Irish offshore resource exploration for decades. read more

FROM OUR SHELL NEWS ARCHIVE OCTOBER 2005

The Guardian (UK): Don’t be defeatist: the power of protest is alive and well

“…in Ireland last week huge public pressure forced Shell to lift an injunction which had seen five anti-pipeline farmers jailed for 94 days.”

Friday 7 October 2005

The government cannot stifle dissent, say Helen Steel and Dave Morris

George Monbiot looked at some of the wide range of repressive measures increasingly being used to undermine the public’s right to protest (Protest is criminalised and the huffers and puffers say nothing, October 4). The government is exploiting every opportunity to extend its powers over us all. Its aim is to try to protect the status quo so that those who have wealth and power can continue to dominate our world, untroubled by anyone fighting back. read more

FROM OUR SHELL NEWS ARCHIVE OCTOBER 2005

Western People: Shell may face contempt proceedings over pipeline breach

“As the Rossport Five walked to freedom in the High Court on Friday after 94 days in jail, Shell oil company executives, who had demanded their imprisonment in the first place, were themselves having to face potential contempt of court issues.”

Posted Thursday, October 06, 2005

By Ray Managh at the High Court, Dublin

As the Rossport Five walked to freedom in the High Court on Friday after 94 days in jail, Shell oil company executives, who had demanded their imprisonment in the first place, were themselves having to face potential contempt of court issues.

High Court President, Mr Justice Joseph Finnegan, who released the men to the cheers of their families and friends, told counsel for Shell, Mr Patrick Hanratty, he wanted the company to address its breach of an undertaking not to do anything not permitted by the licence of Minister for the Marine, Noel Dempsey. read more

FROM OUR SHELL NEWS ARCHIVE SEPT 2005

Daily Telegraph: 10,000 to march in support of jailed pipeline protesters

“Anger is mounting over the jailing of five landowners who have been in prison for nearly 100 days for objecting to Shell building a pipeline through one of the last European -wildernesses.”: “The case of the Rossport Five, a group of small-time farmers from Co Mayo, has become an international cause célèbre and resulted in widespread criticism of the oil company and the Irish government.”

Monday 26 September 2005

By Tom Peterkin, Ireland Correspondent

(Filed: 26/09/2005)

Anger is mounting over the jailing of five landowners who have been in prison for nearly 100 days for objecting to Shell building a pipeline through one of the last European -wildernesses.

The case of the Rossport Five, a group of small-time farmers from Co Mayo, has become an international cause célèbre and resulted in widespread criticism of the oil company and the Irish government.

This week, 10,000 people will arrive in Dublin for a rally in support of the men while the issue is set to dominate the Irish parliament when it returns from its summer break on Wednesday. read more

FROM OUR SHELL NEWS ARCHIVE: ON THIS DAY IN 2005

Irish Times: Shell denies fears over loss of consents

“It is 80 days since five sincere men of principle were jailed by Shell. Talks, not imprisonments, will resolve this impasse that has exposed the unhealthy state of our democracy.”

Posted Sunday 18 Sept 2005

Lorna Siggins, Marine Correspondent

Shell E&P Ireland has denied fears of losing ministerial consents for the 900 million gas project if it lifts the injunction against five Mayo men in prison over opposition to the onshore gas pipeline.

However, the company has issued a plea to the men in prison to “consider their position”, following its first formal offer to them this week of mediation without any preconditions.

The men have agreed to formal mediation, but their solicitor, Padraic Ferry, said yesterday this could only take place if the injunction was lifted, as otherwise the men would be under duress. read more

FROM OUR SEPT 2005 SHELL NEWS ARCHIVE

Ireland On-Line: ‘Rossport Five’ supporters call for national rally

“Supporters of the so-called Rossport Five, who were jailed 11 weeks ago over their protests against a controversial gas pipeline, are today calling for public support for a national rally demanding their release.”

Thursday 15 Sept 2005

Supporters of the so-called Rossport Five, who were jailed 11 weeks ago over their protests against a controversial gas pipeline, are today calling for public support for a national rally demanding their release.

The Shell to Sea campaign, which opposes the construction of the gas pipeline in Co Mayo by oil giant Shell, is launching the rally outside the company’s offices in Dublin.

The national demonstration and march to Leinster House will take place on October 1, and families and supporters are urging trade unions, community groups and political parties to join the rally. read more

By John Donovan

Printed below is a leaked email to a Shell EP Ireland manager, Mr Brian Foley, sent by a thoroughly disenchanted local supplier to the Corrib Gas Project in Ireland, an enterprise dogged by controversy.

This includes several months imprisonment of local landowners, the Rossport Five and a hunger-strike by another jailed campaigner, the retired school principal, Maura Harrington, the current spokesperson for the Shell to Sea campaign.

Two sources have confirmed the authenticity of the email, which makes serious allegations that seem to have drawn several Shell officials, mangers and executives into the story, including the Chief Executive Officer of Shell EP Ireland, Mr Michael Crothers. read more

FROM OUR SEPT 2005 SHELL NEWS ARCHIVE

Question mark over legal status of Royal Dutch Shell Statement of General Business Principles

“The development may also be of interest to the Rossport Five jailed in Ireland at Shell’s behest after making a stand on environmental grounds.”

Friday 9 September 2005: 10.00am ET

By John Donovan

Comments in an important judicial handbook recently published as part of the United Nations Environment Programme, imply that contrary to previous understanding, voluntary Codes of Conduct implemented by multinational corporations may be subject to rights of legal redress. As a result, it appears that legal remedies for corporate misdeeds may have now reached the doorstep of Shell in relation to its Statement of General Business Principles (SGBP) which solemnly pledge honesty, integrity and transparency in all of Shell’s dealings. The SGBP is specifically cited in the relevant comments. read more

FROM OUR SEPT 2005 SHELL NEWS ARCHIVE

The Independent: Ballad of the Rossport five

The men held in Ireland’s Cloverhill prison now have not only their own title – the Rossport Five – but their own ballad as well, which lauds their gallantry and decries the energy giant Shell as an “ignoble predator”.

“The campaign received a boost in recent months when it was revealed that consultants brought in by the government were not independent, as had been claimed, and in fact had connections with Shell.”

Wednesday 7 Sept 2005

It is David versus Goliath as residents of Mayo try to halt Shell’s efforts to bring Ireland’s gas ashore. They say the oil giant’s plans are unsafe – and five protesters are now in jail.

David McKittrick reports

“Come all ye who love liberty, and listen to my tale, read more

FROM OUR SEPT 2005 SHELL NEWS ARCHIVE

Irish Times: Jailed protesters made their point, says Taoiseach

“…Bertie Ahern has said the five Mayo men imprisoned for contempt of court in connection with their opposition to the proposed Corrib gas pipeline have made their point and it is beyond him why they wish to remain in jail.”

Monday 5 Sept 2005

Gordon Deegan

Taoiseach Bertie Ahern has said the five Mayo men imprisoned for contempt of court in connection with their opposition to the proposed Corrib gas pipeline have made their point and it is beyond him why they wish to remain in jail.

The men are today in their 69th day in Cloverhill Prison in Dublin.

Speaking in Ennis on Saturday, Mr Ahern said unfortunately he had no power to release them from jail.

“The law would be the same for me if I was in contempt of court, I’d suffer the same fate and that’s how it is,” he added. read more

News Release – Issued by Shell to Sea – Thursday, 16th August, 2012

NEW EVIDENCE OF SHELL’S COVERT SURVEILLANCE EMERGES

— Scans of two IRMS notebooks sent to Shell to Sea —

This week Shell to Sea received further evidence of the surveillance operation that has been mounted by private security firm IRMS against campaigners opposed to the Corrib Gas project. The evidence consists of scans of pages from two IRMS notebooks that contain notes taken by IRMS personnel between April and June 2010. These scans of the notebooks can be viewed here: http://www.shelltosea.com/content/irms-notebooks-2010

Among the notes made was one which stated “VU Covert Camera Not in Box I-RMS 10” and also how the security went on the 5th June 2010 (while a gathering was taking place at Rossport Solidarity Camp) to “gather intel” and to take “Pics and names if possible”. The names of three campaigners are noted in one of the books. read more

FROM OUR AUGUST 2005 SHELL NEWS ARCHIVE

Ulster TV (Ireland): Rossport Five call for Shell to lift injunction

“In an open letter the Rossport Five say they accept the call for dialogue by the company but cannot follow through on it until they’re released.”

MONDAY 15/08/2005 12:45:28

The Mayo men jailed for contempt of court seven weeks ago are calling on Shell to lift the injunction so they can enter into talks with the company.

In an open letter the Rossport Five say they accept the call for dialogue by the company but cannot follow through on it until they`re released.

They were imprisoned indefinitely in June for breaching a court order directing that they not obstruct work on the Corrib Gas pipeline.

The men`s spokesman Mark Garavan says apologising to the court isn`t an option. read more

Fr Kevin Hegarty

In the John Millington Synge play ‘The Playboy of the Western World’, the hero, Christy Mahon regales three awed young women with the dramatic and false story of how he killed his father. Susan responds that it is a ‘grand story’ to which Honor says, ‘he tells it lovely’.

I believe that some local media commentators indulged in some Christy Mahon style of lurid embroidery in their coverage of the lorry bound for the Corrib Gas terminal at Bellanaboy which got stuck at Glenamoy junction. To me, it seems as if they did a partisan trawl of the Corrib archive to cast doubts on the overall integrity of the project. read more

FROM OUR AUGUST 2005 SHELL NEWS ARCHIVE…

Ireland On-Line: More than 1,000 turn out for ‘Rossport Five’ demonstration

Posted Sunday 14 August 2005

Supporters of the “Rossport Five” took their case to Galway this weekend where more than a thousand people attended a rally in the city centre.

The campaigners have been demanding that the Shell oil company abandons its plans to build a gas pipeline in their land.

The five Mayo men have now spent six weeks in jail for opposing the project.

Green Party councillor Niall O’Brolchain said that the men are prepared to stay there as long as it takes to prove the oil giant’s plans are not safe. read more

FROM OUR AUGUST 2005 SHELL NEWS ARCHIVE…

ShellNews.net: Shell loses Royal Dutch Shell PLC Domain Name Battle

As a result of their gross incompetence this *scandal ridden multinational finds itself in a highly embarrassing position. It has publicly laid claim to the domain name and will consequently suffer a considerable loss of face with its shareholders, the public and its competitors, as a result of the unanimous verdict.

Friday 12 August 2005: 01.35am ET

Unanimous verdict against Shell in Royal Dutch Shell PLC Domain Name proceedings

By John Donovan

A three person administrative panel appointed under the auspices of the World Intellectual Property Organisation has given a unanimous decision in favour of ShellNews.net website owner, Alfred Donovan, in respect of three Shell related domain names, including www.royaldutchshellplc.com

The WIPO decision document: http://arbiter.wipo.int/domains/decisions/html/2005/d2005-0538.html read more

The Irish Times – Saturday, August 11, 2012

LORNA SIGGINS, Western Correspondent

THE COMPANY which provides security for the Corrib gas project in Co Mayo has said it is working “to the highest standards”.

Integrated Risk Management Services (IRMS) was responding to disclosure of a company “situation report”, recording movements at a protest camp located on private land overlooking the Corrib gas pipeline worksite.

The report by IRMS’s “Aughoose Command and Control Centre” comprises a timeline of movements on June 29th and 30th last, from 7am to 7am. read more

FROM OUR AUGUST 2005 SHELL NEWS ARCHIVE…

Irish Times: FG leader wants TD to apologise for office picket

“The five men in Cloverhill face into their sixth week in prison, with no sign of any breakthrough due to Shell’s insistence on building an onshore terminal and its refusal to lift the injunction against north Mayo residents opposed to the onshore pipeline.”

Monday 8 August 2005

Lorna Siggins, Marine Correspondent

Fine Gael leader Enda Kenny has called for an apology from fellow Mayo TD Dr Jerry Cowley (Ind) about a picket of his constituency office over the Corrib gas issue.

Mr Kenny says he holds Dr Cowley “personally responsible” for “the behaviour, attitude and abusive language” towards two of his staff during an eight-hour protest on Friday in Castlebar.

Mr Kenny says he was “compelled for the safety and security” of his office and staff to call the gardaI to remove Dr Cowley “and his supporters” late on Friday. read more

FROM OUR AUGUST 2005 SHELL NEWS ARCHIVE…

Irish Times: Ministers can’t play both sides in key projects

“The dispute between Shell and the residents of north Mayo spilled over into the British papers last week. With the clarity that observing something from a distance allows, the story was distilled down to the company being ordered by the Irish Government to dismantle a pipeline because it had been built illegally.”: It is not the sort of publicity that any company likes, particularly one with Shell’s sensitivities…”

John McManus

Aug 08, 2005

Business Opinion: The dispute between Shell and the residents of north Mayo spilled over into the British papers last week.

With the clarity that observing something from a distance allows, the story was distilled down to the company being ordered by the Irish Government to dismantle a pipeline because it had been built illegally.

The other key fact to be gleaned from the UK newspaper reports was that five local men are in jail in Ireland for opposing this apparently illegally built pipeline, the safety of which appears to be an issue, because the Government is ordering an independent inquiry. read more

FROM OUR AUGUST 2005 SHELL NEWS ARCHIVE…

Irish Times: Compromise in Corrib gas dispute

“There is no doubt that Shell miscalculated badly if its management thought to intimidate other likely protesters by making an example of these men.”: Multinational companies in the oil and gas industry are accustomed to flexing their muscles and getting their way with governments. In its anxiety to develop the gas field, Shell overstepped its authority and undertook work that was not specifically sanctioned by Minister for Communications, Marine and Natural Resources Noel Dempsey. It has since been directed to undo that work: Shell’s public image has been seriously damaged.”

Thursday Aug 04, 2005

It is now days since five men went to jail for refusing to give an undertaking that they would not obstruct work on the construction of the Corrib gas pipeline in North Mayo. They have been in court on a number of occasions since that time. And, in spite of an invitation from High Court president, Mr Justice Finnegan, to purge their contempt and his observation that there was no sense in their remaining in jail, they have continued to opt for incarceration.

High stakes are being played for here. When the protests began some months ago, the great majority of local people had come to accept – after years of controversy and public debate – that the processing of natural gas from the Corrib field would take place on shore. The jailing of the men, following legal action by Shell E&P Ireland, has changed that situation. read more

Shell News Archive Monday 28 November 2005