Corrib News Updates

22 May 2007

Rossport campaigner Willie Corduff, one of the five men jailed by the Irish courts for 94 days at the instigation of Shell, was awarded the Goldman prize, widely regarded as the most prestigious environmental prize in the world. "In contrast to the other six award winners no member of the Irish Government accompanied Willie to the awards. In fact no sitting member of the national Government has seen fit to recognise this unique achievement." (Shell to Sea website.)

Willie Corduff on the Goldman prize website. Congratulations from the Tara Foundation.

A High Court ruling on April 18 determined that
* The stance of the Rossport Five and Brid McGarry has been legally vindicated.
* The original pipeline route through Rossport is now defunct.
* Shell will have to pay the €1 million costs, including those of the Rossport landowners. (Indymedia)

The government and Shell still intend to push forward this pipeline, now definitively illegal, but the residents of Rossport are still determined.

16 January 2006
After 94 days in prison, the Rossport Five were released on September 30 2005. Mr Justice Joseph Finnegan told the men that they could still face prison terms for 'contempt'. The court case is pending. The campaign is set to continue with information meetings around the country, and the Rossport Camp is ongoing. There is a meeting on Saturday 21 January in Dublin at which the public can sign up to assist the camp in practical ways wherever they live. See this page for more information.

Wednesday 29 June 2005

"Do you have a house, do you have a car? You should think about your wife and family....."
Shell Vs. People Of Rossport: "Mafia Threats" from Judge Before He jails The Rossport Five.

The High Court has jailed five people at the request of Shell for attempting to stop the multinational from laying a controversial, high-pressure, "offshore" gas pipeline through their land in Rossport, Co Mayo. The judge ordered that the five men - four small landowners and a local supporter - be imprisoned "until they purge their contempt", meaning they will not be released until they have promised to allow Shell to dig up their land.

He warned them it was also in his power to seize assets, including their homes and farms. The judge also awarded costs against the five, Philip McGrath, Willie Corduff, Vincent McGrath, James Brendan Philbin and Michael O'Seighin. The landowners in question say if the pipeline goes ahead they will have to leave their homes because of the danger posed by the pipeline, which even Minister Noel Dempsey has acknowledged is "unprecedented" anywhere in the world. They had previously said they were prepared to go to jail rather than be "guinea pigs" in Shell's "experiment". Noel Dempsey has not yet given ministerial consent for the pipeline, yet the five were jailed for refusing to give an undertaking not to obstruct Shell from accessing their land to begin work. The jailing comes 10 years after the execution of nine Ogoni activists for their opposition to Shell's operation in Nigeria. From Indymedia. Our court report is here.