This article is from page 16 of the 2006-10-17 edition of The Clare People. OCR mistakes are to be expected so download the original SWF or the rendered page 16 JPG
THE Clare Shell-to-Sea group has stepped up its campaign against the construction of the Corrib gas pipeline with a series of protests in the county. The organisation hosted its largest protest in Clare last Friday outside Shell’s depot on the Limerick road in Ennis and are planning a number of events this weekend.
Members of the organisation have been travelling to Mayo to take part in the ongoing blockade of the €200 million project while Clare members were also involved in the sitdown protest last Monday.
This protest was significant as it was the first occasion that members of the Shell-toSea protest defied the law and also the first time that Gardaí physically removed protesters from the site.
“Monday marked a new departure for the situation up there,” said Tony Kirby of Clare Shell-to-Sea. “There were a couple of unsavory incidents. It was complete chaos for three hours or so. Some of the guards were being very heavy-handed but that was a minority of them.”
The organisation has also dismissed media reports that Sinn Fein is now orchestrating the Mayo protests.
“Of the 150 to 200 people that are protesting every day, maybe two or three are from Sinn Fein,” Mr Kirby said. “The people who are saying this are trying to undermine the real debate, to discredit the health and safety concerns and to distract the people from the real issue.”
Clare Shell-to-Sea are planning another protest this Friday while a number of their members will travel to Mayo to take part in the national day of protest on the same day.