For almost a decade, the small rural community of Killcommon, County Mayo, Ireland, have been successfully resisting a Shell-led consortium’s attempts to build and operate a high pressure gas pipeline and refinery in their remote and ecologically sensitive region. For the past four years, the community-led campaign, Shell To Sea, has been supported by the Rossport Solidarity Camp. The unusual situation of a local community campaign with an integral international activist element has resulted in an inspiring struggle which remains dynamic, both tactically and ideologically.
The Corrib gas field has a potential value of over 50 billion Euros, including its associated fields. It is jointly owned by Shell (45%), Statoil Hydro (36.5%) and Marathon (18.5%). The Irish government has offered its full support to the oil companies. Planning processes have been bypassed, laws changed, hundreds of Gardai (police) brought in to repress resistance and members of the community imprisoned. Despite the odds stacked against it, however, the community campaign has remained resilient. The health and safety of residents, the livelihoods of the mainly farming and fishing population, and the fragile ecology of the region all depend on the campaign’s success. Resistance is not so much a choice; it is as a necessity. From 2000 until now, the campaign has used a diverse range of tactics to resist the development. The construction site has been repeatedly blockaded and occupied; machinery and equipment sabotaged; lock-ons used and water-based action taken. All legal and planning avenues have further been explored and environmental agencies appealed to. The effectiveness of the resistance can be gaged by observing the extensive CCTV; scores of security guards on 24-hour watch at the refinery; hundreds of Gardai posted to the region; increasing number of bribes offered to local individuals and community groups; and the ongoing delays to work. This rural community has become a thorn in Shell’s side that the multinational remains unable to remove despite its best efforts. In 2005, the community first shifted towards the use of direct action as they forcibly resisted Shell engineers’ attempts to stake out the route of the pipeline. The indefinite jailing of five men who refused Shell access to their land galvanised resistance to the project. Solidarity actions were organised across Ireland. Meanwhile in Mayo, pickets shut the refinery construction site down. After three months, popular protest forced the release of the five men. The pickets, however, continued and the site remained closed for over a year. In October 2006, almost 200 Gardai were drafted into the area to break the picket. Hundreds of people travelled across Ireland to support the community. Gardai violence escalated and many people were injured. In the face of this state repression, and fearing for protesters’ safety, the community took the decision to call off a major demonstration in November. The cancellation of the demonstration meant the campaign lost momentum, particularly at the national level. Perhaps the resistance during this early period highlights the strengths and weaknesses of a campaign led by the heart. The passion that drives resistance means direct responses to acts perceived as unjust are rapid, strong and unified. On the other hand, the decisions taken may not be the most politically expedient, as was the case with the November 2006 demonstration. In the period following this de-escalation of resistance, the campaign was considerably weakened. The picket continued at the site but it almost became a place for people to meet, rather than an effective act of resistance. State violence had instilled fear in the community, limiting their willingness to continue engaging in action. In summer 2007, activists from the Rossport Camp attempted to diversify tactics and took part in a lock-on to blockade the site. The action successfully stopped work but a number of community members responded with ambiguity. In contrast, when Shell forced their way onto a private pier later that same week to construct a new compound, the landowner, community and camp acted together to stop them. The incident at the pier arguably follows a pattern in the campaign. Periods of greater resistance are typically reactionary; they build up around flash points. Later in the summer of 2007, three prominent community activists were jailed. Resistance intensified in response. Two local men blocked the site with another lock-on and other locals blocked alternative access routes. When the three men were released on bail, a convoy of over 150 cars met them and drove to the refinery site. The gates were forced open and the site occupied. In 2008, the more moderate voices in the campaign left Shell To Sea to form a new group. This allowed Shell To Sea to follow a more radical agenda and, over that summer, the community and the camp worked together using direct action to prevent the laying of the offshore pipeline. Many took to the water in small boats to stop work; local fishermen exercised their legal right to work in the bay, obstructing the path of the ship and preventing its access; and one local woman began a hunger strike, demanding that the ship left Irish waters. Eventually, the ship sustained damage that prevented it from completing work. This was a time of change in the campaign. Direct action was now considered a legitimate tactic in most situations. Trust had built up between the community and outside supporters, enabling both collective action and greater dialogue around the limited aims of sending Shell to sea compared to the broader concerns of those who approach the struggle from an ecological and anti-capitalist perspective. Attempts at offshore pipe laying were planned to resume in Spring 2009 and actions against Shell are continuing. For instance, a day of action was organised on 9th May. On 19th May, activists from Dublin Shell To Sea blocked the entrance of the prison van carrying activist Maura Harrington. A Summer Gathering also took place 29th May and 1st June as Shell returned to Glengad. For more up-to-date information, check out www.corribsos.com and www.indymedia.ie/mayo.
The Corrib gas field has a potential value of over 50 billion Euros, including its associated fields. It is jointly owned by Shell (45%), Statoil Hydro (36.5%) and Marathon (18.5%). The Irish government has offered its full support to the oil companies. Planning processes have been bypassed, laws changed, hundreds of Gardai (police) brought in to repress resistance and members of the community imprisoned. Despite the odds stacked against it, however, the community campaign has remained resilient. The health and safety of residents, the livelihoods of the mainly farming and fishing population, and the fragile ecology of the region all depend on the campaign’s success. Resistance is not so much a choice; it is as a necessity. From 2000 until now, the campaign has used a diverse range of tactics to resist the development. The construction site has been repeatedly blockaded and occupied; machinery and equipment sabotaged; lock-ons used and water-based action taken. All legal and planning avenues have further been explored and environmental agencies appealed to. The effectiveness of the resistance can be gaged by observing the extensive CCTV; scores of security guards on 24-hour watch at the refinery; hundreds of Gardai posted to the region; increasing number of bribes offered to local individuals and community groups; and the ongoing delays to work. This rural community has become a thorn in Shell’s side that the multinational remains unable to remove despite its best efforts. In 2005, the community first shifted towards the use of direct action as they forcibly resisted Shell engineers’ attempts to stake out the route of the pipeline. The indefinite jailing of five men who refused Shell access to their land galvanised resistance to the project. Solidarity actions were organised across Ireland. Meanwhile in Mayo, pickets shut the refinery construction site down. After three months, popular protest forced the release of the five men. The pickets, however, continued and the site remained closed for over a year. In October 2006, almost 200 Gardai were drafted into the area to break the picket. Hundreds of people travelled across Ireland to support the community. Gardai violence escalated and many people were injured. In the face of this state repression, and fearing for protesters’ safety, the community took the decision to call off a major demonstration in November. The cancellation of the demonstration meant the campaign lost momentum, particularly at the national level. Perhaps the resistance during this early period highlights the strengths and weaknesses of a campaign led by the heart. The passion that drives resistance means direct responses to acts perceived as unjust are rapid, strong and unified. On the other hand, the decisions taken may not be the most politically expedient, as was the case with the November 2006 demonstration. In the period following this de-escalation of resistance, the campaign was considerably weakened. The picket continued at the site but it almost became a place for people to meet, rather than an effective act of resistance. State violence had instilled fear in the community, limiting their willingness to continue engaging in action. In summer 2007, activists from the Rossport Camp attempted to diversify tactics and took part in a lock-on to blockade the site. The action successfully stopped work but a number of community members responded with ambiguity. In contrast, when Shell forced their way onto a private pier later that same week to construct a new compound, the landowner, community and camp acted together to stop them. The incident at the pier arguably follows a pattern in the campaign. Periods of greater resistance are typically reactionary; they build up around flash points. Later in the summer of 2007, three prominent community activists were jailed. Resistance intensified in response. Two local men blocked the site with another lock-on and other locals blocked alternative access routes. When the three men were released on bail, a convoy of over 150 cars met them and drove to the refinery site. The gates were forced open and the site occupied. In 2008, the more moderate voices in the campaign left Shell To Sea to form a new group. This allowed Shell To Sea to follow a more radical agenda and, over that summer, the community and the camp worked together using direct action to prevent the laying of the offshore pipeline. Many took to the water in small boats to stop work; local fishermen exercised their legal right to work in the bay, obstructing the path of the ship and preventing its access; and one local woman began a hunger strike, demanding that the ship left Irish waters. Eventually, the ship sustained damage that prevented it from completing work. This was a time of change in the campaign. Direct action was now considered a legitimate tactic in most situations. Trust had built up between the community and outside supporters, enabling both collective action and greater dialogue around the limited aims of sending Shell to sea compared to the broader concerns of those who approach the struggle from an ecological and anti-capitalist perspective. Attempts at offshore pipe laying were planned to resume in Spring 2009 and actions against Shell are continuing. For instance, a day of action was organised on 9th May. On 19th May, activists from Dublin Shell To Sea blocked the entrance of the prison van carrying activist Maura Harrington. A Summer Gathering also took place 29th May and 1st June as Shell returned to Glengad. For more up-to-date information, check out www.corribsos.com and www.indymedia.ie/mayo.