Judge warns protesters of 'a very long' jail sentence

Five men jailed for obstructing work on the €900 million Shell Corrib gas pipeline will be in prison for "a very long time" if they refuse to purge their contempt of court, the High Court heard this morning.

The five north Mayo men - James Brendan Philbin, brothers Philip and Vincent McGrath, Willie Corduff and Micheál Ó Seighin - last night spent their second night in Cloverhill prison over their refusal to obey the terms of a court order of April 4th last restraining obstruction of the pipeline’s construction.

Three of the five were back in court this morning over a separate legal action taken by Shell E&P Ireland claiming Willie Corduff and brothers Vincent and Philip McGrath had blocked access to the company construction depot at Rossport, Co Mayo.

However, the High Court dismissed the order against the three men after they gave assurances that they would not block the road in the future.

President of the High Court, Mr Justice Joseph Finnegan said he was prepared to accept the men’s assurances that they would not block the road, but warned them that he would take the "strongest measures" if they failed to uphold their promises.

In relation to the earlier contempt of court that saw the five men put in jail for failing to refrain from obstructing a gas pipeline, solicitor Greg Casey for the men said he was seeking an alteration to the original order on the grounds that Shell were "grossly incorrect" in claiming they had permission to build the pipeline.

He said he learned yesterday the Ministerial consents for the installation of the pipeline were  invalid . Minister for Communications, Marine & Natural Resources Noel Dempsey told the Dáil yesterday Shell "has the consent to mark out proposed routes and so forth, but it does not have the consent to lay the pipeline immediately. It cannot enter the lands to lay the pipeline at present."

Mr Casey said he would therefore be seeking an order for the injunction granted to Shell last April to be discharged.

Mr Justice Finnegan agreed to hear this motion on Wednesday next.

"I am aware that there are five people in custody on foot of an order that may be changed," Mr Justice Finnegan told the court. He said that the men may wish to purge their contempt before Wednesday. "Other that that I'm afraid they're going to remain in jail for a very long time," he added.

Around 50 supporters of three men cheered them loudly as they left the Four Courts to return to prison.

Speaking outside the court, Mayo Fine Gael TD Michael Ring claimed the whole country was supporting the men. getting support from people all over the country. "This is really a small community against the state, against big business and against the local authority. At the end of the day, justice will be done," he said.

Independent TD Jerry Cowley described the jailing of the men as a disgrace. "It just shows the small man doesn't matter any more. The multi nationals can just walk over everybody," he said. "These people are only looking for the right to live in peace in their own home but they are being criminalised by Shell," he said.

The relatives of some of the five men jailed have urged the public to boycott Shell service stations in an attempt to force the company to reroute the installation.

The protesters claim the pipeline is unsafe because of the pressure at which the gas pumped through it.

Mayo County Council confirmed last night it had issued warning notices to Shell and Roadbridge Ltd over unauthorised developments at Rossport, Co Mayo. The developments relate to a septic tank.

Shell plans to pump gas from the Corrib gasfield along the nine-kilometre pipeline to a onshore refinery at Bellanaboy in Mayo. In a statement issued from jail yesterday, the five called on Shell to stop all "illegal" development at Rossport and to cease all current development associated with the gas project.

However, Patrick Hanratty SC, for Shell E&P Ireland, insisted it was "absolutely incorrect" to say there was no consent for the pipeline. He argued there was a "phased consent" programme in operation.