SHELL TO Sea supporters staged a solidarity protest outside Mountjoy Prison last night as retired school principal Maura Harrington was imprisoned for four months for a public order offence.
Niall Harnett of the Rossport Solidarity Camp was also jailed for two consecutive four-month terms for a public order offence and for an assault on a garda at Glengad, Co Mayo, the Corrib gas pipeline landfall, last year.
He is due to serve his sentence in Castlerea Prison, Co Roscommon.
The sentences were imposed by Judge David Anderson at a special sitting yesterday of Belmullet District Court.
Harrington was convicted under Section 8 of the Public Order Act for failing to comply with the direction of a garda. It is the third time she has been sent to prison this year in relation to her opposition to the Corrib gas project in north Mayo.
Eoin Lawless was also found guilty in court yesterday of a Section 8 public order offence at Glengad on August 30th last year, and is due to be sentenced. Another charge against Lawless of allegedly entering the Glengad compound on a date last May was dismissed.
A case involving Mr Harnett, Eoin Ó Leidhin and Iollán Ó Mongáin for public order offences at Glengad was also dismissed.
Dublin Shell to Sea spokesman Gary Ronaghan condemned the jailings and said the Government was “forcing an extremely unpopular and dangerous project on a rural community, which will facilitate the giving away of Irish gas to a consortium of multinationals”.
“The only way this can be done is by intimidating, criminalising and incarcerating those people who voice opposition to it.”
On March 11th this year, Harrington was directed to undergo psychiatric assessment by Judge Mary Devins after she was sentenced in Belmullet court to 28 days’ imprisonment for assaulting a garda. Harrington had denied the assault, which took place during a protest at Pollathomas pier in 2007.
The judge said she was satisfied that the prosecution had proved its case and convicted Harrington. In sentencing her, Judge Devins told Harrington she was less inclined to believe in her passion for her cause, having “witnessed the enjoyment she seems to get in being in the public limelight”.