Join The Protest At Shell Headquarters 2pm, Saturday 2nd December
Shell to Sea are organising a protest on Saturday the 2nd of December outside of Shell corporate headquarters on Leeson Street, Dublin. The event will begin at 2pm with Willie Corduff of the Rossport Five and Bríd Ní Sheighin of Shell to Sea Mayo scheduled to speak. In addition there will be speakers from both the trade union movement and Shell to Sea Dublin as well as performances from a number of musicians.
The protest offers a timely opportunity for the people of Dublin and the surrounding areas to show their support for the community of Erris and the Shell to Sea campaign. Recent weeks have seen the Gardaí repeatedly attack peaceful protests at the site of Shell's controversial refinery in Bellanboy, Co Mayo. In this the Gardaí are implementing the will of their political masters in Fianna Fail and the Progressive Democrats who have clearly decided that the natural resources of Ireland belong not to the people of Ireland but instead belong to the highest bidder, which in the case of the Corrib Gas wasn’t very high at all.
Speaking ahead of Saturdays event Éirígí chairperson Brian Leeson explained the purpose of the protest -
“This protest is about broadening out the Shell to Sea campaign beyond a narrow focus on Bellanboy and Rossport. This campaign has brought a whole range of issues into sharp focus but two stand-out most clearly. Firstly, there is the issue of how and to whose benefit Ireland's natural resources are being exploited and secondly, but no less importantly, major questions are now being asked about just how democratic this state actually is when an entire community can be besieged and attacked simply to protect Shell's profit margins”.
He continued “When we gather on Saturday we will be outside of the Irish headquarters of one of the world's largest and most infamous corporations. Despite the time of year I would encourage as many people as possible to attend and let Shell and their friends in the Dublin government know that Ireland is not for sale. In particular I would encourage all Republicans, regardless of other differences, to turn out on Saturday and to become involved in this campaign on an ongoing basis. The issues involved are or huge importance not just to this generation but also for generations to come”.