Lawyers for Shell Five to seek men’s release

LAWYERS for five local people who have been in jail for more than a week for breach of court orders restraining obstruction of the installation of a high-pressure gas pipeline in Co Mayo are to bring an application to discharge the order on foot of which the men are jailed.

Sarah Belshaw, for the men, secured leave yesterday from the President of the High Court, Mr Justice Joseph Finnegan, to issue a motion for discharge of the order made by the judge on April 4 last. The order restrains obstruction of works connected with the installation of the pipeline by Shell E and P Ireland.

The judge said the matter could be returned for mention only on Monday next with a view to securing a date for hearing sometime next week.

The five men were imprisoned on June 29 after refusing to undertake not to obstruct the construction of a pipeline at Rossport, linked to the offshore Corrib gas field.

On Wednesday, related proceedings were mentioned before Mr Justice Finnegan. These are also aimed at discharging the judge’s order of April 4. When adjourning those proceedings to next week, the judge said the fate of the five men was in their own hands and it was up to them to purge their contempt.