Irish media misrepresents Corrib gas objectors

A DISTURBING feature of the Corrib gas dispute has been gross misrepresentation of the Shell to Sea campaign by the Irish sensationalist press. This warping of the true nature of the dispute does a grave disservice to Irish democracy.

I recently participated in one of the daily protests in Rossport, and can say that the ‘Shell to Sea thugs’ !are, in fact, ordinary decent citizens who have studied how a Shell-led consortium proposes to process the Corrib basin reserves onshore, and the likely impact of such on their community.

The protestors believe, rightfully, that the conveyance of untreated and highly toxic gas — which is under enormous pressures in pipes close to their homes — from the basin to a processing terminal six miles inland will present an enormous environmental and health hazard.