John Monahagn - Shell to Sea Activist - Gives talk in Cork
cork |
miscellaneous |
news report 
Thursday August 09, 2007 12:42
by mel- s2s cork - cork shell to sea
"Shells partnerhsip with community likened the the partnership one has with the Chirstmas Turkey"
Cork residents gathered on the banks of the river Lee to get an update on the situation in Mayo.
Over 60 Corkonians attended a public talk given by John Monaghan this evening at the Metropole hotel. The evening was kicked off with a photo slide show done by local photographers Pat and Camilla. John then brought the Rebel county up to speed on the past and present situation in north west Mayo. He touched on many relavent topics of the campaign from Ray Burkes giveaway deal to details of pipeline diamaters , something about sub-sea tie back, and guarda brutality. The crowd were lively and questions and comments were coming fast and furious. After about an hour of lively debate Willies Goldman bio was shown and ended in uproars of applause, after which the floor was opened again. Many cork people were showing their concern for the people in mayo, particularly those involved in the Pullathomas pier incident, the solidarity camp eviction and the recent arrests and upcoming court dates. Many also showed intrest in upcoming days of solidarity
It may be noted that the talk had some good airing in local media (4 days of coverage in the Evening Echo). Some press stayed around for the best part of the whole evening.
Cork Shell to Sea would like to thank: John Ryan - chair, Camilla and Pat - Photographs, John Monahagn and his family, plus people who came out on the night and gave generously to the campaign.
Comments (21 of 21)
Jump To Comment: 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21After 4 days of media coverage and advertising on indymedia you get 60 people to come to a hotel to hear john "inform" you!
if it was a bonny baby show you would expect more of a turnout than that.
Any group or organisation would be delighted with a turnout of 60. Its very hard to get people involved in anything. 5 committed activists are worth hundreds of onlookers. Well done to Cork S2S.
I was at the talk there seemed to be more than 60 as I had to stand and some were standing outside the doorway! Plus it was a very rare warm and none of us wanted to be inside. John was great!
There's a new video available on the Rossport Solidarity Camp at the link below.
"I say they are biblical in what [the Rossport Solidarity Camp] are doing.They are giving up their lives for us. They are putting their lives on hold for us."
- Michael O'Seighin
RSC video is very good- have a quick look at this one as well: http://ie.youtube.com/watch?v=cKbQbzxsyvc Shell's worldview in their own words.
Dear poor show,
just for once, I'd like you or one of the people who contribute negatively to these discussions to come out and state baldly what your agenda is. We don't have any problem stating our position which is that we have massive concerns for the future of our region and community if Shell were ever allowed to go ahead. It's that simple. The safety questions have never been adequately addressed and, given Shell's record around the world , I think we have valid grounds for concern.
What has always intrigued me is where people like you are coming from. It's nice to have your contribution because it enables us to further our own arguments, but I'd just like to know who or what you think you're representing. Are you, for instance, the forgotten byproduct of a Kevin Myers night of passion with some streetwalker, or do you have a genuine case to make for why Shell should be allowed to use Irish legislation and the Irish police force against the people of Ireland in order to increase their shareholder profits, with no benefit, either economic or strategic, to this country?
Could you just, for once, drop the snide comments and the pathetic oneliners and actually let us know why you consider us to be your enemy?
It really would be very enlightening.
Fearbolg, trolls have no spine and no stomach. Don't feed them.
I assume the agenda of people who point out simple facts such as the "fact" that 60 people attending a gathering in support of Shell to sea, is a reflection of the level of support the campaign has in the city of cork.
and if fearblog or other supporters of the campaign thinks that the fact that only 60 people attended dosent clearly show that this campaign has lost the support of the vast majority of the country.
they are wrong!
Shell is going down town. No single campaign has maximum numbers of supporters at all times ! Rediculios to even consider that a possibility. Gas was meant to be coming out of the joint up in the bog in 2002 -3 it's now 2007 and we have a hole in belanaboy without a pipe leading to it. Maybe the boogey man will get the gas to shore, or a mystical force, or maybe the gas itself will evolve into a scaley 6 legged creature that can fart out the RAW GAS, And maybe we can all stick lighers up to its ass and roast marshmellows.
Thiscampaign is maturing and learing, becoming fortified with evidence, experience and court dates(yes this too is an important accomplishment) . The people of Mayo are my heroes they have more balls than my uncles randy bull.
Ok lets cut to the chase here, the call by shell-to-sea for a "Massive day of protest - Bellananboy Saturday 2007-08-25
2pm"
http://www.corribsos.com/index.php?id=450&event=1
now if the people of mayo and the country are indeed behind the campaign you would expect a huge turnout for this upcoming protest.
But what if this "Massive day of protest " turns out to be the same few die-hards that we have become used to at these events. will you S2Sers concede that the people of mayo dont support you?
you claimed the reason for low turnout at earlier protests was due to the fact they were held on weekdays, but this one is on a saturday so no excuse for not being there!
i'd love to be there on the 25th but i'm already committed to attend the fleadh in tullamore. Sorry!
That's O.K jd, we'll manage without the flute players.
Is there anybody wiling to guess the approx numbers who will actually attend on the 25th, will it be tens/hundreds/thousands/or more?
I expect S2S will pull out all the stops to make this protest as big as possible, in an attempt at re-establishing the campaign following the poor turnout at the last protests.
My "guess" is they will be lucky to have one thousand people attend, and if that is as many as turns out then they are indeed finished!
just to put things into context,in Fedbury 2003 there was a anti-war protest in dublin ...........In Dublin, gardaí estimate that at around 100,000 people took part in the demonstration in the city, making it one of the largest marches to be seen in the capital since anti-tax protests over 20 years ago....http://www.rte.ie/news/2003/0215/Iraq.html.
what did that protest achieve? not much!
So how can the S2S protestors imagine the goverment will do a uturn because 60 people attends a protest (last protest at the refinery).
Time to wake up and move on!
A few points:
This isn't a numbers game.
It's not a dollar/sterling/euro horse-trading exercise.
It IS about the state playing footsie with one of the dirtiest corporations on earth and throwing the people of the area to the dogs of oil.
It IS about the current and future state of our State and, locally, about the type of Erris that is there when all of us are dead and gone.
The trolls behind closed doors have great 'fun' sneering at so-called 'defeats' for the campaign eg Cowley's defeat in general election - in a county where even diehard FFers were considering voting for FG 'because we'd have a Mayo taoiseach' and where, countrywide, all independents were squeezed - what trollpoint is being made (other than reinforcement of paid stupidity).
Whether there are 10 or 10,000 at Ballinaboy is one part of a multipart struggle.
The question for those who trollpoint is - where is YOUR visible, vocal support in Mayo??? Cafferty from Ballina, the recipients of a few euro for the golf club, the odd turncoat who wouldn't wish to be quoted from what they had to say some time ago ...
many people are afraid to attend out of fear of garda brutality and intimidation. we have plenty of evidence of that.
I think 60 people is pretty impressive, after all it's about twice as many as attended the last "massive" day of action at Bellanaboy!
the claim by wil that "many people are afraid to attend out of fear of garda brutality and intimidation." would be funny if it was remotley true.
as a local who has nothing to gain from this gasfind I totally deplore the actions of the shell to sea campaign, it was shown on rte news what occcured on the 10/11/06 and the garda in charge gave three clear warnings that if the protestors didnt leave the road he would have to use force.
what do you suggest the gardai did? just sit there until the protestors decieded it was time to go home.
you will try and say the gardai should have arrested the protestors, but when they arrest protestors bring them before a judge and convicts them,shell to sea claim the judge is bought by the goverment.
The gardaí have breached the standards of normal policing in the civilised world
and have behaved like the special police of some third world dictator.
Beating peaceful protesters with metal batons, throwing people into ditches and
crippling one protester are the standards of policing we expect from Burma or Thailand.
In addition the gardai readily admit to a policy of 'no arrests' thereby showing that they intend to use violence as the only means of enforcement. In wartime such a policy is 'no prisoners'.
People have a legal and constitutional right to arrest and judgment before a court. The gardai wish to deny the protesters those rights. The gardai are breaking the law.
We also see locals who were never in trouble in their lives being harassed, verbally abused and intimidated by gardai. Shelltosea campaigners are stopped and searched in neighbouring towns.
It gives me no pleasure to say that the gardai have disgraced themselves in Bellananboy and have
destroyed the trust and affection that many people, myself included, held for gardai. The fact that the
commissioner and many gardai are natives of n. mayo shows how low some people will sink to accommodate big business. Im sure their parents are proud of them.
Dear Cynic,
If you'd been at Pollatomish on June 11 (possibly you were there in uniform), you'd have seen exactly the level of brutality the Gardai are capable of employing. On that day they reached a new low, using a 16-ton digger to force people out of their way on what they had been told was private land. That was the scariest day yet, for them too because Gannon endangered his own men and women just as much as he did us. Since then, 5 Gardai have refused to carry out Shell's dirty work, and numerous others are very uneasy about their role here.
Shell's alrady dodgy reputation in Erris is now completely in tatters, and yes, many more people would now come out and stand with us if it was'nt for the fear of events like June 11.
The bottom line is Shell are unwelcome around here and they know they've now got one hell of a job on their hands to make this thing happen. In order to do so they may well bring about a situation where this country's army might have to be used against its own citizens. If that happens people like you will really have to decide which side you're on and what your position is.
I suspect that your position will be under the bed with a pair of loaded underpants.
if your claim that many more people would now come out and stand with us if it was'nt for the fear of events like June 11 is true, then without visible public support the result is the same, no incentive for shell or the state to change tac on this issue.
so by having "massive protests" where very few turns out you are feeding the preception that you have little support!
Running scared?
The call by shell-to-sea for a "Massive day of protest - Bellananboy Saturday 2007-08-25
2pm" has been cancelled.
In its place we are going to have a "Shell To Sea Open Day - Healy's Hall Glenamoy - Saturday 2 -6pm
2007-08-25"
I wonder why? could it be that if the call for "a massive day of protest ended up as a damp squib, S2S would have egg on their faces!
If there is another reason I hope JM or some other spokes-person for the group can publish a clarifacition!
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