Detailed account of last nights attack on Willie Corduff of Rosport 5
t | 23.04.2009 11:53
-- Goldman Environmental Prize winner was trying to block work on pipeline --
-- Shell still has no planning permission for this section of pipeline --
Mayo farmer and anti-Shell protester Willie Corduff is recovering in hospital after being badly beaten by at least six men in balaclavas and dark clothing at the site where Shell is attempting to lay an onshore, high-pressure pipeline
-- Shell still has no planning permission for this section of pipeline --
Mayo farmer and anti-Shell protester Willie Corduff is recovering in hospital after being badly beaten by at least six men in balaclavas and dark clothing at the site where Shell is attempting to lay an onshore, high-pressure pipeline
Corduff, one of the Rossport Five and winner of the 2007 Goldman Environmental Prize, was dragged from under a truck at around 3.45am on Thursday morning by at least six men who then beat him viciously about the head and knees.
"I thought they were trying to kill me," Corduff said. "They beat me until I stopped moving. I heard one of them say, 'Stop now lads, he's nearly finished.' "
It is unclear whether these men were employees of I-RMS, the company providing security for Shell's operations in north Mayo. Security personnel and gardai were nearby at the time of the attack.
Corduff, a 55-year-old grandfather, was taken by ambulance to Mayo General Hospital in Castlebar, where he is being treated for his injuries. He has undergone several x-rays. His injuries are not thought to be life-threatening.
Corduff and two other local men had climbed under the truck at midday on Wednesday in an attempt to halt work at the site at Glengad. The other two men were removed but Corduff vowed to stay under the truck until he had evidence that Shell had authorisation for their work. He said gardai threw stones at him to in an attempt to remove him.
Locals kept a vigil near the truck, but by 3.45am, several of them had left to get food, leaving only Corduff's brother-in-law, Pete Lavelle. At least six men in dark clothing and balaclavas dragged Corduff out and beat him violently. Lavelle witnessed the incident and when he tried to come to Corduff's assistance, he was also beaten by the men. He reported being bitten on the ear. One of the men was reportedly using a leather-covered baton to beat Mr Corduff.
I-RMS has been criticised by campaigners because its staff have not displayed any identification, in contravention of the law governing security personnel.
Caoimhe Kerins of Dublin Shell to Sea said: "This is not just an attempt to intimidate local people from protesting against Shell's experimental inland refinery and pipeline, it's also an attempt to provoke a violent reaction. Gardai and Shell security have been trying to provoke violence for several years now, but local people and their supporters have shown incredible restraint. All the violence, intimidation and abuse has been directed at protestors by gardai and I-RMS [security]."
"Willie Corduff and others have been beaten for trying to block illegal work and for trying to highlight the giveaway of 540 billion euro worth of gas and oil from fields under Irish waters in the Atlantic. Former ministers Ray Burke and Bertie Ahern changed the law to suit the oil multinationals and this mess is the result of that," she said.
On Wednesday, Shell had attempted to resume work on the controversial pipeline. Work had stopped in 2008. The company still does not have planning permission for the section of pipeline which would bring the gas to the proposed inland refinery at Bellanaboy.
Willie Corduff
Willie Corduff (55), a father of six and a grandfather, was jailed for 94 days in 2005 for refusing Shell access to his land to lay the high-pressure pipeline. The legal stance of Corduff and the Rossport Five was subsequently vindicated in a High Court ruling by Justice Mary Laffoy in April 2007. She ruled that Shell could not proceed with the original pipeline without the consent of the landowners. Shell is still seeking planning permission to lay the pipeline along this route, which crosses the land of Willie Corduff, other members of the Rossport Five and other landowners who object to it.
Two years ago today, on April 23rd, 2007, Corduff was in San Francisco to receive the Goldman Environmental Prize, the world's most valuable environmental prize. In that week, he met with members of the US Senate and Congress, including Speaker of the House, Nancy Pelosi. He also had meetings with representatives from Amnesty International, the National Geographic Society, the World Wildlife Fund and other powerful lobby groups.
Speaker of the House, Nancy Pelosi, said in 2007 it was "with wonder and awe at the tremendous accomplishments and incredible bravery that I salute the Goldman Prize winners. Their conviction and courage are an inspiration. In the face of overwhelming odds, sometimes even putting their own lives at risk, they stand up for their communities, for justice, and for the environment.”
"I thought they were trying to kill me," Corduff said. "They beat me until I stopped moving. I heard one of them say, 'Stop now lads, he's nearly finished.' "
It is unclear whether these men were employees of I-RMS, the company providing security for Shell's operations in north Mayo. Security personnel and gardai were nearby at the time of the attack.
Corduff, a 55-year-old grandfather, was taken by ambulance to Mayo General Hospital in Castlebar, where he is being treated for his injuries. He has undergone several x-rays. His injuries are not thought to be life-threatening.
Corduff and two other local men had climbed under the truck at midday on Wednesday in an attempt to halt work at the site at Glengad. The other two men were removed but Corduff vowed to stay under the truck until he had evidence that Shell had authorisation for their work. He said gardai threw stones at him to in an attempt to remove him.
Locals kept a vigil near the truck, but by 3.45am, several of them had left to get food, leaving only Corduff's brother-in-law, Pete Lavelle. At least six men in dark clothing and balaclavas dragged Corduff out and beat him violently. Lavelle witnessed the incident and when he tried to come to Corduff's assistance, he was also beaten by the men. He reported being bitten on the ear. One of the men was reportedly using a leather-covered baton to beat Mr Corduff.
I-RMS has been criticised by campaigners because its staff have not displayed any identification, in contravention of the law governing security personnel.
Caoimhe Kerins of Dublin Shell to Sea said: "This is not just an attempt to intimidate local people from protesting against Shell's experimental inland refinery and pipeline, it's also an attempt to provoke a violent reaction. Gardai and Shell security have been trying to provoke violence for several years now, but local people and their supporters have shown incredible restraint. All the violence, intimidation and abuse has been directed at protestors by gardai and I-RMS [security]."
"Willie Corduff and others have been beaten for trying to block illegal work and for trying to highlight the giveaway of 540 billion euro worth of gas and oil from fields under Irish waters in the Atlantic. Former ministers Ray Burke and Bertie Ahern changed the law to suit the oil multinationals and this mess is the result of that," she said.
On Wednesday, Shell had attempted to resume work on the controversial pipeline. Work had stopped in 2008. The company still does not have planning permission for the section of pipeline which would bring the gas to the proposed inland refinery at Bellanaboy.
Willie Corduff
Willie Corduff (55), a father of six and a grandfather, was jailed for 94 days in 2005 for refusing Shell access to his land to lay the high-pressure pipeline. The legal stance of Corduff and the Rossport Five was subsequently vindicated in a High Court ruling by Justice Mary Laffoy in April 2007. She ruled that Shell could not proceed with the original pipeline without the consent of the landowners. Shell is still seeking planning permission to lay the pipeline along this route, which crosses the land of Willie Corduff, other members of the Rossport Five and other landowners who object to it.
Two years ago today, on April 23rd, 2007, Corduff was in San Francisco to receive the Goldman Environmental Prize, the world's most valuable environmental prize. In that week, he met with members of the US Senate and Congress, including Speaker of the House, Nancy Pelosi. He also had meetings with representatives from Amnesty International, the National Geographic Society, the World Wildlife Fund and other powerful lobby groups.
Speaker of the House, Nancy Pelosi, said in 2007 it was "with wonder and awe at the tremendous accomplishments and incredible bravery that I salute the Goldman Prize winners. Their conviction and courage are an inspiration. In the face of overwhelming odds, sometimes even putting their own lives at risk, they stand up for their communities, for justice, and for the environment.”
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