Willie Corduff

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Willie Corduff
Born1953 (age 70–71)
NationalityIrish
Occupationfarmer
Awards Goldman Environmental Prize

Willie Corduff (born 1953) is an Irish environmental activist from the farming community of Rossport, Kilcommon, Erris. Corduff's parents first arrived in Rossport in 1947, and reclaimed a farm by hand out of bogland. [1] He became a campaigner against Royal Dutch Shell's activities in his local area when the Corrib gas controversy began. He is married to Mary and they have six children and four grandchildren.

Contents

Beginning of activism

His farming existence changed with the discovery of gas eighty-three kilometres offshore, to the west of Broadhaven Bay. In 2000 the Corduffs discovered the exploitation of the gas involved the construction of a high pressure pipeline, 70 metres from their house, to a new refinery to be built in Bellanboy townland, just across the bay from his farm. They were also concerned about the proposed refinery site, its suitability and its proximity to the primary source of water for the region. Their concerns were echoed by neighbours who demanded more information.

Rossport Five

In 2004 Frank Fahey, the Minister for the Marine and Natural Resources, signed a Compulsory Acquisition Order to force the raw gas pipeline through his land. Landowner Willie Corduff said that "allowing Shell to construct a pipeline would be the same as having a time-bomb in the vicinity". [2] Corduff refused Shell access to his land and was subsequently jailed for 94 days in 2005 as one of the Rossport Five for defying a court order not to interfere with Shell's work. In 2006 he said he was "prepared to die" rather than see the pipeline cross his land. [3]

Shell to Sea

He is one of the founding members of the Shell to Sea campaign group which worked with no name since 2001 to oppose the Shell/Corrib Gas project until it adopted the name Shell to Sea in January 2005, five months prior to the jailing of five men in June of that year. Its aim is to have the gas processed at sea, get a fair and just return on Ireland's natural resources and to highlight human rights abuses alleged against Shell and the Irish state.. He has actively campaigned with them and has been arrested on numerous occasions. [4] [5]

Pobal Chill Chomáin

He is also a founding member of Pobal Chill Chomáin, a parochial pressure group of residents in the parish of Kilcommon who split from Shell to Sea to focus solely on health and safety issues of the Shell/Corrib gas project. In June 2009 PCC members Vincent McGrath with Willie and Mary Corduff had a meeting with the Norwegian Ambassador to discuss local concerns about the project. [6]

Goldman Environmental Prize

He was awarded the European winner of the Goldman Environmental Prize in 2007 for his part in the protest campaign, which led to a halt of the construction of a pipeline through their land by Shell. [7] He is the first Irish recipient ever of this award which is known as the "Nobel green prize" and is awarded to six people from the six continental regions every year who have taken great personal risk in the name of environmental protection. [8]

"This year's Prize recipients have succeeded in combating some of the most important environmental challenges we face today," said Goldman Prize founder Richard N. Goldman. "Their commitment in the face of great personal risk inspires us all to think more critically about what ordinary people can do to make a difference." [9]

2009 alleged assault

In April 2009, Shell resumed laying the offshore section of the pipeline after its environmental management plan was approved by Minister for Energy Eamon Ryan. Mr Corduff and two others climbed under a lorry at midday on Wednesday 22 April in a bid to stop work at a Glengad compound. He remained there until 4am on 23 April when he took a break. Following this, he was allegedly assaulted by several men wearing balaclavas, including being hit on the head with a baton or torch. [10] [11] [12] [13] [14] The Registrar of Mayo General Hospital confirmed Corduff's injuries were consistent with his account of the assault, and photos obtained by Village Magazine, taken while he was in hospital and in the days after his release, show bruising on his head, face and body. [15] Jim Farrell, a director of I-RMS, stated that he and his employees had intended to remove Corduff, but found him standing up, and had him taken away by ambulance when he complained of chest pains. [16]

Nobel peace prize winner, and patron of Afri, Archbishop Desmond Tutu condemned the alleged assault and called for a national and international investigation into it. [17]

Willie has featured in several recent documentaries; 'Pipe Down': Winner of the Best Feature Documentary, Waterford Film Festival and 'The Pipe' – Winner Best Feature Documentary Galway Film Festival (July) 2010.

In October 2009 he and his wife were featured in an episode of Would you believe on RTÉ television in Ireland. [18] The documentary was entitled Living on the Edge. As it is part of a religious Affairs series Willie revealed he stopped attending church when the Bishop and the local priest blessed the gas rig and became advocates for the gas project.

The Garda Síochána Ombudsman Commission

He has made a complaint, regarding an alleged assault by a Garda in April 2009, to the Garda Síochána Ombudsman Commission (GSOC). [19]

Willie's wife Mary, who received treatment for injuries, was one of 14 people who were told in October 2007 their complaints were deemed admissible, to the GSOC, in relation to their treatment and alleged assault by Gardaí at a protest at Pollathomas pier in June 2007. [20] The GSOC has recommended that disciplinary action be taken against a senior member of An Garda Síochána in relation to the handling of this.

Related Research Articles

Frank Fahey is an Irish property developer and former Fianna Fáil politician who served as Minister for the Marine and Natural Resources from 2000 to 2002 and as a Minister of State in various roles. He served as a Teachta Dála (TD) for the Galway West constituency from 1982 to 1992 and 1997 to 2011. He was a Senator for the Labour Panel from 1993 to 1997.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Corrib gas project</span> Irish offshore natural gas field

The Corrib gas project is a developed natural gas deposit located in the Atlantic Ocean, approximately 83 kilometres (52 mi) off the northwest coast of County Mayo, Ireland. The project includes a natural gas pipeline and an onshore gas processing plant, which commenced gas production in 2015. During its development, the project attracted considerable opposition.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Rossport Five</span>

The Rossport Five are Willie Corduff, brothers Philip and Vincent McGrath, Micheál Ó Seighin and James Brendan Philbin, from Kilcommon parish, Erris, County Mayo, Ireland. In 2005, they were jailed for civil contempt of court after refusing to obey a temporary court injunction forbidding them to interfere with work being undertaken by Shell on their land.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Rossport</span> Village in Connacht, Ireland

Rossport is a Gaeltacht village and townland in northwest County Mayo, Ireland. It is within the barony of Erris and parish of Kilcommon. It lies close to the mouth of Broadhaven Bay on the headland where the confluence of three rivers meet flowing into Sruth Fada Conn Bay. Its area is 1,446 acres (5.85 km2).

The Mayo News is a weekly local newspaper published in Westport in Ireland.

The primary natural resources of the Republic of Ireland include natural gas, petroleum, peat, copper, lead, dolomite, barite, limestone, gypsum, silver and zinc. Key industries based on these and other natural resources include fishing, mining, and various forms of agriculture and fish farming. The Department of Communications, Energy and Natural Resources is charged with the legislative protection of Ireland's natural resources.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Shell to Sea</span> Activist organisation in County Mayo, Ireland

Shell to Sea is an Irish organisation based in the parish of Kilcommon in Erris, County Mayo.

The Garda Síochána Ombudsman Commission is an independent statutory body in Ireland charged with oversight of the Garda Síochána, the national police force. It is a three-member body established under the Garda Síochána Act, 2005, to deal with complaints from members of the public about the conduct and actions of Gardaí.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Corrib gas controversy</span> Protest campaign against an Irish gas project

The Corrib gas controversy was a social protest campaign against the Corrib gas project in north-western County Mayo, Ireland. The project involves the processing of gas onshore through Broadhaven and Sruth Fada Conn bays in Kilcommon. Originally spearheaded by local advocacy groups Shell to Sea and Pobal Chill Chomáin, the protests later grew to national prominence due to the heavy-handed approach taken by the Garda Síochána and private security firms towards the protestors. The project was jointly managed by Shell E&P Ireland and Statoil Exploration Limited, and supported by the Irish government.

Maura Harrington is a spokesperson for the Shell to Sea campaign, from County Mayo, Ireland. A retired school principal of Inver National School, she has been jailed on a number of occasions for her involvement in Shell to Sea protests.

Pobal Chill Chomáin is a pressure group based in the parish of Kilcommon in County Mayo, Ireland. It split from the larger Shell to Sea campaign in April 2008. Vincent McGrath, one of the Rossport Five, is its chairman.

Integrated Risk Management Services (I-RMS) is the trading name of Business Mobile Security Services Ltd, a private security company based in Naas, Ireland. It is a member of the Senaca Group. I-RMS are licensed by the Private Security Authority, the statutory body responsible for licensing and regulation of the private security industry in Ireland. It is also a member of the Transported Asset Protection Association. The firm's founding members, Terry Downes and Jim Farrell, have both previously served with the elite Irish Army Ranger Wing special forces unit.

Since at least the 1970s, many Irish political scandals relating to miscarriage of justice, dereliction of duty and corruption by public officials have resulted in the establishment of extra-judicial Tribunals of Enquiry, which are typically chaired by retired High-Court judges and cannot make judgements against any of the parties. Since 2004 many such scandals have been investigated by the less costly but less transparent Commissions of Investigation. Many Irish scandals, however, have not resulted in trials or public enquiries.

Michael Dwyer was shot dead in 2009 by the Bolivian Police Special Forces in the Las Americas Hotel, Santa Cruz de la Sierra, Bolivia in disputed circumstances.

Afri is a Dublin-based NGO that promotes human rights, peace, justice and environmentalism, especially in the Global South, with a focus on injustice caused by conflict. Its patron is Archbishop Desmond Tutu. Another patron of is former UN Assistant Secretary General Denis Halliday.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kilcommon (County Mayo civil parish)</span> Parish in Connacht, Ireland

Kilcommon is a civil parish in Erris, north County Mayo, consisting of two large peninsulas; Dún Chaocháin and Dún Chiortáin. It consists of 37 townlands, some of which are so remote that they have no inhabitants. Habitation is concentrated mainly along both sides of Sruwaddacon Bay which flows into Broadhaven Bay, in villages including Glengad, Pollathomas, Rossport, Inver and Carrowteige, and in the Glenamoy area further inland.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Broadhaven Bay</span> Bay in County Mayo, Ireland

Broadhaven Bay is a natural bay of the Atlantic Ocean on the northwestern coast of County Mayo, Ireland. The opening of the bay faces northward, stretching 8.6 km between Erris Head in the west and Kid Island/Oileán Mionnán in the east.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sruwaddacon Bay</span>

Sruwaddacon Bay is a tidal estuary which runs through the middle of the Gaeltacht Kilcommon parish in Erris, County Mayo, Ireland. It is of historical importance in Irish legend, an important marine habitat, an E.U. Special Area of Conservation (SAC) and an EU Special Protected Area. Its translated name in English, "Stream of the Long Hound", reflects its general shape. It enters the Atlantic Ocean through Broadhaven Bay, another Special Area of Conservation.

Johnny Carey is a former GAA All Star Gaelic footballer and Garda Superintendent from Bangor Erris, County Mayo, Ireland. He won 2 Connacht Senior Football Championships, in 1967 and 1969, with the Mayo county team and a National Football League medal in 1970. In 1971, he was named at right full back on the inaugural team at the GAA All Stars Awards. He was also manager of the senior Mayo football team between 1977 and 1980.

The civil parish of Kilcommon in Erris, northern County Mayo, Ireland has a total of 37 townlands: small geographic divisions of land in Ireland and Scotland's Outer Hebrides. Townlands originated in Gaelic Ireland, and predate the late-12th-century Anglo-Norman invasion. However, some townland names are derived from British plantations and Norman manors.

References

  1. ↑ Mistiaen, Veronique (22 April 2007). "Tale of rural Irishman who blocked oil giant. Farmer rallied town and nation to halt Shell's gas pipeline". San Francisco Chronicle. Retrieved 12 November 2009.
  2. ↑ Shiel, Tom & McNelly, Liam (12 January 2005). "Gardaí called to pipe site over access row". Irish Independent Herald. Retrieved 12 November 2009.
  3. ↑ Shiel, Tom & McNelly, Liam (4 May 2006). ""I'm prepared to die rather than let this pass my home" says defiant protester". Irish Independent Herald. Retrieved 12 November 2009.
  4. ↑ Ryan, Áine (3 October 2006). "Shell enter Bellanaboy site". The Mayo News. Retrieved 12 November 2009.
  5. ↑ "Green Ministers urged to suspend Shell operation as Corduff arrested". An Phoblacht. Sinn Féin Weekly. 24 July 2008. Retrieved 12 November 2009.
  6. ↑ Carr, Geraldine (26 June 2009). "Pobal Chill Chomáin meet with Norwegian Ambassador". Mayo Advertiser. Retrieved 12 November 2009.
  7. ↑ "Willie Corduff: Small Family Farms, Big Oil Interests". The Goldman Environmental Prize. 2007. Archived from the original on 19 October 2007. Retrieved 25 October 2007.
  8. ↑ Siggins, Lorna (5 May 2009). "Activists call for Corrib intervention". The Irish Times. Retrieved 12 November 2009.
  9. ↑ "Grassroots Environmental Leaders From Around the World Win $125,000 Goldman Environmental Prize". The Goldman Environmental Prize. 20 April 2007. Archived from the original on 1 August 2009. Retrieved 12 November 2009.
  10. ↑ Village magazine, July/August 2009
  11. ↑ Taylor, Charlie (23 April 2009). "Protester claims he was beaten up". The Irish Times. Retrieved 12 November 2009.
  12. ↑ Siggins, Lorna & Ryan, Áine (30 April 2009). "Ministers to speak on Corrib pipeline". The Irish Times. Retrieved 12 November 2009.
  13. ↑ Grant, Harriet & Domokos, John (19 June 2009). "Fuelling the fury". The Guardian. London. Retrieved 12 November 2009.
  14. ↑ Siggins, Lorna; O'Malley, Teresa & Parsons, Michael (24 April 2009). "Corrib protesters urged to 'step back'". The Irish Times. Retrieved 12 November 2009.
  15. ↑ 'Irish media failing over Rossport', Village magazine, June 2009
  16. ↑ Tighe, Mark (5 July 2009). "Boat sinking claim denied". The Sunday Times. London. Retrieved 12 November 2009.[ dead link ]
  17. ↑ Ryan, Áine (11 May 2009). "Archbishop Tutu speaks out on Corrib as seven are arrested: Nobel Peace Laureate and internationally renowned human rights activist, Archbishop Desmond Tutu has spoken out about the controversial Corrib gas controversy". The Mayo News. Retrieved 11 May 2009.
  18. ↑ "TV Eye - Local - Donegal Democrat". Archived from the original on 24 July 2012. Retrieved 16 November 2009.
  19. ↑ RTÉ Would You Believe interview
  20. ↑ Siggins, Lorna (30 October 2009). "Watchdog recommends disciplining senior garda". The Irish Times. Retrieved 12 November 2009.
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