Shell to Sea Campaigner Released

"Shell to Sea" campaigner Pat O'Donnell was released from prison to the joyful screeches of leftwing protester types, whose websites have been a bit quiet about what Pat was "inside" for. "Resistance to tyranny" seems to be the standard refrain, but I like to think of it as "resitance to progress".

From the Irish Times (mostly):

Shell to Sea campaigner released from jail
Pat O'Donnell: jailed for abusive behaviour towards a garda


ERRIS FISHERMAN Pat O’Donnell has pledged to continue his opposition to the Corrib gas project on health, safety and environmental grounds, following his release from prison at the weekend.

Mayor of Roscommon Cllr Luke “Ming” Flanagan sent a message of support to Mr O’Donnell during a rally held by Shell to Sea supporters in Castlerea, Co Roscommon, to mark the fisherman’s release on Saturday morning.
[as an aside, Google Ming Flanagan and see what they elected mayor...]

Mr O’Donnell (52) served just over five months of a seven-month sentence imposed at Castlebar Circuit Court on February 10th last.

He received a three-month sentence for threatening and abusive behaviour towards a garda [that's a cop, for Anglophones] at Glengad on September 13th, 2008, and an additional four months for wilful obstruction of a peace officer on September 14th, 2008 at Doolough, Geesala.

Speaking after the rally and a car cavalcade to Ballina, via Roscommon and Castlebar, Co Mayo, Mr O’Donnell said that his “worst fears had been realised” [hahahahha really?] in prison, when the Deepwater Horizon rig exploded and sank in the Gulf of Mexico on April 20th. [oh, that's what he meant...]

As a fisherman, he said he “felt” for his colleagues who could no longer fish in the Gulf of Mexico due to the consequent pollution. [colleagues. on a different continent.]

“They were depending on “fail safe” valves which didn’t work . . . the same thing could happen here,” Mr O’Donnell said. [No. That was oil, you're protesting gas. They're not the same, Pat]

He said he met some of “the most decent people ever” in prison – men from “difficult social backgrounds who had committed crime at a young age and were unable to put their lives back together”.

Up to 120 attended the Shell to Sea rally to mark Mr O’Donnell’s release, including some supporters of the Éirígí socialist republican political party. Éirígí Sligo activist Gerry Casey paid tribute in a statement to Mr O’Donnell’s “resilience” and said he pledged his party’s “continued support” for the Shell to Sea campaign.

Eirigi spokesdrone Mick O'Drone pledged to resist the piping of gas from the sea to Irish people's houses,
"'tis witchcraft!" he exclaimed. He explained that although Ireland suffers from hideous weather, with constant rain and gale-force winds on a daily basis, more practical methods of heating homes were unnecessary and "probably from the Devil".

His suspicions were first aroused when he learned that natural gas is invisible and has no smell. It was not difficult to win the support of the local, mostly superstitious, community in opposing the plan to pipe gas from the Corrib field, accustomed as they are to greeting any new technology with clubs and rocks.

"They say it's invisible!" mocked O'Drone to the laughs and applause of the Shell to Sea campaigners at a recent rally at Ennis.


"Well we're not falling for that one again" he added.

O'Drone is proud of his handiwork, photographed above. He and his wife altered the town flag to show the new motto and Shell logo being bashed with a sledgehammer.
"yeh we stayed up all night working on it. The old flag used to have a Protestant where the Shell sign is now."