Corrib situation critical

Corrib situation critical


Hunger striker vows to die if necessary, as Solitaire departs north Mayo and protests continue

Áine Ryan

WHILE the last week saw the Corrib gas dispute escalate to its most serious level since the jailing of the Rossport Five in 2005, there was hope last night (Monday) that protester Maura Harrington’s hunger strike ‘to the death if necessary’ could be ended in the next 48 hours by the moving of the Solitaire out of Irish territorial waters.
The 55-year-old Principal of Inver National School – who was due to officially retire yesterday – began her hunger strike last Wednesday, vowing that it would end only with written confirmation from the Captain of the Solitaire that the pipe-laying ship had left Irish waters, or with her death.
While no confirmation was forthcoming from Shell yesterday, it is understood that the vessel will sail to Rotterdam inside the next two days for repairs needed following damage caused during its brief stay in Broadhaven Bay last week.
Shell said at the weekend that ‘naturally the company regrets Maura Harrington’s actions’.
As the debacle hurtles from one crisis to another, however, Ms Harrington’s hunger strike is but one of Shell’s many headaches. Within a 24-hour period early last week, the Solitaire arrived in Mayo waters, two fishermen were arrested from their boats twice in a matter of hours by the Garda Water Unit, and locals claimed that north Mayo has become like a war-zone with roads closed and gardaí everywhere.