Who are The Rossport Five?

Today there was another protest about the proposed Shell gas pipeline up in Mayo.

A bit of background, for those who have never heard of the Rossport Five. The Rossport Five are five Mayo farmers who stood up to Shell oil when they tried to plough a pipeline through their farms. The farmers parked their tractors in the way, herded their cows over the area – apparently whatever they could do to stop Shell from digging up their land. They were subsequently jailed for their actions.

It was quite a story when it happend. Their political standpoint was that Shell should build a refinery offshore rather than piping the gas across land to refine elsewhere. The Rossport Five became icons of Irish independence and grassroots resistance to big business and globalisation. They are certainly heroes to those concerned with the impact of the petrolium industry on modern Ireland. It will be interesting to see how these latest protests pan out.