Shell To Sea Picket On The Finglas Road (01/12/07)

Today comrades kicked off the festive protesting season in style with a picket of the Shell station on the Finglas road. Even in the bitter cold, our spirits were high as we lined up for the picket, to highlight the injustices happening everyday in Mayo. We started the protest at 12.45pm along with the Gardai who had also decided to join us in force.

Comrades from a variety of backgrounds attended the picket, including folk from the CYM, Dublin S2S, OSF, WSM and IRSP. We distributed a variety of leaflets to passers by and suggested to all the drivers intending to enter the garage, to boycott the Shell station and head on a short distance down the road to the local Esso Garage. This tactic worked very well, with almost all cars driving out of the forecourt and on down to the Esso station. After about half an hour, the garage was deserted and many passing cars, taxis and buses were giving us toots of the horn in solidarity with our cause.

The Gardai decided to come out in force today to intimidate the protestors, all in all, there was a Gardai riot van, two squad cars, an unmarked squad car, a Gardai motorcycle and six Special Branch. The cops mainly kept to themselves, with the riot van parked in a very dangerous position in the middle of the main road opposite us, so that they could monitor us effectively. However, just as were about to finish up, the six Special Branch emerged from the bushes to take down all the names and addresses of the protestors and generally make a nuisance of themselves.

The Connolly Youth Movement will continue this series of pickets on the Finglas Road, once a month for the foreseeable future and would encourage any other groups to do S2S pickets in their own local areas as well, to keep up the pressure on Shell and the state.

www.cym.ie

A CYM comrade leafleting

The cops parked in the middle of the main road

The picket feat. The cops

An OSF comrade standing tall