Kila Delivers Anti-Shell Message at Topaz (Shell) Stage

Galway Shell to Sea infiltrates Topaz sponsored event

Shell to Sea Galway pulled off a great publicity stunt last Saturday on the first night of the Galway ocean races of which Topaz is a main sponsor. The aim was to inform people that Topaz is Shell and encourage people to boycott Topaz. They arranged for a Kila member to wear a Shell to Sea t-shirt while playing on the Topaz mainstage, handed out fliers in the crowd and had several anti-shell/anti-topaz banners in the area. One banner which read 'Let's Do It Galway, Send Shell to Hell, Corribsos.com' was unfurled at the foot of the stage while Kila was playing, and when security attempted to take the banner from Shell to Sea and Climate Camp activists in the crowd, a Kila member came down from the stage, retrieved the banner from the security guard, and put it up on stage for everyone to see!

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Kila, who have supported the Shell to Sea campaign in the past, were contacted by Galway Shell to Sea earlier in the week to inform them that the main stage at the Galway Volvo Ocean Race is the Topaz stage and that Topaz is essentially Shell. They were surprised, and two of them agreed to wear the 'Shell to Sea' t-shirts as a gesture to show they were still supporting the campaign. It was not part of the plan to put the banner on stage. That was just a spontaneous act against Shell's attempt to use Kila as part of their 'image boosting' campaign. The Topaz company was set up in Ireland so Shell, Statoil and Marathon could continue making a profit in Ireland while side-stepping the negative publicity surrounding their exploitation of the people and land in Mayo. Topaz presents a 'clean green' image, and may sponsor free stages at corporate events, but people will not forget that they are directly responsible for endangering the lives of Irish people and robbing Irish natural resources.

Activists from Shell to Sea and Climate Camp came together on Saturday and started out passing out fliers explaining the Topaz-Shell connection. Some fliers gave a brief history of the Shell to Sea campaign, aimed at those unfamiliar with it, and some promoted the Rossport Solidarity Camp Gathering which is happening this coming weekend, 29 May- 1 June and will include workshops, tours and history of the area, music and more. The activists spoke with people in the crowd before and after the gig, generally receiving a good response from people. They also brought a banner reading 'Let's Do It Galway, Send Shell to Hell, Corribsos.com' and unfurled it once Kila had played a couple songs. The security guards were not happy about this, and reached into the crowd attempting to take the banner. A Kila member stepped down off of stage and saved the banner, handing it to someone backstage to hoist behind the band where all could see. The Topaz stage managers were furious, but it's been reported that they were prevented from removing the banner by a sympathetic backstage band manager. Soon after the banner went up, the lead singer made a point to take his shirt off in the middle of the gig and put on a DIY 'Shell to Sea' t-shirt. Some activists heard him mention 'our friends up at rossport' and possibly a 'shell to hell' battle cry, but this is not clear. In any case, Kila members hoisted the anti-Shell banner and put across a clear anti-Shell message on what was essentially a Shell stage. After the gig, one of the band members returned the banner to a Climate Camp activist so that it could be used again.

Galway Shell to Sea and Climate Camp activists also dropped three other banners in the surrounding area during the gig, from apartments and a nearby carpark. One of the banners read 'PROTECT IRISH NATURAL RESOURCES, STOP SHELLS RAPE OF ROSSPORT', with an anti-shell logo on it. The overall message was to support the Shell to Sea campaign in all ways possible and to act in solidarity with a community under siege in Erris, County Mayo, by boycotting Topaz, Shell, Statoil and Marathon worldwide!
So long as work continues on this project, so will the resistance!

Caption: Video Id: yv0zugBmZWo&feature= Type: Youtube Video
When security tried to take a banner from Shell to Sea and Climate Camp activists at the front of the crowd, one of the band members intervened to save the banner and put it up on stage, where all the crowd could see it!

Caption: Video Id: XrDiiiPzqtw&feature= Type: Youtube Video
Lead singer of Kila sports a fashionable DIY shell to sea t-shirt on the Topaz stage at the Galway ocean races. He made a point to take his shirt off halfway through the gig and put on the shell to sea t-shirt.