Annual Rossport Gathering

by Aileen Thu Jun 10, 2010 19:39

(More photos at http://www.flickr.com/photos/aaocarroll/sets/7215762423...99308)

Strength in Community

Welsh sound system near where the pipe makes landfall on the beach

Workshop

Meeting

Radio Solidarity

by Stevo - Galway S2S Wed Jun 09, 2010 18:06

I took quite a few snaps this year. Can't believe I mistitled bike arrival above as Glengad when it was Bellinaboy.
still sorting through these.
Wanted to up the sandsculpture of Pat & NIall but this thing's claiming the file's too big & I don't know how to reduce it

sandcastle building they call it

willie gives talk on local campaign

This place used to seem isolated & lonely. Old path from camp in dunes becomes this year's campground

Pat's trailer outside the McGuire's do

good to see the sandmartins are still here, just around the corner from the cliff shell destroyed

by Stevo - Galway S2S Wed Jun 09, 2010 16:45

4 photos taken by myself this weekend

arrival of bikes at Glengad. End of the tour for many

bringing the noise, bike tour sound system hits the beach

come boatingt in sunny Glengad, one of the boating workshops

bonfire Sunday night

by Stevo - Galway S2S Wed Jun 09, 2010 15:03

Slight quibble with the comment that the Solidarity Gathering happened since the jailing of the Rossport 5. The first gathering actually preceded the jailing. Several of the to-be Rossport 5 were present, this was actually about a month or so before the incident that made them into that group.
Niall Harnett asked in his phonecall to the camp last weekend that the work of Terry Dunne, who pretty much initiated the original gathering and thereby the Solidarity Camp be remembered for this. Terry had been going up to Rossport since at least the Good Friday Walk in 2005, then going around NUIG & presumably several other places continually telling people about the transportation of Peat from Bellinaboy which was causing a great deal of trouble.
Willie Corduff gave an impassioned speech from the truckbed stage that year that was very forgiving to those who'd accepted Shell money.
Mihail O'Sheighin gave a different talk about alternative sites for the refinery and the oddness of designation of terminology for the Rossport part of the pipeline. I think Vincent McGrath played music. & Ray Corduff lent us a field for the weekend.
17 days after the Rossport solidarity Gathering came the callout to phone numbers collected over the weekend that there was help needed with the truck vigil created by Vincent McGrath and joined by Willie Corduff. We spent several nights sitting in Willie's van watching that the truck wasn't moved. 12 days into the vigil the farmers from Rossport including Brid Mcgarry went over for a court hearing. I saw Philip sitting in the back of the car at 4am as i left the vigil shift, about 10hours later the word came through that the 5 men had been imprisoned for contempt of court. Later word came out that Brid wasn't imprisoned because it would be bad publicity to imprison a woman.
I was there at willie's van when the wives heard the news and later the whole of the Rossport road was filled with cars that came out to support the vigil. I think the builders and security at Bellinaboy walked off work that day too.
I've been trying to remember if the movement was named ShellToSea at the Solidarity camp weekend or in the wake of the imprisonment of the 5.
I'll put up some photos from this year ina while.