Maura Harrington

Maura Harrington (born 15 September 1953) was a spokesperson for the Shell to Sea campaign, from County Mayo, Ireland. A retired school principal of Inver National School,^[1] Harrington was previously involved in fundraising for the British Miners' Strike as well as campaigning against the Maastricht treaty.^{[citation needed]}

She has been jailed on a number of occasions.

Politics

Harrington described herself as a Marxist. ^[2]

Shell to Sea campaign history

Barney McKenna (second from left) of The Dubliners at a traditional music session in support of Harrington outside Mountjoy Prison, March 2009. Her husband is first from right.

On 12 October 2006 Harrington sustained head and neck injuries while Gardaí cleared demonstrators blocking an access road used by Shell workers.^[3]

On 9 September 2008 she began a hunger strike in protest at the arrival of the Solitaire, an Allseas pipe-laying ship assisting Royal Dutch Shell's Corrib gas project. The strike took place at the gates of the Shell compound in Glengad in Erris, in her car. It ended after the ship left Ireland for repairs.^[4] She appeared in Belmullet District Court on 8 October 2008 accused of a public order offence related to her "lunging" towards President Mary McAleese at the official opening of a civic centre in Belmullet in April 2007.^[5][6] In March 2009, she was found guilty of this charge. She was also found guilty of assaulting a Garda^[6] during a fracas which saw several protesters injured.^[7] For this, she was given a sentence of 28 days imprisonment, fined and bound to keep the peace for 12 months, though she opted not to pay the fine or sign the bond.^[6] The judge in the case, Mary Devins, wife of Jimmy Devins, TD, also directed Harrington to receive a psychiatric assessment due to what she described as her "bizarre" behaviour.^[8] The order has received criticism, with Senator David Norris comparing the decision to the tactics used in Stalinist dictatorships in Eastern Europe where political dissidents are portrayed as mentally ill.^[9] Harrington denied both charges, and did not give evidence in protest after Judge Devins refused to allow video evidence of the incident of the assault to be shown.^[10] She served her sentence in Dublin's Mountjoy Prison.^[11] Protests and other events took place outside the prison in solidarity, as well as at the offices of the Department of Justice, Equality and Law Reform.^[11][12][13]

On 6 April 2009, Harrington was due to speak at an event in London organised by Amnesty International to highlight the forthcoming Wiwa family lawsuits against Royal Dutch Shell, but was unable to because of her imprisonment.^{[14][15][16][17]} In July 2009, Harrington was jailed for four months for public order offences relating to demonstrations, a sentence which was appealed. ^[18]

Maura Harrington during her hunger strike.

In February 2010 Judge Raymond Groarke said Harrington was like a member of "the secret police".^[19]

References

1. ^ O2 Ideas Room (2008-09-21). "A plea for calm on the unquiet sea - Analysis, Opinion". Independent.ie. http://www.independent.ie/opinion/analysis/a-plea-for-calm-on-the-unquiet-sea-1479279.html. Retrieved 2010-10-02. 
2. ^ "Village - Politics, Media and Current Affairs in Ireland - Offline". Village.ie. Archived from the original on November 21, 2007. http://web.archive.org/web/20071121202516/http://www.village.ie/People/Profiles/Made_in_Mayo/. Retrieved 2009-07-22. 
3. ^ Men's jeans (2006-11-19). "School principal criticised for protesting against Shell - National News, Frontpage". Independent.ie. http://www.independent.ie/national-news/school-principal-criticised-for-protesting-against-shell-137143.html. Retrieved 2010-10-02. 
4. ^ "Shell to Sea protester ends 10-day hunger strike". The Irish Times. 20 September 2008. http://www.irishtimes.com/newspaper/ireland/2008/0920/1221835126751.html. 
5. ^ "Shell protester accused of 'lunge' towards President". The Irish Times. 2008-10-09. http://www.irishtimes.com/newspaper/ireland/2008/1009/1223445618032.html. 
6. ^ ^{a b c} McNulty, Anton (2009-03-12). "Shell to Sea campaigner jailed for 28 days for assault on garda". The Irish Times. http://www.irishtimes.com/newspaper/ireland/2009/0312/1224242736753.html. Retrieved 2009-07-21. 
7. ^ Irish Times, June 16 2007
8. ^ "Shell to Sea campaigner jailed for assault". The Irish Times. 2009-03-11. http://www.irishtimes.com/newspaper/breaking/2009/0311/breaking78.htm. Retrieved 2009-07-22. 
9. ^ Walsh, Jimmy (2009-03-13). "Norris questions judge's ruling in Shell to Sea case". The Irish Times. http://www.irishtimes.com/newspaper/ireland/2009/0313/1224242799621.html. Retrieved 2009-07-22. 
10. ^ [1]^{[dead link]}
11. ^ ^{a b} Gillespie, Brian (2009-03-12). "Supporters applaud activist as she begins 28-day jail term". Irish Independent. http://www.independent.ie/national-news/supporters-applaud-activist-as-she-begins-28day-jail-term-1669858.html. Retrieved 2009-07-22. 
12. ^ "Shell to Sea campaigners protest at Department of Justice". The Irish Times. 2009-03-13. http://www.irishtimes.com/newspaper/breaking/2009/0313/breaking46.htm. Retrieved 2009-07-22. 
13. ^ "Protester denies groin kick". Mayo News. 2009-04-14. http://www.mayonews.ie/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=6324&Itemid=71. Retrieved 2009-07-22. 
14. ^ "Remember Saro-Wiwa: Justice for the Ogoni 9". Amnesty International UK. http://www.amnesty.org.uk/events_details.asp?ID=1176. Retrieved 2009-07-22. 
15. ^ "Imprisoned Harrington missed London conference". Mayo Advertiser. 2009-04-10. http://www.advertiser.ie/mayo/article/10851. Retrieved 2009-07-22. 
16. ^ Siggins, Lorna (2009-04-08). "New effort on Corrib gas awaited after talks breakdown". The Irish Times. http://www.irishtimes.com/newspaper/ireland/2009/0408/1224244212585.html. Retrieved 2009-07-22. 
17. ^ Bray, Allison (2009-04-08). "It's open season on us, says freed Shell protester". Irish Independent. http://www.independent.ie/national-news/its-open-season-on-us-says-freed-shell-protester-1701997.html. Retrieved 2009-07-22. 
18. ^ Two Shell protesters jailed - Irish Times
19. ^ Judge likens Shell to Sea to 'secret police'. RTÉ. Thursday, 11 February 2010 14:41.

External links

• Profile in Village magazine
• Article in The Guardian
• [2]

Persondata
Name	Harrington, Maura
Alternative names
Short description
Date of birth	1953-09-15
Place of birth
Date of death
Place of death