300km Rossport protest walk to end today

Supporters of the Rossport Five are to make the final leg of their 300km walk to Dublin today.

Supporters of the Rossport Five are to make the final leg of their 300km walk to Dublin today.

The group, which set off from Co Mayo two weeks ago, will arrive at the entrance to Kilmainham Jail at noon. They will be greeted by Dublin Lord Mayor Vincent Jackson before proceeding to the GPO where Michael O Seighin, one of the Rossport Five, will speak out.

The campaigners are opposing Shell's Corrib high pressures gas pipeline which was due to run close to residents' homes.

Despite the company agreeing to reroute the pipeline, protestors have vowed to continue to fight its construction.

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The aim of the cross-county trek through Roscommon, Longford, Westmeath and Kildare, is to raise more awareness of the issue.

"The walk has been very good," said activist John Monaghan.

"The response we have had from the public has been fantastic. Obviously there is a lot more awareness of what we are doing than we realised. Everybody we met has been supportive of the stance we took."

A number of members of the Rossport community and the Shell to Sea campaign group took part in protest, dubbed the Long Walk.

"Inspiration for the Long Walk came from various sources, including the eviction of the Davitt family in Straide in the 1850s," said Mr Monaghan, a blacksmith in Rossport.

"This centenary year of Michael Davitt's death is a fitting time to commemorate his own struggles, and shows

how people power and non-violent resistance are themes that remain as relevant today as they have always been."