Residents in Co Mayo are continuing their protest today against oil giant Shell’s Corrib gas pipeline.
A number of protesters at Rossport claimed today they had succeeded in halting work on the pipeline at 10am this morning.
Five north Mayo men who objected to Shell accessing their land to lay sections of the pipeline remain in jail for contempt of court over their opposition.
Some 1,500 people turned out at a rally in Castlebar yesterday to support the men and called for the resignations of Minister for the Marine Noel Dempsey and predecessors Dermot Ahern and Frank Fahey.
Engineering and physics experts who addressed the rally said the fears of the men and their families in Rossport were justified, given the fatality record in relation to high-pressure pipelines.
Local resident PJ Moran, who joined the protesters today, said Shell had ceased work at 10am because of the presence of the protesters. "At the moment, there's no work going on - everything is stopped," he told ireland.com.
Mr Moran said local people were prepared to maintain a 24-hour presence at the site if they had to do so to ensure the work did not proceed.
Asked about the five men still in Cloverhill prison in Dublin, Mr Moran said they were in good spirits.
"We were talking to two of them earlier and they are very happy with how things are going out here," he said. Asked whether the men were prepared to stay in prison, he said: "They will stay there until they get justice."
Shell E&P Ireland, the Shell company behind the €900 million Corrib gas project, said at the weekend it has no intention of stopping the operation or withdrawing from Mayo.
In a statement, it said it remained available for "constructive dialogue" with the five Erris men who are in jail.
Shell has accused the men of having a "wider" agenda than health and safety. Ireland.comhas sought further comment from Shell today on the position at the site.