On 30 January, in protest against Shell's pipeline and refinery plans in Ireland (see PN2482), a man scaled the outside of the Irish embassy in London and dropped a banner reading “Ba choir naire a bheith ort” - “You should be ashamed”.
He was arrested on suspicion of causing criminal damage. A fortnight later, Irish campaigners Shell to Sea called for solidarity actions and organised a “peaceful carnival and non-confrontational march” from the Glenamoy Bridge to the refinery site gates on 16 February. After the official protest had ended, around 100 people reportedly crossed the bog to gain access to the refinery and succeeded in halting work. The same day in Scotland, activists shut down eight Shell petrol stations in and around Edinburgh, using emergency shut down levers, saying “Shell has been shut down today in Solidarity with the innocent people around the world that have been subject to their bullying and use of violence”. The Irish Times reported in early February that more than e3m has been spent on gardai' to defend Shell's site at Bellanaboy.