A case against Shell to Sea activist Maura Harrington has been dismissed because gardaí were unable to satisfy the judge that she had been causing an obstruction.
Judge Gerard Haughton dismissed the charge of wilfully obstructing the passage of a convoy of Shell vehicles because when gardaí asked her to move, they did not let her know the convoy was approaching and it was not visible from where she was parked.
Other vehicles were also able to pass Ms Harrington at the time, he said at a special sitting of Belmullet District Court.
Gardaí made the case that when they were attempting to escort a crane and articulated truck from Ballinaboy to Glengad, Ms Harrington was at the top of a steep hill parked in a silver VW Bora near Barr na Coille.
Garda Seán McHale said Ms Harrington of Dohooma, Ballina, had initially been parked parallel to him when he spoke to her, but as he moved on, she reversed her car, blocking the entire roadway.
He said Ms Harrington said she would only move for local vehicles, but she denied this.
As he tried to tow her backways up the hill towards McGrath’s pub, “at all stages she fought against my actions,” he said.
He described how the car had zig-zagged across the road.
A project manager working for Roadbridge on behalf of Shell, Máirtín McDermott, said the crane and ballast truck would have had difficulty getting up the hill if they had to stop while on the 45? slope.
He said that one of the main reasons for escorts is because of incidents like the one before the court.
However he also said that Ms Harrington might not have obstructed the vehicles where she was originally parked.
Ms Harrington said she was parked in an area she had a particular fondness for and she had seen Mr McDermott’s Jeep pass by. He did not stop and had no warning sign to indicate there was an oncoming convoy, she said.
When Garda McHale told her she was causing an obstruction, he did not tell her vehicles were coming and she was unable to see them from where she was parked.
Judge Haughton said he had a doubt about the prosecution and dismissed the case.
