Climate activists protest outside Four Courts over LNG plans 

Climate activists from Not Here Not Anywhere, Extinction Rebellion Ireland, and allied groups staged a protest outside the Four Courts yesterday as a crucial legal battle, Shannon LNG vs An Bord Pleanála, unfolded inside over the controversial Shannon LNG terminal. 

Drumming, chanting, and holding banners reading “Keep Ireland LNG Free” and “No LNG Terminals”, the demonstrators voiced their opposition to liquefied natural gas (LNG) infrastructure in Ireland. 

Speaking at the protest, Not Here Not Anywhere member Róisín Rigg, from Kerry, said the group is completely opposed to LNG terminals, whether state-owned or commercially operated. 

“This is infrastructure which would lock Ireland into decades of fossil fuel consumption, worsening the climate crisis and leading to increasingly intense weather disasters,” she said. 

Rigg also criticised the Government’s recent announcement that it would proceed with an LNG terminal for energy security.

The decision, she argued, was made prematurely—before a Gas Networks Ireland (GNI) report assessing risks and alternatives had even been publicly released. 

Instead of relying on LNG imports, Rigg urged the Government to focus on renewable energy sources and demand management strategies. 

“The answer to any energy security concerns is investment in indigenous renewables, energy demand reduction, comprehensive demand management, and the ramping up of retrofitting schemes,“ she said. 

She also raised concerns about data centres consuming vast amounts of energy, potentially fueled by LNG, adding to the country’s reliance on fossil fuels. 

Anna Comerford from Extinction Rebellion Ireland echoed these concerns, calling the Government’s decision to move forward with an LNG terminal “rushed and reckless.” 

“Even aside from climate considerations, it’s reckless of the Government to decide to go ahead with an LNG terminal before we have access to the information in the GNI report and before the consultant’s analysis—on whether there are better, existing alternatives—is even completed,” she said. 

Comerford also warned of security risks, arguing that a floating LNG terminal could be more vulnerable to attacks than Ireland’s current undersea pipelines. 

Inside the Four Courts, a hearing took place on the Shannon LNG vs. An Bord Pleanála case, as legal disputes over the future of LNG infrastructure in Ireland continue. 

With activists ramping up pressure and legal challenges ongoing, the debate over LNG in Ireland is far from over.