Famine Walk in Drumshanbo, Leitrim

Afri

resizeTo mark the national famine commemoration day a famine walk was held in Drumshanbo on Sunday, September 11th 2016. The walk took place from St Patrick’s Church to the famine graveyard a short distance away, where a wreath was laid and a tree planted to the memory of the famine dead.  The walk was organised by Bryan Ryan a student of Drumshanbo traditional music school run by Mossie Martin.

The walk consisted of over sixty people which included Sinn Fein councillor Brenden Barry and Nancy Woods of Drumshanbo Comhaltas as well as poets and musicians from around Leitrim, A bass drum played by Ronan McManus of the four Green fields flute band lead the walk as it made its way to the famine graveyard where over 500 victim’s of an Gorta Mor are buried.  The graveyard was attached to the old pre emancipation Church of Murhaun which stood there in 1744 before St Patrick’s Church was built in 1851 closer to the village. Continue reading “Famine Walk in Drumshanbo, Leitrim” →

Reflections from ‘Making the Connections: No Fracking’ event

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Afri funded and coordinated a group of anti-fracking activists from Spain and the UK  to come to Ireland on a four day visit over the weekend of November 27th 2015. Their visit began with them giving a talk in Dublin, hosted by the Worker’s Solidarity Movement in Jigsaw. The following day they made their way to Co Leitrim and on to  Fermanagh to  meet members of the anti fracking group LAMP (Letterbreen and Mullaghdun Partnership). A visit to the site of the planned exploratory well in Belcoo followed before the main event Making the Connections, Fracking No!Poster no fracking web

Making the Connections, Fracking No! took place in The Glens Centre in Manorhamilton, Co Leitrim on November 28th,  bringing together anti fracking activists from northern Spain, England and Ireland in an evening of theatre, singing, discussion, music and dancing.

Donal O’ Kelly performed his awarding winning one man show ‘Fionnuala’, in which the human rights abuses perpetrated at the hands of Shell during the Corrib Gas Project in Erris, Co Mayo are starkly conjured up. Spanish surtitles accompanied the performance to critical acclaim and oddly timed laughter!

Next up came the Kidz from the Glen who sang an anti-fracking song called Stand Up for Ireland written by Michael Mc Loughlin. Continue reading “Reflections from ‘Making the Connections: No Fracking’ event” →

International Scientists Support Call For Island Of Ireland Fracking Ban

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3769435_370Afri welcomes the decision by Northern Ireland Environment Minister Mark Durkan not to award a license to Australian mining company Tamboran Resources who sought to begin test drilling work on the Cavan-Fermanagh border as part of its ambitious fracking plans for the island of Ireland. The group say nothing short of an all-Ireland ban on fracking is needed and that leaders in Dublin and Belfast should follow the lead of the French and German governments in banning fracking while prioritising renewable energy sources. According to Afri Coordinator Joe Murray, fracking is a short-sighted solution to job creation and energy supply, which he says compromises water supplies, farming, wildlife and air quality.

Afri’s campaign is backed up by leading international scientists who are supporting Afri’s online campaign for an all-Ireland ban on fracking.

These include renowned scientist Dr. Ken Caldeira from the Carnegie Institution for Science at Stanford University who said:

“We know we need to be heading towards a near zero emission energy and transportation systems. Expansion of the dirtiest corners of the fossil fuel industry is a step in the wrong direction. We need to be developing and deploying the near zero emission clean energy technologies of the future, not expanding last century’s archaic energy system. We can no longer afford to be building energy and transportation systems that assume we can continue to use the sky as a waste dump.” Continue reading “International Scientists Support Call For Island Of Ireland Fracking Ban” →

Ban Fracking On The Island Of Ireland

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3769435_370The island of Ireland is one of the greenest places on the planet but global energy corporations want to put an end to this. The fracking industry have big plans for both sides of the border and we need to act fast to stop them.

We can’t sit back and let our land and water be destroyed by those who promise us the earth while destroying it in the process.

Despite huge opposition, fracking work has commenced in scenic County Fermanagh and plans are in place for nearby Leitrim. Other areas under threat include the Antrim, Down, Derry, Donegal, Sligo, Roscommon, Cavan, Monaghan, Clare, Cork and Kerry.

Demand a fracking ban on the island of Ireland by signing and sharing our petition now. Each time someone signs it, key politicians will get an email urging them to act. Sign here or read on: https://www.change.org/petitions/ban-fracking-on-the-island-of-ireland Continue reading “Ban Fracking On The Island Of Ireland” →