The "Kilcolgan Residents Association", representing nearby residents of the proposed LNG regasification terminal and people with close family and economic ties to the area, was set up in 2006 in response to the news that Hess Corporation ( under its new subsidiary "Shannon LNG")  was planning an LNG regasification terminal in the rural area of Kilcolgan, which lies between the two north Kerry villages of Tarbert and Ballylongford on the southern shores of the Shannon Estuary in the South West of Ireland.

The local residents were bombarded by a slick marketing campaign from Shannon LNG employees who were loudly supported by the state-controlled "Shannon Development" company, which owned the site, along with some well-canvassed local politicans and people from the neighbouring villages (some of whom had been taken by Shannon LNG on an all-expenses holiday to visit LNG terminals in Zeebrugge and Barcelona).

Shannon LNG stated in their local newsletter  that "natural gas is the most environmentally friendly fossil fuel" and that if there was an LNG tanker leak "this gas would quickly dissipate because it is lighter than air"

However, as the local residents informed themselves on the risks and dangers of LNG they were horrified that such a one-sided view of the proposed LNG project was being portrayed both by the developer, the landowner "Shannon Development" and by well-groomed local politicans and they felt sold out.

Being basically told not to stop hundreds of jobs coming to the area (albeit short-term construction jobs with only 50 long-term jobs at the end of the day), most locals said they could understand the logic of attempting to build a terminal on the nearby state-owned land if it was really in the overriding national interest and there was no alternative site available. However, it quickly became apparent that the siting decision was a developer-led project based on the availability of land in the area and undeveloped deep-water (which was supposed to be reserved for the eventual construction of a deep-water Transhipment Hub in the Shannon Estuary) without any strategic assessments and that absolutely no consideration was given to the safety risks for the local population. When it was learned that people within 3 miles of an LNG plant were in danger if an accident were to occur, they were told by  Shannon LNG that there was no need to worry about the consequences of an accident because the chances of an accident were very low.

A representative sample of 57 adults signed the detailed group submission by the "Kilcolgan Residents Association" recommending complete rejection of the planning application by Shannon LNG due to, among other things, safety, environmental, economic and residential amenity grounds.

As it quickly became apparent that the proposed LNG terminal, the most sizeable hazard in Ireland, was not just a local issue but a national one the ‘Safety Before LNG’ group representing people from both Kilcolgan and the wider community was set up.

"Safety Before LNG" is advocating responsible strategic siting of LNG terminals in areas which do not put people’s health and safety in danger. 

It has received support from former local Member of the European Parliament, M.E.P. Ms. Kathy Sinnott, environmental lobby group “Friends of the Irish Environment” (a network of conservationists and environmentalists committed to protecting Ireland's environment by lobbying for strict implementation of EU law in Ireland), actor Pierce Brosnan along with his wife Keely and the California Coastal Protection Network (a non-profit environmental advocacy organisation based in the United States and one of the top experts on Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) in the United States, which undertook the successful campaign to stop the largest mining company in the world, BHP Billiton, from building a massive offshore LNG import terminal off the California Coast).

'Safety Before LNG' has received well-informed scientific first-hand information from numerous safety experts such as world-renowned LNG expert Dr. Jerry Havens from Arkansas and New-Zealand-based energy analyst Steve Goldthorpe and gas safety expert Peter North from Cork.

The group's aim with this website is to provide a resource of information on the strategy used to develop an LNG terminal so that other communities are aware of the template used to flout social responsiblity both by large corporations such as Hess and by government statutory bodies alike.
 
We hope that the inforrmation contained herein proves useful and we welcome your feedback.