Five protesters who chained themselves to the entrance of a Bord na Móna plant in Co Mayo in protest over the Corrib gas pipeline have been arrested.
The four women and one man chained themselves together at the entrance of the Sramore peat deposit plant at around 7.30am today. They blocked trucks from entering or leaving the site for over four hours.
The site, which is some 11 kilometres from the Bellanaboy gas refinery site, is used by Shell E&P Ireland to deposit peat from the refinery.
There was a large Garda presence at the protest.
Shell to Sea spokeswoman Caoimhe Kerins told ireland.comthe demonstrators were tied together in such a way that to move them would risk breaking their arms or dislocating their shoulders. She said gardaí were warned of the risk.
The protesters were eventually separated by firefighters wielding specialist cutting equipment. She said there were no injuries.
All five were arrested and taken to Belmullet Garda Station for questioning under Section 4 of the Criminal Justice Act
Ms Kerins said the protests against the Corrib gas pipeline would continue. "People have been protesting for six years now, we're not stopping any time soon."