Pro Gas Mayo Group
The Pro Gas Mayo Group (PGMG) is a lobby group based in County Mayo, Ireland. It was established to garner support throughout Mayo and beyond for Royal Dutch Shell's Corrib gas project, and in 2007 replaced the now defunct Pro Erris Gas Group, presumably to widen its geographical scope. To this end, it writes a lot of letters to newspapers. It is highly critical of the Shell to Sea campaign, which it contends threatens employment in Mayo. It especially dislikes that campaign's practice of nonviolent civil disobedience, and is quick to condemn alleged property damage against Shell contractors.
Critics of the group are suspicious of its secretiveness. There are only three known members, Pádraig Cosgrove (a former non-party councillor on Mayo County Council (MCC)), Harry Walsh (a serving non-party councillor on MCC), and Brendan Cafferty (a former member of An Garda Síochána, the police force of the Irish Republic). Apart from a public meeting held in Castlebar in July 2007, nothing is known of where or how often the group meets, how it is funded, how many members it has, or whether they are salaried. Cafferty, the secretary of the group, is usually the letter-writer. Cosgrove (the chairman) tends to be the public face of the group.
