Protestors assembled at the old Tarbert Goal Museum and marched to farmland to set up camp, close to where the liquefied gas terminal would be located.

Between 200 and 400 people are expected to attend the protest, which runs until Sunday next and combines a series of events and lectures.

Some locals feel Shannon LNG will create much-needed employment and investment in the locality, while those opposed say it will have a negative impact on the region for the next 50 years.

“I’m very aware of the employment prospects. If this doesn’t happen it’s not like there’s going to be a massive loss of jobs. There would probably only be 30 odd jobs for local people anyway,” protester Luke Dingle said, saying the real problem lies with Government and a lack of investment in North Kerry over several decades, with no support for tourism and local employment.

“Putting LNG here isn’t going to solve that lack of development and support. If anything, it could actually damage what tourism there is by people looking at this horrible terminal. If there is any kind of accident there, it would destroy the local environment,” he said.

Climate Camp Ireland claim that global gas companies are taking advantage of the war in Ukraine to push projects like Shannon LNG over the line. A final decision on LNG rests with An Bord Pleanála and is expected next month.