Ok, here's the thing. They were in contempt of court for refusing to undertake not to interfere with a governmentally approved project.
A project that isn't yet approved as it is still under appeal before the courts . And the section of pipeline involved was constructed without permission .

They knowingly and willingl broke the law, and quite frankly they deserve it.
Would you permit a high pressure welded gas line to pass through your property ?

they're a relic of previous decades when governments were bending over backwards to get any kind of inward investment just to get people off the dole
What do you mean previous decades ? They are still doing it , or don't you consider the 10 year tax free incentive to be bending over backwards ?
Especially as after the 10 years is up the companies just up and leave , letting the tax payer pick up the redundancy bill . How many have gone this year alone once the 10 years was up , let alone all those that have gone in the past few years ?
Someone is getting bent over and shafted and it isn't the politicians , it is the tax-payer .

And the Sinn Féin have jumped on this bandwagon now. Kind of suitable, terrorists standing up for the rights of criminals.
Oh yes , and everone knows that the current government are not criminals