March for Tara – From Garden of Remembrance to Wood Quay

national | environment | event notice Monday November 15, 2004 18:50 by Another Tarahead - Save Tara Skryne Valley Group save at taraskryne dot org P.O. Box 20, Tara, Co. Meath 087 1323365

March for Tara – From Garden of Remembrance to Wood Quay – Sat Nov 27

A demonstration against the proposed M3 motorway route through the national monument of the Hill of Tara is to be held in Dublin on Saturday, November 27, beginning at 1.30pm. The public are invited to gather at The Garden of Remembrance , Parnell Square and march up O’Connell Street to the Dublin Civic Offices at Wood Quay.

The purpose of the march is to give the public an opportunity to voice their objection to the Government, particularly Dick Roche, Minister for the Environment, Heritage and Local Government, who is currently considering whether to give directions to begin excavations of over 40 individual monuments in and around the Hill of Tara, at a cost to us of 30 million euros.

Groups and individuals from all parts of Ireland have already pledged their support, as have members of all the Opposition parties. Primary, secondary and third level student groups in Offaly, Wexford, Cork and multiple other towns have begun campaigns, sending letters to the Minister, and have pledged to support the march.

The march will be an opportunity for people to express their anger over the bad planning, corruption, toll roads, public-private partnerships, overspending on motorways, lack of investment in public transport, as well as the overall widespread rapid destruction of Irish heritage being funded by Irish taxpayers money.

Campaigners from the Clondalkin Round Tower; Woodstown, Co. Cork; Carrickmines Castle, Trim Castle, and many other heritage sites under threat will be calling for the Government to make further efforts to preserve Ireland’s cultural heritage.

Parnell Square is particularly symbolic because of Parnell’s famous ‘monster meeting’ at the Hill of Tara in the nineteenth century. Wood Quay is even more significant since it was here that Viking remains were discovered in the late 1970’s and a campaign was waged against the construction of the Dublin Civic Offices on top of the site. Ironically, the National Monument’s Act was amended to prevent a repeat of such an act of desecration.

Dr. Muireann Ní Bhrolcháin, of NUI Maynooth said:

“We have been inundated with requests on how to get involved.”

Vincent Salafia, Public Relations Officer said:

“ Irish people feel that Tara must be saved, and this is their way of saying that preserving cultural heritage is just as important as developing the economy.” Vincent Salafia - 087-132-3365 uatuathal@yahoo.com Dr. Muireann Ní Bhrolchain – 087-924-9510 muireann.nibhrolchain@may.ie