Destruction of Tara Temporarily Halted by Protest

meath | history and heritage | news report

Sunday May 20, 2007 02:37

by Roestown reporter

Construction was held up on Fri 18th on the controversial M3 in the Tara Valley by a peaceful demonstration. A small group of concerned active citizens congregated at Rath Lugh at 5:30am. When workers arrived at 6:10am, they were unable to get their vehicles on site and gathered on the N3. The workers seemed unaware that the carpark they were using is the newly closed archeological site at Roestown.

Construction was held up on Fri 18th on the controversial M3 in the Tara Valley by a peaceful demonstration. A small group of concerned active citizens congregated at Rath Lugh at 5:30am. Rath Lugh is one of the seven outer defence forts of Tara which is only approximately 150m from the newly discovered National Monument at Lismullen.

According to the maps, the proposed route of the monstrous motorway was supposed to avoid the beautiful iron-age Hill Fort and Coillte Forest. However, since this section of the route was fenced off in December, the removal of ancient trees on the side of the rath has created a cliff face of the hill. The NRA plan on raising the level of the motorway to the top of the rise. This would result in it no longer being visible from the hill of Tara and isolating it from the Tara complex. Rath Lugh is a listed National Monument, but was conveniently not marked on the last Ordnance Survey map.

The demonstrators stood at two gates, one at Roestown on the East of the N3 and the other at Treret at the entrance to the Berrilstown archaeological complex. When workers arrived at 6:10am, they were unable to get their vehicles on site and gathered on the N3. The Assistant Project Manager for the M3 made himself known to the peaceful demonstrators. He seemed shocked as most people are to learn of the extent of the unresolved archaeology still sitting in the path of the 6-lane motorway. The workers seemed unaware that the carpark they were using is the newly closed archeological site at Roestown.

This was a magnificent subterraneancomplex with circular stone chambers joined by architecturally perfect tunnels from the 6th Century AD. Quartz capstones from this site were found in a ditch two weeks ago by a local person. This is an example of the practice of NRA archaeology.

Construction cannot be allowed to continue in the valley until a full independent archaeological assessment of the route through the valley is undertaken. NRA archaeologists have proven themselves inadequate in their professions through allowing themselves be pressured into premature conclusion of their studies. The pace at which they closed up the sites in April was ridiculous and the amount of archaeology still visible in the ground is insulting and unacceptable. This is disappointing yet not surprising considering the NRA have no hard ethics policy. The contractor who has commenced construction in the valley is Howley Construction. Their contract is worth 650 million euro. Can a price be put on the history and knowledge that is being denied and lost within this 6-9km stretch of the motorway alone.

When guards were called to the scene they informed the workers that as it was a peaceful demonstration they had a right to protest. After several hours of these environmental and cultural activists holding the space the construction workers ripped down a fence adjacent to the entrance but were unable to gain vehicular access. There was also a pitiful display of pigeon-chestedness by a lone worker in a mini-digger digging random holes. After the demonstrators moved to allow a local farmer access to cross the route to his cattle the posse of idle construction workers realised that the didle-idle demonstrators were not restricting them from walking on site. At 11:00am approximately they started a few heavy machinery on site but appeared to have run out of diesel after a couple of hours. The space was held at the two gates by the determined joyful group 'til mid-day today, over 30 hours later. No destruction or construction was done in the valley today.

Large cement pipes which were unable to be unloaded at Roestown were then dropped on the archaeological site at Collierstown. As the construction workers are using the access points for the archaeological sites, these are the first areas to be demolished. This strategic destruction of the sites gives urgency to the need for construction to be halted immediately in the valley while their destiny is being decided. The cement pipes at Collierstown are only feet away from the piles of discarded gravestones at the edge of the site. All fencing and site signs have been removed apart from a lone archaeological sign in Polish strewn in the stream that passes through the dismantled graveyard. Bones and teeth are still visible in the topsoil.

This monumental disaster must be averted. The terrifying magnitude of the situation where the destruction and denial of our national landmarks of identity for the personal economic gain of a few already very rich people is beyond comprehension.

Two local farmers stopped at the demonstration yesterday. One said that, since he received his letter of CPO in the post from Meath County Council four years ago, he has never signed his name to any contract or piece of paper. Last Monday, machinery moved onto his land. The other farmer explained how 15 acres of his land has now been isolated from his farm on the other side of the route and no access point has been provided.

The fact that it is governmental manipulation of community needs, vague and watery planning processes, the potential falsification of Environmental Impact Statements and the dnial of the integrity of countless national and world leading independent archaeologists and historians is beyond pathetic. The fact that the motorway won't even solve the traffic congestion and could only get the commuters to the tailback going into Dublin 10 minutes quicker and that it is all being built by the Public Private Partnership and would have two tolls of €2.80+ on it is beyond a joke.

Who the féck do they think they are?