Rath Lugh

by Carmel Diviney Tue Sep 30, 2008 18:34

We have a reply along with an apology for its delay from Kevin O Rourke, NRA.
Carmel

......It has been well documented that the slopes in the vicinity of Rath Lugh were stable at the slopes following excavation works in March 2008. Any concerns about slope stability related only to the ‘Temporary Works’ scenario where the slope would be temporarily steepened while the Crib Wall was being excavated. The critical element of the work related to minimizing the time between start of excavations for the Crib Wall and completion of backfill to the top level of wall.

The Construction Joint Venture (CJV) achieved the performance detailed below with the most critical works being completed between 5th and 14th August 2008.

The ‘delay’ referred to between March and August 2008 had no negative implications for Rath Lugh National Monument and related to design and programming issues for the CJV.

Excavation works at Rath Lugh commenced on 5th August 2008.

Foundations to crib wall at Rath Lugh commenced on 6th August. The exposed slope was protected by geotextile and the Crib Wall and backfill was completed on 14th August. Backfill from top of crib wall to exposed top of slope in landtake was completed on 21st August 2008.

Monitoring on site was provided by the specialist personnel listed below:

Donal Murphy , Head Archaeologist of ACS Ltd., carried out archaeological monitoring during excavation.

The CJV carried out daily surveys of monitoring points on the slope during the works.

The CJV Senior Geotechnical Engineer and NRA site staff monitored the works daily.

Independent advice was received from Dr. Eric Farrell of AGL Consulting Geotechnical Engineers.

I trust that this clarifies the issues raised but should you require any further information please contact us.

by Tara Tara Tara Mon Sep 22, 2008 14:14

Pics

Rath Lugh from its sister mound, Barrow 53

The Gabhra River stagnant and polluted at the foot of Barrow 53

by CD Mon Sep 22, 2008 12:58

The following reply was recieved from Minister Gormley's Office on 4th Sept 08. I contacted the NRA and the Minister for Transport as advised by Gormley's Sectretary but as yet there has been NO reply. We STILL do not know who the Independent Monitor was, if indeed there was one OR why the face of the esker was left exposed for so long. Stone walled.

Carmel

4 September 2008

Dear Ms. Diviney,

I have been asked by Mr. John Gormley, T.D. Minister for the
Environment, Heritage and Local Government, to refer further to your
email of 21 August 2008, regarding the national monument at Rath Lugh.

Detailed design specifications of the proposed Crib Wall at Rath Lugh
had to be prepared before any work could commence and when these were
completed they were sent to this Department. The Department asked an
independent consultant to review the design and proposed construction
method and the consultant made a number of recommendations. These
recommendations needed to be put in place before work could commence.
Work on building the wall began as soon the design was agreed and
finalised.

As you mention, Golders Associates recommended that independent
monitoring of works in this area would be advisable. The Minister’s
responsibility relates to the archaeological works and, in that regard
his Department is aware that the work was archaeologically monitored by
a firm of archaeological consultants. The design and construction of the
crib wall were a matter for the NRA and the motorway construction
company. It is suggested therefore that any queries you may have in
relation to the timing and monitoring of the actual construction work
should be directed to the NRA.

I trust this clarifies the matter for you.

Yours sincerely,

____________
Eddie Kiernan,
Private Secretary

by Tick Tock Thu Aug 21, 2008 15:38

Says it all.....

Protest Banner on the N3

by Tara Tara Tara Thu Aug 21, 2008 14:16

Well I have no need to tell ye that there were howls of laughter and joy when news of another setback to hit the M3 Motorway project emerged yesterday. Howleys were unable to secure any investment to rescue the company. Who in their right mind would want to invest in this disaster!!! See what ya get for messin with the Ancestors ? Dont say we didnt tell ya so!!!

The High Court has ordered that a Cork engineering firm be wound up
after efforts to secure its future and the jobs of its 430 staff
failed.

Howley Civil Engineering, which was involved in a number of major
projects including the M3 motorway and the redevelopment of Lansdowne
Road stadium, which went into examinership in June.

The court heard that Howley Civil Engineering had been affected by
the slowdown in the construction sector and had incurred additional
costs on motorway and retail projects. ( LOL)

Among Howley's largest creditors are Caterpillar Financial Services
Ireland plc, which is owed €5.5 million, AIB Finance and Leasing,
owed €3 million and the Revenue Commissioners.
Siptu said it was in talks with Howley and its contractors over
redeploying the workers being laid off.

Lawyers for an examiner appointed to the company told the High Court
that there were no prospects for a third party investor or a survival
plan.

Brian McEnery, the examiner to the firm, had been in negotiations
with two potential investors about taking a stake in the business but
no offer has been made for the company and both prospective bidders
have since pulled out.

So, there ya have it. The Meath Master Plan is still there Noel Dempsey so cut your losses while ya still can and see some sense!
TTT

by Tara Tara Tara Thu Aug 21, 2008 13:20

From email above to Gormley-

As advised in the Technical Memorandum of Golder Associates Limited, an
Independent Monitor was recommended to oversee the preservation and crib
walling of Rath Lugh , who was that Independent Monitor?

You have still not answered my question as to why the face of the Rath was
left exposed for so long- contrary to the recommendations. Why?

OBSERVATIONS: These questions were not answered by his Secretary in his reply. Instead he gets a medal for stating the obvious- the crib wall is complete, but I do hope he is correct about the erosion rills not having any bearing on the stability of the overall esker.

by Tara Tara Tara Tue Aug 19, 2008 14:17

To cheer you up, a photo also taken Sunday of Ardsallagh 2.8 beside the Boyne. The foundations were recently bolstered here with tonnes of hardcore and all now lies in ruin :) Looks like they will be rethinking this one! The more delays the better.....

Submerged

by Carmel Ni Dhuibheanaigh Tue Aug 19, 2008 14:04

Dear Ms. Diviney,

I have been asked by Mr. John Gormley, T.D. Minister for the
Environment, Heritage and Local Government, to refer further to your
email of 12 August 2008, regarding the national monument at Rath Lugh.

As previously outlined the National Roads Authority prepared and
submitted a copy of the design of the proposed Crib Wall at Rath Lugh
to this Department prior to commencing work. An independent
consultant was asked to review the design and proposed construction
method and made a number of recommendations which needed to be put in
place before work could commence.

I understand that work on the Crib Wall has now been completed. I
have been assured the erosion channels you point out were caused by
rainfall, are totally unrelated to overall slope stability and are
not a concern in terms of the stability of the esker.

I trust this clarifies the matter for you.

Yours sincerely,

____________
Eddie Kiernan,
Private Secretary

----------------------------------------------------------
----------

by Sandman Sun Aug 17, 2008 21:51

It's not too late

Rath Lugh Labyrinth

by mise Tara 7 Sun Aug 17, 2008 20:03

Thank you Tara Tara Tara for your consistent reports and updates.

by Tara Tara Tara Sun Aug 17, 2008 18:58

Crib Wall

by Tara Tara Tara Fri Aug 15, 2008 11:54

One of the bodies removed from Collierstown during excavation

Pic from NRA website

by mars Thu Aug 14, 2008 15:21

from yesterday

tóg é go bóg é

protectors

demands

the tree at collierstown

by Tara Tara Tara Thu Aug 14, 2008 14:15

Meanwhile other Protectors were staging a Tree Protest near the Collierstown site highlighting the fact that roughly 62 bodies were removed from their sacred burial grounds to make way for the construction of the M3 Motorway. Collierstown graveyard dates from prehistoric times with burials continuing into the early medieval era.

The Tree Protest was given huge support from passing motorists. Locals also joined in coming out of their homes to give encouragement and there were plenty of volunteers to take stints to maintain a presence.

There should be a write up from the camp shortly.

Tree Huggers :)

by Terry Thu Aug 14, 2008 10:58

It was a beautiful morning, warm and sunny.
We arrived at Rath Lugh around 7.30 am
We could hear the squeak of hydraulic machinery and looked down at it briefly through the trees but since their work was for protection of the Rath, we did not find the energy negative and anyway Involvement with machinery was not our mission. There was also an awareness that if the road were ever completed the present sound would be nothing compared to traffic noise.
We crossed the Rath to the well.
We each in turn made our offerings to the well before heading to the top of the Rath for an 8.08 am rendezvous.
We held a simple ceremony there, burned some rosemary smudge and called in the ancestors. The uilleann pipes and then the harp were played.
We headed back the way we had entered in a roundabout way past the well.
As we were leaving the Rath, we were greeted by the familiar and smiling faces of security who told us our friends were already up a tree at Collierstown with their platform in place.
On our way to Lismullin we were stopped by two young gardai who were friendly enough and after the usual routine questions, left us alone.
We passed by more security men who were not so friendly but since we weren't on the road take they had no power, only empty words.
When we got to the Henge, the pipes and the harp were played again.
After some time we headed over to the pixies up the tree and then back to the Vigil.
We continue to work and live in hope.
Solas
Terry

http://www.bardnamara.org

For those who have not read it before, this from November 2007

A rainbow in the eastern sky against a disturbed grey/blue sea
The north easter howling
Dark foreboding clouds
Carrying heavy showers
Of torrential rain
But blue sky in between
And plenty of it
The promise of better days ahead.

And a rainbow arcing from the Hill of Tara
To Lissmullen
And Rath Lugh

People planting meadowmix
And herbs
Shrubs
And saplings
In the scar
Left by the machinery

The pot of Gold
The nucleus
Of the Park

by Tara Tara Tara Wed Aug 13, 2008 15:09

Thought ye might like to read the following mail sent to me at the beginning of August by John Farrelly.

TTT

It was with a sack of woe on my back that I crossed the fields from Tara on Sunday to visit Rath Lugh. I had decided that one last visit was needed before I personally could hand it over to the NRA. Even the talk on the hill now says, "the road is there". However at Lismullen I was surprised to see that things have got slightly better not worse. The Gabhra is now in a well built culvert and the road is at the intermediate stage where they are now landscaping the earth that they have piled up or removed and so the M3 is beginning to look like a wide path surrounded by earthen mounds on both sides. Its not how I want it to be but its much better than how it was three months ago
I could not help but think that if someone, somehow pulled a case and got an injunction that in about a year all this would grass over and provide a beautiful walk through our most sacred valley.

Rath Lugh is still blocked off and guarded by security men but just as a bus has two ends I went in through the middle. The Rath looked stunning. It is now clear of the detritus of the campers and not even a plastic bag is to be seen. It was filtered by sunlight as I crossed to where the cliff edge used to be, the place where we could observe the workings of the road, but a security man was sunning himself below at a Porto cabin so I was forced back into the trees. However as far as I could see no major work has taken place on the cliff face. I may be wrong but I could see none. I seen some coloured backfill in heaps but the road still looks as it did at Easter. Here too the sides of the road are being landscaped and drainage channels are being dug in. Trees would hide all if planted and show very little of what was planned.
Rath Lugh is also free it seems from the shotgun men and the woodland floor is no longer littered with shotgun cartridges. I sat in the C-shaped enclosure for over two hours and the whole Rath was alive with birdsong. The badgers are still there and I could see the marks where they have been digging for grubs. Two pheasants flew low through the wood mysteriously avoiding the trees, there were plenty of bees, wasps and hover flies to be seen and I also seen moths resting on the back of leaves. Despite all the gloom and talk about the destruction of biodiversity and colony collapse Rath Lugh is still an oasis of wildlife and could remain if we were successful. There is also much natural regeneration taking place, paths have overgrown and elder is making its way up almost everywhere. Long considered a weed this old and revered tree of magic could one day recolonise the rath and fill the air with its heady scent, flowers and berries. When humans leave or are forced out nature can still renew herself and an elder forest, something we can only dream off, could if left alone reappear here.There is also the phenomenon of Lamas Growth taking place everywhere. This is the second flush of late leaf growth which takes place sometimes in August and hence the name. This new green is striking against the deadening deeper green of spring growth.
When recrossing the Gabhra at Lismullen I met people out walking and as always I sounded them out. They too have wondered at the slowness of the work in the area and believed that the NRA must be still awaiting a challenge and so have left their cards open and on the table. At other places the road nears completion and it will change here too in next two months or so. Before Winter the tarmac will go down and our struggle for the valley will be over.
As a born pessimist I left thinking that there is still a window of opportunity and if someone, somewhere, somehow could launch a case and obtain an injunction then the valley could still be saved. If we too could obtain a flush of late growth all is still there to play for.
--
John.

by Carmel Ni Dhuibheanaigh Wed Aug 13, 2008 10:08

The following email was recently recieved from Minister John Gormley's Office in reply to an enquiry about the safety of the Rath which was also accompanied by photographs of the erosion rills taken by me in July.

11 August 2008

Dear Ms. Diviney,

I have been asked by Mr. John Gormley, T.D. Minister for the Environment, Heritage and Local Government, to refer further to your email, of 23 July 2008, regarding the national monument at Rath Lugh.

I wish to confirm that the National Roads Authority submitted a copy of the design of the proposed Crib Wall at Rath Lugh to this Department prior to commencing work. An independent consultant was asked to review the design and proposed construction method and made a number of recommendations to be put in place before work commenced. These recommendations were accepted in full. It is understood work on the Crib Wall is underway.

The works are being archaeologically monitored, with a view to ensuring in particular that the national monument at Rath Lugh is not put at risk in any way.

Yours sincerely,

____________
Eddie Kiernan,
Private Secretary

...................................................

12th Aug 08

Dear Minister,

RE: RATH LUGH

As advised in the Technical Memorandum of Golder Associates Limited, an
Independent Monitor was recommended to oversee the preservation and crib
walling of Rath Lugh , who was that Independent Monitor?

You have still not answered my question as to why the face of the Rath was
left exposed for so long- contrary to the recommendations. Why?

Please see link to pics taken 8.8.08 - erosion rills are even more evident
than in the pics I took myself and sent to you recently.

Yours sincerely,
Carmel Diviney.

REPLY PENDING.