Even a child would have found a better route for M3

I VISITED the Hill of Tara and surrounding heritage-rich area recently. The ancient Bronze Age hillfort of Rath Lugh, just across the Gabhra valley from Tara, is itself an imposing structure and lies directly in the path of the proposed motorway.

Already this hill has been partly damaged by the diggers.

Rath Lugh fort itself is more than 100 yards across and sits among other smaller forts on a glacial esker rising approximately 100 feet above the valley floor.

It is covered in broadleaf trees — a rare enough aspect of the landscape and environment.

Incredibly, the motorway route has been aligned directly across the western side of this ancient archeological site and — as many are now aware through media coverage — continues onwards completely to obliterate the Lismullen fort with its wood henge — another site of great archeological and historical value.

Even a child, if asked to mark out a road through this valley, would have curved it around these hills — but not our government bureaucrats who obviously drew the route on a map in an office in Dublin without the slightest regard for heritage, environment or even basic commonsense.

With our ever-so-slightly Green government supposedly encouraging sustainable development — development that provides for current needs without compromising the needs of future generations — the obvious requirement is for a reappraisal of the options for helping people travel more quickly and efficiently between places north and south of the Tara-Skrynevalley. Improved public transport and road freight services are, of course, necessary. If roads must be improved for the ever-increasing numbers of cars, then we ought at least to plan them sensibly and avoid destruction of our heritage — and perhaps also avoid heavy fines by the EU which the Government will expect the taxpayer to pay.

It’s not just our heritage that is being destroyed — this is part of global heritage.

Many of those same taxpayers will also have to fork out road tolls in addition to more expensive petrol. Motorway travel is rapidly becoming a very expensive luxury.

We might also think about tourism. What will visitors come to see? Photos of destroyed heritage sites in a museum? I think not.

Bob Wilson

Flagmount

Co Clare