Preserve our beautiful land for future generations

AS children, we drove over the winding two mile bridge at least once a week.

Two miles from Lissarda, it’s flanked on one side by rolling hills reminiscent of a scene from one of Jane Austen’s novels and, on the other, the Macguillycuddy’s Reeks form a backdrop to the peaceful waters of the reservoir, disturbed occasionally by drinking ponies and the odd summer power boat.

Can you imagine my horror at discovering that the National Roads Authority’s plan for this area includes a 30 foot high concrete motorway right in front of our doorstep. The sheer scale alone of this mammoth vulgarity is reason enough for concern, let alone the desecration of a landscape that has remained undisturbed since the ice age.

Archaeological monuments abound in the area. A lone gallaun stands proud in a field designated for the motorway, centuries of history about to be gouged out by the teeth of a digger. While theories abound as to the purpose of these monuments, one thing is for sure, they have been landmarks on the countryside from the earliest of times.

And it is not only local farmers and private residents whose voice goes unheard in this countrywide blight. Dúchas, the heritage body employed to protect and preserve our monuments cannot become involved in matters involving the National Road Authority.

A code of practice laid out two years ago by the Department of the Environment preserves the right of the National Road Authority to decide routes, unhindered by other government agencies, relying on the advise of project archaeologists to decide which proposed route has the least number of significant monuments. The irony of the situation is illustrated by the role of the EPA in similar situations in which they won’t allow planning permission for landfills where artifacts of archaeological importance exist.

So my question is, what happens when each of the proposed routes are equally scenic and of equal historical merit? My proposal is simple. It is unlikely that roads of this magnitude will ever be needed in this country. The government can ill afford to pump billions into projects like this with all the other needy causes in the country. Scale it down. Have a rethink. And preserve our heritage for the generations to come.

C Lucey Cronin,

Dooniskey West,

Lissarda,

Co Cork.