Let our High Kings sleep in peace

IN some parts of Ireland, over 60% of all national monuments have been destroyed - 30-40% in the past 150 years alone.

It remains untold what destruction took place during English rule in Ireland, especially with regard to standing stones, dolmens and stone circles.

Many monuments between 2,000 and 7,000 years old have been eradicated after becoming the target of farmers, land developers and those engaged in mindless destruction of our national heritage.

At present, there are about 150,000 known sites of archaeological importance, yet, over the past 10 years, about 15,000 of these have been laid waste.

This brings into question the preliminary findings of over 38 major archaeology sites along the proposed M3 motorway, which will pass through the Tara/Skryne valley and seriously impact on the scenery of Ireland’s most historical and cultural monument.

While the roadway passes directly over 38 sites, its proximity to several hundred more begs the question: in the national interest, should this roadway be rerouted?

Tara was the seat of the High Kings of Ireland for several millennia and it stature abounds in written and oral folklore. It could, potentially, be the most important tourist attraction for our nation.

There are alternative routes for the motorway; and the expenditure in capital finance for the project - after taking away European grants, the cost of archaeology digs, and the cost of inflation after legal hold-ups - would roughly even out; putting very little extra pressure on the Irish exchequer.

Yet the Hill of Tara, if marketed correctly, could add hundreds of millions to the exchequer’s fund through tourist revenues over the next 50 years; paying for its entitlement to remain free from an infringing urbanisation of its locality.

If the proposed route goes ahead, one-off housing, estates and commercial ventures will naturally follow.

While tremendous work has been done to highlight the plight of the Hill of Tara, by the Tara/Skryne Valley Group and Vincent Salafia’s court action to stop the development, it will only be by the widespread support of local people and those abroad that the Government will consider rerouting this motorway.

If people think the loss of 1% annually of all national monuments is devastating to our heritage, then they should consider that if our most important historical monument is under threat, what safety has any local monument in the future?

Tomás mac Cormaic

Dál Cormaic Luisc

Clochrua

Co Chorcaí