TARA: Cultural and political breakthroughs

Photos

Copyright (c) Paula Geraghty

see larger image

uploaded by Maireid Sullivan

Hello again, Friends!

The past few weeks have been a busy time for champions of Tara, both in Ireland
and abroad.

On the POLITICAL front, it appears that Minster Gormley has decided to
place a preservation order on parts of the current M3 route.

Dr. Muireann Ní Bhrolchain, spokesperson for the Campaign to Save Tara
- www.savetara.com - had this to say:

"Got a tip off to say that the minister has now made this decision.
Between Rath Lugh and Lismullin the NRA cannot move in that area now. A
little light at the end of a tunnel. Maybe its not over yet? Maybe I
was wrong to say that the road will go ahead? Fingers crossed again.
Just as it feels that its over it starts again."

EU REPORT: View the European Parliament Petitions Committee REPORT on
Tara and the M3, and other Irish issues, here:
http://www.globalartscollective.org/acf/eu_report.htm

At the end of this update you'll find three sequential reports in the
form of Press Releases from SaveTara.com and TaraWatch.org, and a
report from the Irish Times.

On the CULTURAL front, on Saturday afternoon, 22 Sept.  a great
gathering of the Harpists of Ireland, led by harper Laoise Kelly and
harper / composer Anne-Marie O'Farrell, assembled at Dáil Éireann
(Irish Parliament) "to demonstrate publicly the strength of their
opposition to the destruction of historic cultural sites at the
Tara/Skryne Valley as a result of the ill-chosen current route of the
M3 motorway." They submitted a petition to Minister John Gormley
insisting he take responsibility for the ongoing destruction of the
valleys surrounding the Hill of Tara.

And, in addition, New York artists and supporters of the campaign to
save Tara, led by singer Susan McKeown, gathered at the Irish Consul
offices in New York, while in Los Angeles, writer Karin Wilson
organised a free concert for Tara at the Martin Luther King Theatre in
Santa Monica. Here is the website for the event: http://www.cmh2.com/savetara-la/

If you have time, take a look at the short film I quickly pulled
together for screening at the LA event on Saturday, documenting the
visual history of the campaign to Save Tara.  I've posted it onliine
here: http://www.globalartscollective.org/acf/about.htm (be sure to refresh or reload if you've visited this site before).

Now that so many more wonderful images have become available, I'll expand upon this film format cataloging of the visual history of the campaign.

Over the weekend of 21 -23 September, renowned Northern California
based harper Patrick Ball, along with his 16 year old daughter Fiona,
distributed information handbills to huge audiences at the fabulous
Sebastopol Celtic Festival in Sonoma County, Northern California.

On Sunday, 23 September two internationally renowned artists joined
forces to create a spectacular  event on the Hill of Tara: aerial
artist John Quigley, and Irish actor Stuart Townsend, along with over
1500 people from across Ireland and beyond, gathered at the Hill of
Tara to take part in a living human sculpture to call for the rerouting
of the M3 away from the Tara Valley.  See more details about the
creation of this aerial photo shoot on the Irish Indymedia.ie link:
http://www.indymedia.ie/article/84352

Here is a link to a terrific VIDEO recording of the event:
http://youtube.com/watch?v=uKgQPFh5uvY

On Monday September 24th, thirty cultural conservationists donned face
paints and headed off on a route walk from the Rath Lugh direct action
site. View video here:
http://www.livevideo.com/video/EC28A617DF6749D4937D54CBFDF14406/harps-of-ireland-on-the-hill-o.aspx?m_tkc=7563473

And, on Saturday, 29 September, six simultaneous solidarity concerts
for Tara were presented all around Ireland - in Dublin, Cork, Limerick,
Achill, Galway and Derry. Over sixty acts ranging from rock, trad,
classical, and poetry have all joined in a huge awareness drive to
"elevate public understanding of the cultural significance of the
Tara/Skryne (Gabhra) valley and the many ancient sites within it that
now face destruction by the (poorly chosen) impending M3, and to inform
the interested public how they can help."

It seems the campaign to protect Tara is really taking off!

We need to pull ourselves together for another thrust of creative
energy, if we are to succeed in what we all hope will to be the final hurdles in this long campaign.

Just imagine the celebrations ringing around the world when we succeed
in this massive effort to reroute the M3 double-tolled freeway away
from the Tara / Skryne Valleys!

On Site: The perpetual vigil in the Gabhra Valley needs more people to
attend on a daily basis.

Call the Vigil Phone; 086 1758557

Please leave a message, and they will get back to you.

And, all generous and big hearted lovers of Irish heritage need to
write more letters to the Irish authorities, and to the media, and
especially to the European Parliament Commissioner for the Environment:
Stavros Dimas <stavros.dimas@europa.eu>

Thank him, and ask him to thank the other members of the illustrious EU
Petition Committee for their sustained efforts on behalf of Tara.

More contact information here:
http://www.globalartscollective.org/acf/act_now.htm



The associated photo represents the culmination of the great gathering
on the Hill of TARA on Sunday, 23 September.

Slán aChara!

Mairéid

Anam Cara for Tara arts action campaign

(Anam Cara means "Soul Friend" in Irish Gaelic)

GlobalArtsCollective.org

http://www.globalartscollective.org/acf/about.htm

1/ PRESS RELEASE

Campaign to Save Tara

SaveTara.com



01 October, 2007



Minister places preservation order on Rath Lugh



The Campaign to Save Tara welcomes the decision of Minister John Gormley

to place a preservation order on Rath Lugh in the Gabhra Valley at Tara.

Rath Lugh is a defensive, promentary outpost of Tara and will be

severely impacted by the proposed route of the M3. The Campaign had

warned of the impending danger to the Rath in January when heavy

machinery was used to fell trees in the area between Lismullin and Rath

Lugh – before the NRA discovered that there was a national monument

there. This made visible the track of the motorway and its proximity to

the huge monument. The NRA were warned during the Oral Hearing of the

possible danger to the Rath.



The area under Rath Lugh is an esker consisting of sand and gravel

formed in the ice age, a very unstable substance on which to build such

a road.



Originally, the NRA maintained that the road would be 100metres away

from the Rath but recent surveys and work done by the NRA show that it

will be within 20metres – posing a serious threat to the stability of

the monument and the esker.



This development shows that the claims of those opposed to this route

were correct. There should never have been an attempt to drive a

motorway through this incredibly sensitive archaeological area – Tara’s

landscape.



M. Ni Bhrolcháin said: ‘The support for the Campaign is growing – this

was clearly demonstrated at the recent equinox event when 1,500 people

gathered to form a huge human harp on Tara for the international artist,

John Quigley. With climate change a frightening reality, it is madness

to persist in building motorways instead of public transport.’



For verification – Muireann Ní Bhrolcháin 087-9249510



Aerial photos of Rath Lugh (taken in April) to be found here: please
credit Paula Geraghty

http://s168.photobucket.com/albums/u167/muireanntemair/April%20aerial%20shots/






2/

PRESS RELEASE



TARAWATCH.org



01 October 2007



'Minister Gormley Considering Placing Preservation Order on M3 Site'



John Gormley, Minister for the Environment, is currently considering
placing a Temporary Preservation Order on Rath Lugh, a national
monument being impacted by the M3 motorway, according to an email sent
by his office last week to a campaigner. (see below)



This indiactes a major shift in policy by the Minister, who has claimed
that no sites are being improperly interfered with, and that he has no
power to act.



Mr Farrelly recently wrote to the Minister to complain that the
national monument is being directly impacted, and that the land-take
for the M3 had been expanded at the site.



According to the National Roads Authority, Rath Lugh is not being
impacted. Their web site FAQ number 6 states:



6. Why locate the M3 where it will separate the site of Rath Lugh from
Tara? http://www.m3motorway.ie/FAQ/#six
<http://www.m3motorway.ie/FAQ/#six>



In the Discovery Programme publication 'Tara, an Archaeological
Survey', Newman reinterpreted Rath Lugh, an RMP site which lies 2.5km
to the north-east of Tara, as a defensive inland cliff-edge fort,
rather than a ringfort. Newman (1997, 200-206) tentatively proposed
that despite problems of classification and dating it was tempting to
consider is as part of a defensive zone around Tara. Rath Lugh is today
separated from Tara by the existing N3 and lies under dense vegetation
and tree cover. It was not possible to route the M3 to the east of the
site, instead it skirts the base of the elevated promontory on which
Rath Lugh is located, approximately 20m below, and will not interfere
with the site itself or the view of this site from Tara.



Under Section 4 of the National Monuments (Amendment) Act 1954, the
Minister can place a Temporary Preseervation Order, for up to six months: http://www.irishstatutebook.ie/1954/en/act/pub/0037/sec0004.html



4.—(1) Where it appears to the Commissioners that a monument which in
their opinion is a national monument is in immediate danger of injury
or destruction the Commissioners may by order (in this Act referred to
as a temporary preservation order) undertake the preservation of such
monument.



Vincent Salafia of TaraWatch said: "This is a very significant
statement from the Minister, who is telling members of the public that
he is actively considering taking decisive legal action on the M3.



"We know the EU Environment Commission are currently investigating Rath
Lugh, and that the National Museum have expressed concerns about the works there.



"Rath Lugh is being directly impacted, as we have told the Minister all
along. We are delighted he now appears to be finally listening.



ENDS



Contact Vincent Salafia 087-132-3365

John Farrelly: 087-127-6829



EMAIL SENT BY MINISTER TO JOHN FARRELLY



27 September, 2007.



Mr. John Farrelly.



RE: REP2137/JG/07



Dear Mr. Farrelly,



I have been asked by Mr. John Gormley T.D., Minister for the
Environment, Heritage and Local Government, to refer further to your
recent correspondence in connection with the designation of Rath Lugh.



The position is that the Rath Lugh monument is listed on the statutory
Record of Monuments and Places for County Meath (RMP Number:
ME032-025). As such, it is afforded protection under the National
Monuments Acts, whereby the Minister must by law be notified two months
in advance of any proposed works at the site.



Rath Lugh is considered to be a national monument within the definition
of section 2 of the National Monuments Act 1930 (as amended). It is
understood that it is currently in the ownership of Coillte. The
Minister is currently considering the placing of a Temporary
Preservation Order on the monument.



I trust that this clarifies the position for you.



Yours sincerely,



____________

Eddie Kiernan,

Private Secretary



3/

Irish Times

Tuesday, October 2, 2007



Gormley makes order to protect fort near Tara

Frank McDonald, Environment Editor





Minister for the Environment John Gormley has used his powers under the

National Monuments Acts to make a temporary preservation order for Rath

Lugh, a prehistoric promontory fort associated with Tara alongside the

route of the M3 motorway.



Opponents of the controversial road scheme had claimed last January

that the tree-covered site - a designated monument - was being

"directly impacted" by preliminary levelling works carried out by the

motorway contractors, SIAC-Ferrovial.



"They were cutting further and further into it," according to Dr

Muireann Ní Bhrolcháin, of the Campaign to Save Tara. "Originally, the

NRA [ National Roads Authority] said the road was going to be 100

metres away from it, now it's 20 metres."



The Minister asked NUI Galway archaeologist and Tara expert Dr Conor

Newman to examine the site and it was on his recommendation that the

preservation order was made "to be absolutely sure that the monument is

protected", Mr Gormley said.



In making the temporary order, which could become permanent, he said he

was "acting in the best interests of heritage and also erring on the

side of caution. It was not a 'U-turn', as some have claimed, but

consistent with my approach since taking office."



Vincent Salafia, of Tara Watch, said yesterday the order to protect

Rath Lugh "indicates a major shift in policy by the Minister, who has

claimed that no sites are being improperly interfered with, and that he

has not power to act" in relation to the M3.



According to the NRA, Rath Lugh is not being impacted by the motorway,

which "skirts the base of the elevated promontory on which Rath Lugh is

located, approximately 20 metres below, and will not interfere with the

site itself or the view of this site from Tara".



Dr Ní Bhrolcháin noted that Rath Lugh is owned by Coillte Teoranta, the

State forestry company. "It was up to them to intervene at the planning

stage, but they didn't. At that stage, however, the motorway was to be

constructed 100 metres away from the site."



Welcoming the Minister's action, she said it showed that the claims

made by those opposed to the route were correct.