TaraWatch

Map showing location of Rath Lugh

Irish Times – Opinion: Is Nothing Sacred? (27 May)
International Herald Tribune: Meanwhile: Erin go faster – Opinion by Paul Muldoon (26 May)
Irish Independent – Editorial: The spirits on the Hill (22 May)
Irish Examiner: Kenny urged to address M3/Tara issue (22 May)
Irish Independent: Tara plan ‘an attack on medieval studies’ (22 May)
Irish Times: Protesters blockade M3 building site (22 May)
Irish Times – Breaking News: ‘Plea to FG over Tara motorway route (21 May)
Irish Times: Protesters gather at heritage site as M3 work starts (19 May)

[26 May] TaraWatch began its Monuments Watch at the newly discovered national monument in Lismullen, near the Hill of Tara, County Meath, Ireland and right in the middle of the M3 motorway, which is under construction. It is a large prehistoric royal enclosure. Volunteers moved up to the area today, and established a permanent camp, overlooking the site. Currently, the Minister for the Environment, Dick Roche, is deciding what to do about the new monument; whether to excavate the site and let the motorway be built through it, or whether to reroute the road, which he has the power to do under the National Monuments Act, 2004. Either way he will have to issue an order. Our goal is to ensure the site is protected ‘in situ’, and the motorway is rerouted. Members of TaraWatch are taking legal advice and are planning to judically review the order should he decline to reroute the motorway. In such a case, the monument will be under threat of destruction and will need protection until an injunction can be gotten.

In addition, the national monument of Rath Lugh, a massive cliff-top fort beside Lismullen, is being impacted by the motorway, and we are monitoring the works taking place in the vicinity. If you want to help, please sign the Tara Protection Pledge and we will contact you. We also need donations of camping and camera equipment. For more information please contact info@tarawatch.org or call Laura at 087-972-8603

Please see below for maps and directions

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Kenny urged to address M3/Tara issue

Irish Examiner  – 22 May 2007

By Conor Kane
A GROUP of academics has called on Fine Gael leader Enda Kenny to publicly state his views on the Hill of Tara/M3 controversy.

Yesterday’s Trinity College Dublin conference on the historical and cultural significance of Tara heard unanimous calls for the would-be taoiseach to address the issue. Trinity College Dublin conference on the historical and cultural significance of Tara heard unanimous calls for the would-be taoiseach to address the issue.

“We must raise this issue in the crucial days leading up to the General Election,” said Dr Gerald Morgan of Trinity College’s department of English. “How can Enda Kenny seriously expect the Irish people to make him king, if he will not show leadership and give his honest position on the matter? “At least Noel Dempsey was honest when he called the new national monument at Lismullen a ‘hole in the ground’.”

Environment Minister Dick Roche is still considering the implications of the discovery of the Lismullen monument, which was confirmed in April, while the TaraWatch lobby group has threatened to take legal action if the new motorway isn’t rerouted.

Dr Sean Duffy of TCD’s medieval history department said at yesterday’s conference that we would be the first generation in 5,000 years to deface the Hill of Tara by building the M3 through the Tara-Skryne valley. “This motorway will cut us off from our past,” he added.

According to TaraWatch’s Vincent Salafia, the National Museum “made their position clear” two years ago when museum director Pat Wallace called on Mr Roche to re-route the M3. “So far, Fine Gael have said they will abide by the decision of the National Museum. “Enda Kenny needs to step up to the plate and show some creative problem-solving and leadership ability here, particularly in light of the fact that 70% of people surveyed nationally want the M3 re-routed.”

A Fine Gael spokesperson said yesterday that the party supports the development of the M3, “given that the existing road is overcapacity, causes significant congestion and affects the quality of life of those who rely on it”. The party does not support “the destruction of any national monuments” along its length, he said, and would await publication of the National Museum’s verdict on the newly discovered Lismullen site. “If it decides that the current route must be re-routed to prevent the destruction of this site, Fine Gael will support this determination.”

Irish Times: Conference highlights Hill of Tara
Irish Times: Plea to Fine Gael over Tara motorway route
Irish Examiner: Kenny urged to address Tara/M3 issue
Irish independent: Tara plan ‘an attack on medieval studies’

The Hill of Tara

Historical and Cultural Importance

Conference

Trinity College Dublin

Swift Theatre

Monday 21st May 2007 – 11.00 am to 2.00 pm.

Admission free

Hosted by the Centre for Medieval and Renaissance Studies, TCD

Speakers to include:

Dr Sarah Alyn Stacey – Centre for Medieval and Renasisance Studies

Dr Sean Duffy – FTCD, Department of Medieval History

Dr Gerald Morgan – FTCD, School of English

Mr Vincent Salafia, JD – Department of Law, TCD

info@tarawatch.org 087-132-3365

Please see opening remarks by Dr Sarah Alyn Stacey below: 

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National Geographic: Ancient “Royal Temple” Discovered in Path of Ireland Highway 

 

TaraWatch is launching the Tara Protection Pledge drive. We need to build a rapid reaction force, in the event of works beginning on the national monument. Please fill in the form with your mobile number and email address. They will not be published on the petition page. This petition just displays the number of signatories to the public.

Take the Tara Protection Pledge

[Petition posted 14 May 2007]

I understand you, Dick Roche, Minister for the Environment, Heritage and Local Government, will decide the fate of a new national monument, discovered during the course of excavations for the M3 motorway, in County Meath, Ireland.

This national monument is a prehistoric royal ceremonial site, roughly 80 metres in diameter, that is believed by experts to be a part of the Hill of Tara archaeological complex. The Hill of Tara is Ireland’s premier national monument, being the site of where 142 kings were crowned, and belongs to all the people of Ireland.

The Minister for the Environment and Heritage has a constitutional imperative; to give the national heritage the highest level of statutory protection possible.

The Minister has the power, under Section 14A(4)(d) of the National Monuments Act 2004, to reroute the M3 away from this national monument and the entire Tara complex.

Recent surveys have shown that 70% of Irish people want the M3 rerouted, and I make my pledge on behalf of that democratic majority.

If you decide to allow the M3 to carry on as planned, and instruct the National Roads Authority to demolish the national monument at Lismullen, I pledge to join TaraWatch and actively demonstrate against this decision in Lismullen, when I am called upon to do so.

The site must be preserved intact until such time as the Minister’s decision can be judicially reviewed by the High Court.

Sincerely,The Undersigned

NOTE: PetitionOnline, who host the Pledge, seem to be experiencing technical difficulties. Please email us your signature at info@tarawatch.org if you are unable to sign right now.

 
Image of Lismullen national monument discovered, with national monument of Rath Lugh in background. Courtesy of Paula Geraghty

Call on Public to Make Submissions to Minister Roche

TaraWatch is urging the public to make a submission of their own to the Minister for the Environment, Heritage and Local Government, Dick Roche, on his decision on how to proceed with the M3 motorway, in light of the new national monument discovered in Lismullen, Tara. This is partially so that he cannot turn around and say ‘I got 50 submissions to demolish it, and only 5 to preserve it intact’, as Minister Cullen did with Carrickmines Castle.

In addition, making a submission entitles you to go to the High Court and seek judicial review of the decision of the Minister, should it appear to be illegal. TaraWatch is actively taking legal advice at the moment, in anticipation that the Minister will attempt to demolish the site.

The Minister is currently making a decision on how to deal with a newly discovered national monument at Lismullen, made during the course of an approved road development, that was not dealt with by the Environmental Impact Statement, nor the previous directions given by the Minister in 2005 (below).

In addition, the directions Minister Roche gave on the same day, for the reroute of the N25 away from the Viking site in Woodstown

Both of these sets of directions have been removed lately from the Department of Environment web site. A copy of Section 14 A of the National Monuments Act 2004 is reprinted below. Remember, we are asking him to preserve the site, under 14A(4)(d)(i).

The reason we say the Minister MUST preserve the site, in situ, is due to the national and international importance of the site. As the Minister for Heritage, Roche has a constitutional duty to give the highest level of statutory protection possible. The reason we are in this situation is due to the negligence of the National Roads Authority (NRA) in failing to find the massive site before now. The heritage of Ireland should not be so massively diminished due to the negligent acts of the NRA. The Act specifically provides for this situation, and gives the Minister the power to do preserve the site.

The Minister also has a duty to use the precautionary priciple, under EU law. “European Union policy on the environment shall aim at a high level of protection taking into account the diversity of situations in the various regions of the Union. It shall be based on the precautionary principle and on the principles that preventive action should be taken, that environmental damage should as a priority be rectified at source and that the polluter should pay.”

Note that many alternatives are available to the Minister and the NRA for rerouting the M3, or replacing it with a more sustainable solution to the transport problems in Cavan, Meath and Dublin.

Submissions can be a one page letter. Please state specifically that the mail is meant to be a submission to him, as he decides on the fate of the national monument. It would be better to email the submission to both the Ministers email addresses; minister@environ.ie and dick.roche@oireachtas.ie These are then in the system and can be retrieved by Freedom of Information. But be sure to send a hard copy to the Minister as well, to Dick Roche, TD. Minister for the Environment, Customs House, Dublin 2.

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Remains of very large dog found at Lismulllen henge. The remains have since been partially destroyed. The remains are part of the evidence that leads experts to conclude it is a royal Celtic enclosure.

Campaigners to consider protests if plan proceeds 

The Irish Times – Wed, 9 May 2007

John Downes

Campaigners at Tara are preparing a fresh legal challenge and possible “direct action” protests if the Minister for the Environment directs  that construction of the M3 motorway at an archaeologically significant “henge” at Lismullen should proceed.

Outlining details of a submission which it handed in to Dick Roche yesterday, spokesman for TaraWatch Vincent Salafia said the Minister had rerouted the N25 at a similar site at Woodstown in Waterford in 2005.

As a result, Mr Salafia said, he wanted to know why Mr Roche could not pursue a similar course of action in relation to the M3 and Tara.

Colleague Siobhán Rice said protesters were prepared to engage in direct action to halt work on the site “if we have to”, but stressed that she hoped it would not come to that.

Mr Salafia said the organisation sympathised with the people of Meath and had in fact adopted a “compromise” position in advocating a rerouting of the proposed motorway, rather than a decision to abandon the proposed motorway altogether.

TaraWatch wishes to see a formal mediation process introduced which would allow all interested parties to be consulted and would help to avoid lengthy court battles and unnecessary delays to the project.

“I can almost guarantee that if he does give the go-ahead, there will be a legal challenge,” Mr Salafia said. “We would be racing [ against] the clock to get our application in there.”

He added that TaraWatch was “simply calling for responsible road building”. The discovery of the Lismullen site represented prima facie evidence that the process for constructing the M3 had failed, he added.

Mr Roche consulted Pat Wallace, director of the National Museum, after the National Monuments Service inspected the Lismullen site and officials are considering his report.

write to lettersed@irish-times.ie

 

Group vows legal action over M3 monument

Irish Independent
Wed, 9 May 2007

CAMPAIGNERS yesterday pledged to take legal action if the Government decides to destroy a national monument discovered last month on the controversial M3 route, writes Paul Melia.

And the TaraWatch group said re-routing the Co Meath motorway to the west of the TaraSkryne valley could save up to 40 million in construction costs because it would be shorter and serve the town of Trim.

Yesterday, TaraWatch said it would launch a High Court challenge questioning the constitutionality of the National Monuments Act which gives the environment minister the sole power to decide if archaeology should be saved.

A spokesman for Environment Minister Dick Roche said no decision has been made yet on whether the 3,000-year-old pagan site at Lismullen, Co Meath, would be left in place or preserved ‘by record’. But Vincent Salafia, of Tarawatch, said a “full blown” High Court challenge could arise unless the monument was saved.

“You’re talking about a site pre-dating the history of Rome,” he said.

“High Court action will be taken if it’s preserved by record. The M3 must be rerouted.”

write to independent.letters@unison.independent.ie

==

NRA geophysical image of newly discovered enclosure in Lismullen, Tara

DOWNLOAD PDF OF NRA REPORT ON NEW DISCOVERY
VIEW HTML VERSION OF REPORT

Sunday Times: History bulldozed on the M3
RTE News: New details emerge over Lismullen site
Ireland Online: Hill of Tara will be lost under M3, warn campaigners
BBC News: ‘Ancient site motorway’ is halted
The Gaurdian: Relic find halts road construction
Monsters and Critics: Work stops on Irish motorway through ancient site after find
Irish Times -Letters to the Editor: Happenings at Tara
UTV: Campaigners concerned over motorway plans at Co Meath site
Irish Times – Irishman’s Diary: Tara and the Israelites

Tara ‘henge’ will be destroyed – claim

Irish Times – Thursday, May 3, 2007

Minister for the Environment Dick Roche has already issued draft directions that would allow for the destruction of the recently discovered “henge” along the route of the M3 in Co Meath, it was claimed yesterday.

The environmental group TaraWatch said Mr Roche had sent draft directions to the National Museum to preserve the henge “by record”, a process that would facilitate photographs and written records being made before the henge is removed. Under Section 14A of the National Monuments Act 2004, if a national monument is discovered, the Minister is required to consult the director of the National Museum before deciding on what action to take.

Mr Roche told The Irish Times yesterday that he was in consultation with the National Museum, but he declined to elaborate on the nature of that consultation. Asked if he had sent draft directions to the museum to preserve the monument by record, as claimed by TaraWatch, Mr Roche repeated that he was “in consultation with the National Museum” and referred to his department’s previously issued comments on the discovery. On Tuesday the department said: “The Minister has consulted with the director of the museum on the directions that would be most appropriate in this instance from the point of view of best archaeological practice. Directions will issue as soon as possible after the Minister receives the director’s response. “The Minister is advised that the surviving elements of the monument are extremely fragile, underlining the need for an early decision on how to proceed.”

TaraWatch spokesman Vincent Salafia said the group had “well-placed sources within the National Museum” who were aware of draft directions that had been sent, which instructed that the monument be preserved by record. Dr Mark Clinton, chairman of An Taisce’s national monuments and antiquities committee, said: “The discovery of what could be called a temple, after the fashion of a comparable discovery at Emain Macha, seat of the kings of Ulster, is of obvious major significance. Such sites are extremely rare.” He called for full scientific excavation to be followed by reconstruction.

Labour Party environment spokesman Éamon Gilmore said the issue could have been avoided if the Government had accepted a November 2004 proposal that the M3 be developed immediately in three sections, “and that the controversial section, running through the Skryne Valley, be rerouted”. Fine Gael transport spokeswoman Olivia Mitchell has said she was “stunned” to learn that “more than 500 archaeologists, hired at a cost of €30 million, managed to miss a four-acre historical site while excavating for the new M3 motorway”.

Tim O’Brien. 

write to: lettersed@irish-times.ie

Roche ‘knew of M3 pre-historic site’

Irish Independent  Thu, May 03 07

ENVIRONMENT Minister Dick Roche knew a month ago that the site of a possible pre-historic ‘temple’ had been unearthed on the route of the controversial M3 motorway.

The National Roads Authority alerted his department early last month that a pagan site – the size of three football pitches – dating from 3,500 BC had been discovered at Lismullen, Co Meath. It had not shown up in initial surveys.

Experts believe the find could be one of the most significant archaeological discoveries unearthed here, and might be the site of a structure similar to Stonehenge but made with wood.

Yesterday the Tarawatch campaign claimed Mr Roche had issued draft directions to preserve the site ‘by record’ – in effect, noting where the site was before destroying it to allow roadworks to begin.

The Government insists no decision has been taken on its future, made public just 24 hours after Transport Minister Martin Cullen turned the sod on the €850m project.

Paul Melia

Roche alerted weeks ago to major ‘temple’ on M3

ENVIRONMENT Minister Dick Roche knew a month ago that the site of a possible pre-historic ‘temple’ had been unearthed on the route of the controversial M3 motorway. The National Roads Authority alerted his department early last month that a pagan site – the size of three football pitches – dating from 3,500 BC had been discovered at Lismullen, Co Meath. It had not shown up in initial surveys. Experts believe that the find could be one of the most significant archaeological discoveries ever unearthed here, and might be the site of a structure similar to Stonehenge but made with wood.

Yesterday the Tarawatch campaign alleged that Mr Roche had issued draft directions to preserve the site ‘by record’ – in effect, noting where the site was before destroying it to allow roadworks to begin. The Government insists no decision has been taken on its future, made public just 24 hours after Transport Minister Martin Cullen turned the sod on the €850m road project. Last night it emerged that the Department of the Environment was notified of the discovery by the National Roads Authority (NRA) early last month, but failed to tell Mr Cullen before he took part in the sod-turning ceremony. “It was reported early in April,” a spokesman said. “We had to wait for a report from the NRA which came in the middle of the month. This is part of the normal process in that the minister is kept informed of what’s going on.”

Discovered

Archaeologists said the site was most likely a wooden ‘henge’ used for ritual ceremonies. It is also understood that a burial mound has been discovered, which was the final resting place of a woman of high status. If confirmed, this is the first example of such an artefact found in Ireland.

“It’s very ancient and is a wooden equivalent of Stonehenge,” archaeologist with NUI Galway Joe Fenwick said. “It consists of a large enclosure, and a high-status burial chamber seems to have come to light. It’s several hectares in size, you’re talking about a massive complex. “Because of their nature, these timber henges are very rare. You could count them on the finger of one hand. The timber rotted away a long time ago, but the features would be dug into the subsoil. It would take a large team digging for several months to excavate the site.”

Avoid

Opposition parties claimed that the motorway should have been re-routed away from the Tara Skryne Valley to avoid any historic sites. Fine Gael asked how a combination of €30m and 500 archaeologists could have missed the site. “This situation would be hilarious if it weren’t so serious,” FG transport spokesperson Olivia Mitchell said. “The entire M3 project has been brought to a crashing halt by the discovery of a four-acre archaeological site in its path.” The route had been “selected after many years of examination and excavation and after the NRA assured us this was a safe route in terms of archaeological significance”.

The Tarawatch campaign said if a decision was made to preserve the site ‘by record’ it would seek a judicial review. An Taisce called for a full scientific excavation of the site and reconstruction of the temple which would become a major tourist attraction.

write to independent.letter@unison.independent.ie

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RTE – News: Prehistoric site discovery halts work on M3 (Video)
RTE – Morning Ireland: Prehistoric find halts some work on M3 (Audio)

Irish Times: Work halts at ancient site on M3 route in Meath (2 May)

Press Release Issued by Dick Roche’s Office 5pm, 1 May 2007:

Dick Roche, T.D., Minister for the Environment, Heritage and Local Government has received a report that archaeologists working on the route of the M3 motorway have found archaeological evidence of a national monument at Lismullin, Co. Meath.

The archaeologists were excavating known adjacent sites under the directions issued by the Minister for the archaeological works on the motorway scheme.

In the course of these excavations, additional archaeological features were discovered on the edge of the area of the excavations and, as required by the Minister’s directions, the area being excavated was expanded. Two lines of stake holes (15 – 20 cm in diameter), have provided evidence for the existence in the expanded area in the past of a circular enclosure (80 m in diameter) with a smaller inner central enclosure (16 m in diameter). Two further rows of stake holes show evidence of an entrance and passageway from the outer enclosure to the inner enclosure. The monument has been heavily truncated by ploughing in the past and the surviving features are shallow and fragile.

The report received by the Minister was made to him under the relevant provisions of the National Monuments Acts. These require that where a National Monument is discovered during the carrying out of a road development, the matter shall be reported to the Minister.

Pending any directions by the Minister, no works which would interfere with the Monument may be carried out, except works urgently required to secure its preservation, carried out in accordance with measures specified by the Minister. In this instance, the archaeological team was authorised to continue to clean back the surface of the area, to complete a plan of the features and to check for associated features outside the enclosure. A small number of the stakeholes are also to be excavated to try to recover sufficient material for radiocarbon dating.
No further excavation of the enclosure will take place pending the decision of the Minister on any directions to issue in relation to the monument.

The National Monuments Acts provide that where the discovery of a National Monument has been reported to the Minister he must consult with the Director of the National Museum before issuing directions in the matter to the road authority.

The Minister has consulted with the Director of the Museum on the directions that would be most appropriate in this instance from the point of view of best archaeological practice. Directions will issue as soon as possible after the Minister receives the Director’s response. The Minister is advised that the surviving elements of the Monument are extremely fragile, underlining the need for an early decision on how to proceed.

ENDS

Press release by TaraWatch sent in the morning of the 1st May:

PRESS RELEASE

TARAWATCH

Tuesday, 1 may 2007

‘Minister Roche Must Place Preservation Order on Massive Henge Discovery at Tara’

A massive prehistoric ‘henge’ site has been discovered in Lismullen, beside the Hill of Tara. The circular enclosure is over the size of 3 football fields, and is without doubt a national monument because of the rarity of henges in Ireland, as well as its importance to the Hill of Tara archaeological complex.

The discovery last month was kept a secret by the authorities, and it is understood that the National Roads Authority (NRA) has heavily pressurised the archaeologists (Archaeological Consultancy Services (ACS) to rush to complete excavations, so the site can be demolished. Large numbers of archaeologists have been paid overtime to complete the work, and the site is under 24 hour security.

TaraWatch has written solicitors’ letters to the Minister for the Envrionment, Minister for Transport Meath County Council and the National Roads Authority and demanded that all works on the site cease immediately, as is required by section 14 A of the National Monuments Act, 2004, which states:

(4) Where a national monument has been discovered…then —

(a) the road authority carrying out the road development shall report the discovery to the Minister,

(b) … no works which would interfere with the monument shall be carried out, except works urgently required to secure its preservation carried out in accordance with such measures as may be specified by the Minister,

The Minister, Dick Roche, is then required to consult with the Director of the National Museum, Pat Wallace. This has not occured and the Museum is currently investigating the site.

In this case, instead of stopping work on the site and consulting with the Minister, the NRA have accelerated works and will destroy this national monument.

Therefore, it is legally incumbent on the Minister to halt works, place a Preservation Order on the site, and reroute the M3 motorway like he did in Waterford in 2005 when he rerouted the N25 to avoid a large Viking site in Woodstown.

Vincent Salafia said:

“This site is a show-stopper and is without doubt a national monument of world significance according to our experts. It would be a sin to demolish it.

“Legal and expert advice is being taken, with a view to seeking an Interlocutory Injunction in order to secure the site before it can be demolished.

“Martin Cullen drafted this legislation. Now he and Minister Roche are legally bound to enforce it.

ENDS

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A massive henge has been discovered in Lismullin, beside Rath Lugh and near the Hill of Tara. The entrance faces the Hill. Reports are still sketchy, and there is 24 hour security on the site.

TaraWatch reported the site to Eamon Kelly, Keeper of Antiquities at the National Museum of Ireland on Monday 30 April.

Under the National Monuments Act 2004, all work is supposed to cease on a national monument when it is discovered in the path of a road, and the Minister is supposed to consult with the Director of the Museum.

We are demanding an immediate cessation of works, and access. We are also retaining a professional archaeologist to generate a report, and are engaged in an urgent fundraising effort to cover the costs. Please see donation information below.

A henge is a prehistoric architectural structure which consists of nearly circular or oval-shaped flat area over 20 metres (65 feet) in diameter that is enclosed and delimited by a boundary earthwork that usually comprises a ditch with an external bank. The earthwork permits access to the interior by one, two, or four entrances. Internal components may include portal settings, timber circles, post rings, stone circles, four-stone settings, monoliths, standing posts, pits, coves, post alignments, stone alignments, burials, central mounds, and stakeholes (English Heritage definition). Because of the defensive impracticalities of an enclosure with an external bank and an internal ditch (rather than vice versa), henges are considered to have served a ritual, rather than a defensive, purpose…
- cont’d on Wikipedia

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Statue of Saint Patrick faces the Tara/Skryne valley, where the M3 is due to be built

Vatican is called in to Save Hill of Tara

Evening Herald
1 May 2007

by Michael Lavery

IN the latest twist in the row over the Hill of Tara/M3 motorway route the Vatican has now being urged to intervene to save the Meath site.

Environmental campaigner Vincent Salafia believes the decision on the Hill of Tara is “a deeply moral one, even leaving law and politics aside”, and is urging Pope Beledict’s Vatican to step in.

TaraWatch sent the appeal following a weekend Vatican seminar on climate change and development, which, it says, recognised climate change as an important Christian moral issue.

Now it has called on Cardinal Martino, President of the Pontifical Council for Justice and Peace, to examine the Hill of Tara issue.

“TaraWatch has appealed to the Vatican to examine the Hill of Tara and the M3 motorway issue as an extreme example of non sustainable development due to economic, environmental and social factors, the group said.

The appeal to the Cardinal also referred to the site’s “unique religious and spiritual importance”.

Celebrate

It pointed out that Meath County Council had invited Pope John Paul II to celebrate Easter Mass on the Hill of Tara the year before he died.

Mr Salafia said: “It is clear that governments, business and citizens all have a shared and active responsibility for shaping our environment, and steering development in a positive direction.

“To do this, we will have to make hard decisions now, rather than later,” he said.

Mr Salafia, in his letter to Cardinal Martino, said that Ireland has suffered from “an unfettered development frenzy that is completely developer-led and market driven, which has led not only to unprecedented urban sprawl but damage to landscapes nationwide”.

Ireland’s carbon emissions were some of the worst in the EU and Ireland would not meet its Kyoto targets, he said. “Having the moral weight of the Church behind efforts to reduce carbon emissions and create sustainable communities will have a massive effect,” he added.

The motorway will damage an area of natural scenic beauty and would impact over 30 archaeological sites in the Tara area, the Cardinal was told.

PRESS RELEASE – TARAWATCH

‘Appeal Sent to Vatican After Seminar on Climate Change and Development’

30 August 2007

TaraWatch welcomes the results of the weekend Vatican Seminar on Climate Change and Development, which has recognised climate change as an important Christian moral issue.

An appeal, for an examination of the Hill of Tara, currently threatened by the M3 motorway, was sent on Sunday to H.E. Renato Raffaele Cardinal Martino, President, Pontifical Council for Justice and Peace who held the International seminar from 26-27 April 2007. He was informed of the non-sustainability of the M3, the Christian and pagan importance of Tara and that a large henge had recently been discovered in the pathway of the M3, which authorities would try and demolish very soon.

Attended by environment ministers from around the world, the seminar resulted in a strong statement from the Vatican, recognising the Christian and moral imperative of reversing global warming due to carbon and other emissions.

TaraWatch has appealed to the Vatican to examine the Hill of Tara and the M3 motorway issue as an extreme example of non-sustainable development, due to economic, environmental and social factors. They also asked that the unique religious and spiritual importance of the site be taken into consideration, pointing out that Meath County Council had invited Pope John Paul to celebrate Easter Mass on the Hill of Tara just before his untimely passing.

Vincent Salafia stated:

“It is clear that Governments, business and citizens all have a shared and active responsibility for shaping our environment, and steering development in a positive direction. To do this we will have to make some hard decisions now, rather than later. The decision about Tara is a moral deeply moral one, even leaving law and politics aside.

“While it is critical to refine the theories of sustainable development and environmental economics in terms of moral obligations, it is obvious that specific projects must be examined in detail, as case studies in non-sustainable development, and held up as examples of what not to do.”

He also quoted from an 1897 lecture by the Most Rev. John Healy to seminary students in Maynooth College:

“In the highest sense of the words, you are the heirs, and you ought to be, as it were, the official custodians, of the historic monuments of the Gael.

“It would be strange, indeed…that an Irish priest should be either ignorant of their history, or show himself indifferent to their defacement or destruction.

“No man can do more than a priest to aid in their preservation, and every sentiment of genuine patriotism, of national honour, and even of professional zeal, should move him to aid in the noble work of illustrating the history and guarding the integrity of these ancient monuments, which are at once eloquent witnesses of our vanished glories in the past, and hopeful emblems of a higher national life in the not distant future.

“Now, my young friends, of all the historic sites in Ireland, there is no other that can at all approach the Hill of Tara, either in antiquity, in historic interest, or in the variety and suggestive significance of its ancient monuments.”

Taipei Times: Vatican adds its voice to warnings on climate changeIndian Times: Respect creation, Pope tells historic Vatican climate meet
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