10.26.08
Tara Features in New Book on Endangered Sites – ‘500 Places to See Before They Disappear’
Photograph: The Irish Image Collection/Corbis
THE STAR: Last Chance Saloon for ‘Dying’ Landmarks – Threatened Sites Highlighted
Tara Features in New Book on Endangered Sites – ‘500 Places to See Before They Disappear’
The Hill of Tara features in a new book entitled ‘500 Places to See Before They Disappear‘, published October 20 by Frommers, and written by Holly Hughes. This is further evidence of how negatively the international community still views the M3 motorway works. Tara is currently on the 100 Most Endangered Sites List published by the World Monuments Fund in 2008, and will remain on the watch list until 2010. The entry in the Hughes book for Tara reads, in part: “Hill of Tara, Co Meath, Ireland: The ancient seat of Ireland’s high kings is threatened by the proposed M3 highway which runs close by and is due to open in 2010″ The Frommers web site catalogue reads as follows:
“500 Places to See Before They Disappear enables passionate travelers and the eco-conscious to learn about and plan a visit to see rare cultural, historic, and natural places before they are irrevocably altered or even gone forever. Here are one-of-a-kind landscapes, fragile ecosystems, rare bird habitats, places to see the last remaining species of big game in the wild, cityscapes in peril, vanishing cultural kitsch, petroglyphs, and more—500 thoughtfully- chosen treasures that will inspire and enlighten travellers of all ages. Each entry explains why it’s been included, gives its history, the nature of the threat against it, brief practical information on how to visit, and what visitors can to do protect it. A Geographical Index allows travellers to locate attractions across the world.”
The Hill of Tara -Going to ruins
500 Places to See Before They Disappear, by Holly Hughes, published October 20 2008 by Frommers. (p.247)
Ireland is a nation of story tellers where seemingly every mossy stone and country crossroad has a tale spun about it. But even so, there’s no disputing the legendary significance of the Hill of Tara, traditional seat of the high kings of Ireland. No wonder plans to run a new superhighway past it has generated storms of outrage.
On first glance, Tara today doesn’t look like much – a 90m (300 ft) hill dotted with grassy mounds, some ancient pillar stones, and depressions that show where the Iron Age ringfort, Raith na Riogh, encircled the brow of the hill. But audiovisuals at the visitor center deconstruct just what these mounds represent, as if peeling away the centuries from this time-harrowed ridge. Prominent on the hilltop are the ring-barrow called Teach Cormaic (Cormac’s House) and the Forradh, or Royal Seat, with a granite coronation stone known as the Lia Fail (Stone of Destiny), standing erect at its center. The trenches of three other smaller ringforts are nearby, as well as an excavated passage tomb just to the north, the astronomically aligned Mound of the Hostages, which dates to 2000 BC.
The wood timbers of the old royal halls rotted a long time ago; the last great feis – triennial banquet of princes, poets, priests, and politicians – was held in A.D. 560, after which the rise of Christianity forced ancient Celtic traditions into hiding. But Tara was always more than just one hill – it was the epicentre of Ireland’s foremost kingdom and several other important pre-historic sites are in the same valley. From the Hill of Tara, in the distance you can spot the great burial mound of Newgrange and the Hill of Slane, where Saint Patrick readies himself to take on the Irish pagans – which, of course, he needed to do at Tara, Ireland’s symbolic heart.
The N3 highway, heading northeast out of Dublin towards the town of Kells, already ran close enough to Tara to shake its foundations; now a larger limited-access motorway, the M3, is being built even closer, with a major interchange right near the sacred hill. During construction, a number of megalithic souterrains – underground buildings – some dating from the 7th century, have been bulldozed, probably the homes of important nobles and courtiers living near the kings fort. When a 2000 year old henge named Lismullin, with Megalithic decorations on its stone, was unearthed in March 2007, construction was temporarily halted – but work proceeds on other sections of the road, despite vociferous citizen protests. Alternative routes have been proposed, but to no avail. The ghosts of the high kings must be weeping.
In an effort to stop or at least slow the destruction of the Hill of Tara, conservationists and Government supporters are working to make the Hill of Tara a World Heritage Site. This would help preserve the Gabhra Valley between the Hill of Tara and the Hill of Skryne, and protect the surrounding landscape by preventing commercial development along the path of the new motorway.
This is the second such book published this year to feature Tara. ‘1001 Historic Sites You Must See Before You Die‘ was published in April in collaboration with the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (Unesco). The sites were selected by hundreds of travel journalists from across the globe and the book features many locations that have been designated as Unesco world heritage sites. The Tara entry opens:
“Nowhere in Ireland has richer associations than Temair, the ancient site of Tara. In prehistoric times it was already a major center for ritual, but it assumed even greater importance after the arrival of the Celts. The place featured prominently in early Irish legends and came to be regarded as the seat of the high kings of Ireland. As such, it became a potent symbol and rallying point of Irish unity and patriotism.”
Vincent Salafia of TaraWatch said:
“Tara is in danger, right now. That is what the international community keeps saying, and what the Irish Government keeps ignoring.
“How many international experts and tourism bodies will it take to get the message across that the M3 at Tara is a bad idea?
“The motorway is still at least two years away from completion, and we are going to submit pre-Election questionnaires tomorrow to all the political parties tomorrow, to see what their position is on the matter, now that there has been a material change of circumstances in the economy.
“With an Election imminent, it looks like the Green Party, Labour Party and Sinn Fein will now have one last chance to do what they said they would do if they entered power: Save Tara.
