Summer Solstice Celebrations on the Hill of Tara / 20-21 June

TaraWatch calls on you to join poets, musicians and revellers at the annual Summer Solstice celebrations on the Hill of Tara, beginning on Sunday, 20 June. Festivities begin at noon and run all through the night, until sunrise on Monday, the 21st. If you are an artist, and want to participate, please contact us at info@tarawatch.org You can also register for this event on Facebook, receive updates, and help us promote it.

We will have some special guests, including Hope Ebsworth, a leader of the Wangkumarra people in Queensland, Australia. He has written a book and written a book Bury me at Tartulla Hill, and is travelling to Tara to highlight the plight of his people. Wangkumarra land is at the juncture of Queensland, New South Wales and South Australia. Since 2001, Wangkumarra people have received an annual payment of $60,000 in compensation for Santos’ destructive mining and exploration activity on their land andrip half a billion dollars worth of oil and gas out of the land every year.

This years celebration at Tara will be a more sombre affair, as the M3 motorway will have opened on 4 June. However, we will continue to lobby for the protection of Tara, against future developments, and highlight the Government's ongoing mistreatment of Irish heritage, such as the N2 Slane bypass at Bru na Boinne World Heritage Site. An information session on the proposed Tara Skryne Landscape Protection Area, and the nomination of the Hill of Tara to be a UNESCO World Heritage site.

Tara is the most beautiful place in Ireland to experience the solstice, so please come and join us.

Dec 23 deadline on public consultation for proposed Hill of Tara UNESCO site

Dear TaraWatch supporter,

Thank you for your continued support of the campaign to save Tara from the M3. This week, a new Tentative List of Ireland's proposed World Heritage Sites was published by the Department of the Environment, and it includes Tara. The Hill of Tara landscape should be a World Heritage Site, but not with a motorway being built through the middle of it. UNESCO must demand a re-routing of the road, like they are at Stonehenge. Please write letters to the editor at: independent.letters@independent.ie in response to the article below. Also make your views known to John Gormley, Minister for the Environment, at minister@environ.ie and worldheritagetentativelist@environ.ie

Cheers,

TaraWatch

Shortlist for world heritage status is drawn up
Irish Independent - Monday November 02 2009

By Paul Melia

GEORGIAN Dublin and the Tara complex are among a list of potential world heritage sites being prepared by Environment Minister John Gormley. Today, a list of potential nominees to the World Heritage List will be published, which also asks UNESCO to consider protecting the Burren and Ceide Fields and north Mayo boglands. But there's bad news for Killarney National Park and the bogs of Clara, Co Offaly, which have been dropped from the list. Instead, an expert group wants to honour Georgian Dublin and the capital's literary heritage, which has seen Dubliners George Bernard Shaw and Samuel Beckett garner two Nobel Prizes for Literature. World Heritage sites are considered to be of 'outstanding universal value' and are defined as being of "cultural and/or natural significance which is so exceptional as to transcend national boundaries and to be of common importance for present and future generations of all humanity".

Inscribed

Ireland currently has three sites -- The Giant's Causeway in Co Antrim, which was inscribed in 1986, Bru na Boinne in Co Meath (1993), and Skellig Michael in Co Kerry (1996). The new list recommends the Burren, Ceide Fields and north-west Mayo Boglands, Clonmacnoise, Dublin -- A Georgian City and its Literary Tradition, Early Medieval Monastic Sites, the Royal Sites of Ireland and Western Stone Forts. "It is now much more difficult to meet the UNESCO requirements for inscription," Mr Gormley said. "I believe that the draft list contains a list of those Irish properties which are of outstanding universal value and which meet the UNESCO inscription requirements."

Public consultation - stakeholders - Deadline December 23.

There will be consultation with stakeholders and interested parties before any region is formally nominated. Last October, the minister established an Expert Advisory Group to carry out a review of Ireland's 1992 Tentative List of potential sites for nomination. The next stage is that local authorities and communities will be consulted in relation to potential sites in their areas and there will be an opportunity to make observations on the draft new Tentative List. The deadline for submissions on the current list is December 23. The World Heritage List has almost 900 properties, including the Alhambra in Spain, Red Square in Russia and Acropolis in Greece.

MORE INFORMATION:

TaraWatch UNESCO Consultation Site

Contact: info@tarawatch.org

9,000 year old Neolithic fishing trap found in Hill of Tara landscape during excavations along path of M3 motorway

The Irish Times reported on Friday, August 28 2009 that a 9,000 year old fishing trap was found in the Hill of Tara landscape, near Dunsany, during excavations by the National Roads Authority (NRA), along the path of the M3 motorway. The incredible find was reported in a story entitled, 'Artefacts uncovered during roadworks give fresh perspective on early Irish life', which covered the NRA National Archaeology Seminar 2009, which took place in Dublin on Thursday, 27th August, entitled 'Creative Minds: production, manufacturing and invention in ancient Ireland'. The Irish Times article stated:

"Ronan Swan of the NRA told of a fishing trap uncovered at Clowanstown on the route of the M3 near Dunsany. It was made of saplings and was probably 9,000 years old."

Details of the fishing trap can be found in the Final Excavation Report for Clowanstown1, available in the archaeology section of the NRA web site. The trap and a lot of other Neolithic fishing materials, along with axes, jewelry and evidence of industrial and ritual activity and were located within an area containing five mounds or man-made monuments. The site sits beside a wetland which was previously a lake, and you can view the report with images on the NRA web site, the text of which is reprinted below, with some images.

Final archaeological report for Clowanstown 1, County Meath

Probable Mesolithic fishing platform and Early Neolithic burnt Mounds.

This site was located within Contract 2 (Dunshaughlin to Navan) of the proposed M3 Clonee to North of Kells motorway and was identified during advance testing by Jonathan Dempsey in spring 2004 (04E0418). Topographical and environmental work commenced in advance of excavation in September 2006. Full resolution revealed a probable Mesolithic fishing platform and Neolithic burnt mounds located near the centre of a former lough.

Location

Five Mounds were situated at the western edge of a raised bog, including organic sediments up to 3.45m deep, overlying thick shell-rich marl, sealing probable gravels and sands laid down at the base of a small lough. It seems likely that deposition of the basal silts commenced reasonably early in the Holocene.

An early mooring

Six substantial stakes defined a rough arc around the landward side of the central depression, perhaps providing a structure to fish from as well as a mooring for a dugout. A number of large stones may be ballast or anchor stones. The stakes were driven up to 1.85m into the underlying marl, whilst three had subsided heavily, suggesting a heavy weight on them. Two stakes had not been sharpened, demonstrating the saturated state of the underlying strata when they were inserted.

Fishing baskets

Two pairs of conical baskets twined with one to two year old alder withes, were found within the central depression. One basket measured 1.12m long x c.0.4m in diameter at the open end, which was finished with a double row of twining. The closed end appeared to have previously been externally bound and trimmed. Small stones weighted the baskets in position, which were probably baited or provided with funnel entrances. A number of c.20mm diameter fire hardened stakes and woodchips were found in the immediate vicinity. The woodchips were apparently of stone-axe cut timber. Occasional larger stones included a hone stone.

Tiny wooden canoe

To the east: additional stakes; a small wooden plank and an unidentified carved wooden object were recorded. The wooden object appears superficially similar to a dugout canoe but is only 360mm long and may have been a toy, a carpenters model, a votive offering, or a functional container with no intended similarity to dugouts. As the lough dried up a number of drainage gullies developed and sphagnum peat began to form.

The platform

A natural platform beside three flooded depressions was the focus of apparent late Mesolithic activity. A sub-oval layer of burnt timbers consolidated the platform measuring c.7m x 5.9m. A later trough removed a probable central hearth and truncated a posthole/pit. Two thin stakes deeply driven either side of this central area may have supported a rack for smoking fish. A number of: burnt stake ends; flint, chert and siltstone leaf shaped flakes, points and blades; hazelnut shells and occasional stones and animal bones were retrieved. It seems likely that this layer may represent the collapse of a small late Mesolithic structure designed for preparing fish and fishing equipment. This is likely to have involved: repairing, baiting and emptying baskets; hardening and sharpening stakes and spears; preparing, smoking and eating fish. A period of relative abandonment was characterised by the slow build up of humified sphagnum peat and scrub carr as the lough retreated.

The burnt mounds

Activity recommenced with the infilling of the central depression (Mound A) with redeposited marl and limestone. No extraction site has been recognised for the marl though it appears similar to layers 1m below. Both the marl and the stone appear to have been locally imported.

Mound A:

Within Mound A, a conspicuous sequence of at least 9 burnt layers where each was sealed by a layer of redeposited marl and limestone, gradually raised the Mound above its surroundings. Each burnt layer included charcoal, burnt sandstone and limestone fragments and very occasional fragments of carinated bowl.

Seven, sub-rectangular troughs varying from 3.8m to 6.5m in length by 1.8m to 2.6m x c.0.4m average depth, related to the successive phases of burning. Many of the troughs had primary layers of burnt sandstone and limestone and most had been backfilled with peat. A shallow, bowl-shaped pit was positioned downslope of each trough except one. The troughs were positioned progressively further downslope and away from Mound A so that the furthest one was over 20m away. The furthest troughs may relate to Mound C.

Immediately to the southeast of Mound A and beneath Mound C, two spreads of crushed cremated bone, occasional fragments of carinated bowl, burnt flint and occasional lithics had been trampled into the peat. One near complete carinated bowl included burnt internal residue. A number of highly structured deposits involving redeposited marl, crushed cremated bone, burnt flint and fragments of carinated bowl had been deposited beneath Mound C and Mound D, apparently concentrated on the artificially extended natural depressions beneath the centre of each. The primary deposit beneath Mound C was interned in a wooden or bark container measuring c.0.65m diameter x 0.12m deep.

Mound D: [Descriptions for Mound B and C are missing from online NRA report]

This was a low crescent shaped mound of burnt stone waste from Mound A, measuring c.15m x 7m surrounding the landward side of Mound A. Photo: Recording a section through mound D, Clowanstown 1

Mound E:

A fifth mound south of Mound A also centred on a series of structured crushed, cremated bone deposits, which included a small stone mortar.

Decommissioning

The centre of Mound A was re-cut for a cylindrical wooden container. This container measured c.0.65m in external diameter c.0.45m internal diameter x 0.72m maximum surviving length and was made of a single trunk. It had an external rebate seemingly to allow a composite wooden base to be bound in place. This had been replaced with quarried limestone slabs (Gabriel Cooney pers comm.) and a redeposited marl layer. Two holes of c.25mm diameter were cut into this rebate c.120mm apart. This container may have originally held a liquid.

Mounds A, C, D and E were all sealed with burnt cairn material forming a monument over each. A more extensive stone spread then sealed the cairn material including a number of lithic and bone finds as well as evidence for at least seven animal skulls (Mound C) and further crushed cremated bone including predominately cattle, sheep/goat, occasional pig, bird and small mammal. The lithic finds included three polished stone axes, a polished stone wedge, three polished stone pendants and at least three polished bone pins as well as leaf-shaped projectile points and scrapers. These final stone sealing layers appeared to have affectively consolidated access between the mounds creating an enduring monument.

Polished bone pin from Clowanstown 1

[Report by Matt Mossop, Archaeological Consultancy Ltd. On behalf of: Archaeological Consultancy Services Ltd, 21 Boyne Business Park, Greenhills, Drogheda. Archaeological Consultancy Ltd. Goodagrane, Halvasso, Penryn, Cornwall. TR10 9BX Phone : 01326 341 061 or Email : enquiries@archaeologicalconsultancy.com ]

Clowanstown 1 final excavation report

Clowanstown 2 final excavation report

Clowanstown 3 final excavation report

Other stories in the Irish Times this week noted the Hill of Tara and the M3 controversy. On Wed, Aug 19, 2009 the Times ran a story entitled, Looking to the music to lead us back', which stated:

""The Carnsore Point campaign of the 1970s and Self Aid in the 1980s are just two instances where artists sought to galvanise public opinion, to stimulate it into taking action about its own future. More recently, a contingent of Irish harpers marched to the Dáil in protest at the building of the motorway at Tara."

Another story in The Irish Times - Wed, Aug 26, 2009, 'How Meath's inland lighthouse became a mock monument,' as part of the Heritage Week Diary by Michael Harding said:

"I couldn’t avoid the ugliness of the industrial estate below me, just outside Kells. I couldn’t resist thinking about the hill of Tara in the distance, and the long, lacerating gash in the earth, where thousands of tonnes of cement have been poured on to the sleeping dead, to make a road for fast cars."

All these references show that the controversy over Tara is still high on the public agenda, and offer more opportunities for letters to be written to the editor of the The Irish Times -

PLEASE WRITE LETTERS - lettersed@irishtimes.com

and please sign and repost our petition to the UN:

http://www.tarawatch.org
info@tarawatch.org

Please sign the new UN MUST SAVE TARA PETITION

TaraWatch has launched a new petition drive, to appeal to the United Nations to intervene in the Tara situation. Our goal is to reach 1,000,000 signatures, and to submit the petition to the UN Headquarters in New York City. If you are interested in joining this effort, please join TaraWatch USA and email us at info@tarawatch.org

UN MUST SAVE TARA PETITION TEXT

TO: THE UNITED NATIONS

The Hill of Tara, Ireland's premier national monument and internationally renowned cultural icon, is being desecrated by construction of the M3 motorway. The works are in breach of international law, which protects this site for humanity, and the United Nations must intervene now. Lying 30 miles north of Dublin, it was Ireland's capital for millennia; where over 142 kings were crowned, dating back to 3,000 BC. Since then, hundreds of monuments were built on the slopes and in the surrounding landscape. Today, the cultural landscape is defined by the remains of a number of defensive Iron Age hillforts which surround the Hill, lying approximately 2-3 miles away.

THE M3 MOTORWAY

The M3 motorway is being built by the Irish Government, in public private partnership with Siac and Ferrovial construction companies, through the centre of this landscape, and a 50 acre interchange is being built 1,000 metres from the summit. Already, dozens of archaeological sites within the landscape have been excavated and demolished, and construction is due to be completed in 2010.

CELEBRITY SUPPORT FOR THE TARAWATCH CAMPAIGN

The campaign to save Tara, and re-route the M3 motorway has reached a critical point. Celebrities such as Bono, Seamus Heaney, Jonathan Rhys Myers, Gabriel Byrne, Colm Toibin , Louis le Brocquy and Jim Fitzpatrick, supported by hundreds of international experts in Irish history, archaeology and mythology have spoken out against the M3 route. National surveys show that the vast majority of Irish people want Tara protected, and made into a UNESCO site.

Nobel Laureate, Seamus Heaney said:

If ever there was a place that deserved to be preserved in the name of the dead generations from pre-historic times up to historic times up to completely recently - it was Tara. I think it literally desecrates an area - I mean the word means to de-sacralise and for centuries the Tara landscape and the Tara sites have been regarded as part of the sacred ground.

TARA ON ENDANGERED LISTS

The World Monuments Fund, Smithsonian Institution and Sacred Sites International have placed Tara on endangered sites list, and others such as the International Celtic Congress, the Archaeological Institute of America, the Landmarks Foundation, the City of Chicago and the Massachusetts Archaeological Society have issued statements condemning the M3 route.

EUROPEAN COMMISSION v. IRELAND, LAWSUIT

The European Commission is currently taking a lawsuit against Ireland in the European Court of Justice against Ireland, for illegally demolishing the Lismullin national monument, which was discovered in the pathway of the M3 in 2007, after being voted on of the Top Ten Most Important Discoveries in the world in 2007 by Archaeology magazine. The Irish authorities refused to heed the Commission's demand that demolition be halted, and construction is proceeding despite the EU legal action.

DELAY OF UNESCO NOMINATION FOR TARA

The Minister for the Environment, John Gormley, has delayed nomination of the Hill of Tara to become a UNESCO site, until the M3 motorway is complete. UNESCO has stated that it cannot intervene, until Ireland completes the nomination, which was due to take place at the World Heritage Committee Meeting in Seville, in June 2009.

BREACHES OF UN LAW

It is clear that the Convention Concerning the Protection of the World Cultural and Natural Heritage protects all sites of outstanding universal value, even if they are not on the World Heritage List. Other UN agreements, such as the UN Global Compact, the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, both human rights Covenants, and the UN Declaration of Rights of Indigenous Peoples also require that Tara receive the highest level of protection possible.

APPEAL TO UN TO INTERVENE

The only body that can now intervene and save the Hill of Tara is the United Nations. This petition is directed to the United Nations Headquarters in New York City, and asks that you intervene in the Tara crisis, and begin a problem-solving initiative, which will protect Tara and allow the M3 to be completed.

The UN must intervene now and enforce UN law, on behalf of the people of Ireland, the Irish Diaspora, and both the global community.

Signed,

____________________
[Please click here to sign]

Save Tara campaign update | Letter-writing needed urgently

Aerial photograph of human harp on Tara, 2007

Dear TaraWatch supporters,

Thank you for continuing to support the campaign to save the Hill of Tara from the M3 motorway in Ireland. A lot has happened recently, and we need your help, to keep the voice of opposition to the desecration of Tara alive. As you know, the Minister for the Environment, John Gormley, was supposed to submit Tara to UNESCO at the Seville World Heritage Committee meeting in June. This did not occur, but the Minister issued a statement on the matter yesterday, stating he will do it by the end of the year. The Minister also announced the Tara Skryne Landscape conservation programme. However, it still does not even define the area to be protected. It will have no statutory basis, and it quite clearly going to have a motorway going through the middle of it.

Coincidentally, the European Court of Justice is currently hearing arguments in the case being brought against Ireland by the European Commission, over the demolition of the Lismullin National Monument near Tara in 2007, which was discovered in the pathway of the M3 during excavations.

Letter-writing campaign

Two key newspaper articles were published today, and we are asking you to write letters to the editors, referencing the articles and making objections to Minister Gormley's actions. TaraWatch is seeking a right of reply, and we hope to reinforce that with your letters. Here are the letters and below is a press release we sent out in response to the Ministers statement. Please also send copies of letters directly to the Minister for the Environment at minister@environ.ie

New rules to protect Tara area

The Irish Times - Saturday, July 18, 2009 - By Olivia Kelly

NEW PROTECTIONS for the Tara-Skryne Valley, which would prevent the construction of retail parks and superstores along the route of the M3, have been announced by Minister for the Environment John Gormley. Mr Gormley said he could not prevent the construction of the motorway near the Hill of Tara, which continues to be the subject of protests by environmental and heritage groups, but he could protect the landscape to prevent inappropriate development.

In conjunction with Meath County Council, Mr Gormley proposed to designate the Tara-Skryne Valley a Special Conservation Area. This would protect the archeological and historic landscape and make it difficult for any construction to take place within the zone. However, Mr Gormley said it would in particular stop the type of large-scale development, such as shopping centres, or retail parks, which have been built along motorways in the past.

“This will ensure that the very negative sort of development associated with motorways will not impinge on the area . . . the sort of motorway development we’ve seen in the past, the BQs, that would not be acceptable.” The plans for the designation, which has been allocated €50,000 funding from the Department of the Environment and the Heritage Council, will have to be submitted for public consultation and agreed by Meath county councillors before the designation is confirmed. It is likely that the protection will be in place by the middle of next year. Mr Gormley said he also intended to increase the protection for national monuments in the new National Monument’s Act, which is currently at draft stage.

WRITE TO lettersed@irishtimes.com

Shops and malls to be banned at historic Tara site

Irish Independent - Saturday July 18 2009 - By Paul Melia

MAJOR developments including shopping centres and retail parks will not be allowed to be built off the controversial M3 motorway near the Hill of Tara. The Tara Skryne Valley, one of the most archaeologically rich areas in the country, will be officially designated as a Landscape Conservation Area, which will ban major developments and ensure the landscape is left intact, Environment Minister John Gormley announced yesterday. And he said he was fully committed to nominating the Hill of Tara as a UNESCO World Heritage site when Ireland draws up its shortlist of sites at the end of the year. He added that a new National Monuments Act would mean that road developments would not take place in areas rich with archaeology.

"I am pleased to announce details in relation to a proposed new landscape management project which has been initiated to establish a Landscape Conservation Area in the Tara-Skryne area," he said. "The new landscape conservation zone for Tara Skryne will protect the area from development damage . . . This is the first landscape conservation area ever. We have to learn lessons from the past, there's no question mistakes have been made and mistakes must be rectified."

The National Monuments Act will also see a single Register of Monuments established instead of historic monuments being recorded on a number of lists, and improved recognition of and protection for archaeology under planning legislation. Chairman of the Heritage Council, Conor Newman, added that the legislation would close "serious weaknesses" in the law. "For those of us who spent years trying to protect Tara, the work (M3) exposed serious weaknesses in our legislation," he said. "Protecting the landscape is something we want to see. No one wants to freeze the landscape, just manage change." The landscape conservation area status will be made next year when the exact zone of protection will be identified.

WRITE TO independent.letters@unison.ie

TARAWATCH USA

The TaraWatch USA Facebook group already has 2,000 members, after only one week. It is a part of the global Save Tara campaign, being operated by on Facebook by TaraWatch, which has over 13,000 members.

The aim of the group is to hold a demonstration outside the UN building in New York Sity, and to submit a petition to the UN, asking for intervention on the Tara issue.

The proposal is to take an aerial photograph of a couple of thousand people in front of the building, wearing green or spelling a slogan, such as was done at Tara in 2007 with the human harp.

The date of the event is not confirmed, but we are aiming to do it during Heritage Week in Ireland, part of European Heritage Days, 22nd to the 30th of August 2009.

FOR MORE INFORMATION CONTACT

info@tarawatch.org

http://www.tarawatch.org
http://www.hilloftara.info

+353-87-132-3365

Tara Parliamentary Group Proposed, to Launch Problem-Solving Initiative

Senator David Norris (left) reads parliamentary Questions while Vincent Salafia talks to Shane McEntee, TD (FG)

Tarawatch seeks parliamentary group

Irish Times - Breaking News: 02 July 2009

ÉANNA Ó CAOLLAÍ

Campaign group Tarawatch has written to members of the Oireachtas inviting them to establish a parliamentary group with the intention of lobbying Government on issues relating to the Hill of Tara. Several opposition and independent TDs and Senators, including newly-elected Dublin Central TD Maureen O’Sullivan and Senator David Norris were presented with a list of questions for the Government by members of Tarawatch at Dáil Éireann yesterday.

Tarawatch spokesman Vincent Salafia subsequently wrote to the politicians who attended asking them to establish a parliamentary group. He said the group would not only seek to identify a solution to protect the national monument but would also attempt to find a solution that would meet the needs of sustainable development and transport in Co Meath.

“We feel that it is the responsibility of the elected representatives both at European and national level to work in a co-operative manner on this,” Mr Salafia said today. “It would be a platform for all the groups involved to present their opinions and have their say in what the final outcome is. Tara belongs to everybody in Ireland. The majority of Irish people want to have Tara protected. Its not that it’s against the M3 per se - most of the people who want to protect Tara are quite happy for the M3 to proceed – they just don’t want it to go where it is."

Opposition TDs and Senators Pledge to Challenge Government Over M3 Motorway

Maureen O'Sullivan TD (Ind) takes Parliamentary Questions from Vincent Salafia of TaraWatch, with Aengus O Snodaigh (left) and Martin Ferris (Sinn Fein) behind

PRESS RELEASE - TARAWATCH - 1 July 2009

‘Opposition TDs and Senators Pledge to Challenge Government Over M3 Motorway’

A delegation of approximately 30 TaraWatch members met with Opposition TDs and Senators at the Kildare Street gates of the Dail today, at 1.00 pm. They were handed a series of Parliamentary Questions, for the Ministers for Transport, Environment and Finance, relating to the EU and UNESCO issues at the Hill of Tara. They also asked Oireachtas members to demand a halt to the M3 works at Tara until the European Commission case against Ireland, currently being heard in the European Court of Justice, reaches a decision.

Maureen O’Sullivan, the Independent TD who won the late Tony Gregory’s Dail set in the by-election, said:

“I am happy to meet you and hear your concerns. Deputy Gregory was very much opposed to the M3 at Tara, and made many statements against it.”

Fine Gael Meath TD, Shane McEntee, said:

“Fine Gael is opposed to the tolling of the M3, but we are in favour of jobs for Meath.” When it was pointed out by Vincent Salafia of TaraWatch that a re-routing of the M3 motorway, which could be order by UNESCO, would result in more jobs Meath, he laughed and agreed.

Labour Party TD, Joanna Tuffy, promised to submit Parliamentary Questions and said:

“I am very much in favour of the UNESCO designation of Tara, and will ask Mr Gormley why he delayed submitting the nomination to UNESCO at the Meeting in Seville last week, as promised.

Sinn Fein sent three deputies, Aengus Ó Snodaigh, Arthur Morgan and Martin Ferris to met the TaraWatch delegation. Aengus O Snodaigh said:

“Sinn Fein will submit all of the Parliamentary Questions. We remain absolutely opposed the destruction of Tara by the Government and the private companies.

Senator David Norris also offered his support, and complimented the delegation on their commitment. Though he cannot submit Parliamentary Questions as a Senator, he promised to use the materials in other ways, and raise the issue in the Seanad at the soonest opportunity.

However, Green Party TD, Ciaran Cuffe, who had been a strong vocal opponent to the M3 at Tara snubbed the delegation and walked by without comment.

TaraWatch spokesperson Laura Grealish said:

“We are delighted with obvious concern in the Oireachtas over the the Tara M3 issue, and look forward to getting answer to our questions from the Government. We will be continuing to campaign on the issue by making an appeal to the UN during the upcoming visit of the UN Secretary General to Ireland.

ENDS

Brussels takes Ireland to court over Lismullen monument

Meath Chronicle: Wednesday, 1st July, 2009 By Ann Casey

The Government is in the dock in Europe this week over the demolition of a newly discovered national monument at Lismullen in 2007, which occurred during works on the M3 motorway. The European Commission is taking Ireland to the European Court of Justice and the case opened last week with the Commission arguing that the decision taken by former Environment Minister, Dick Roche, in 2007 to demolish the newly discovered national monument was contrary to the Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) Directive, which requires independent scientific opinion and public participation.

The Commission says that the National Monuments Act fails to implement the Directive by automatically requiring a new EIA when a national monument is discovered, which was not covered by planning permission. Because the pre-historic site at Lismullen was only identified in 2007, its significance could not be taken into account in a 2003 assessment of the motorway project. Meanwhile, TaraWatch will hold a demonstration outside Dail Eireann at 1pm today (Wednesday) to demand that the Government halt work on the M3 within the Hill of Tara landscape due to the lawsuit.

A number of questions will also be handed to opposition party Oireachtas members at the Dail gates. The questions will be addressed to Ministers for the Environment, Transport and Finance and will query why the Government demolished the Lismullin national monument and why Minister John Gormley opposed the Environment Directive. They are also querying what the financial implications would be if Ireland loses the case. TaraWatch will also ask Opposition parties to join in an appeal to UN Secretary General General Ban Ki-moon for intervention during his upcoming visit to Ireland on next week.

TaraWatch spokesperson, Vincent Salafia, said: “The Government and the public private partners have acted recklessly by proceeding with the M3 and demolishing the Lismullin national monument, despite the statement by the European Commission in 2007 that they were acting in breach of EU law. “Works on the M3 in the Tara landscape and proposed World Heritage Site should cease, until the case being argued this week in the European Court of Justice reaches a conclusion.” Mr Salafia said that enormous amounts of taxpayers’ money was being wasted by the Government in fighting this case, and the consequences of a decision against Ireland could be disastrous. “We are calling on the Opposition parties to take the Government to task on this and to support our appeal to the UN to intervene in this matter,” he said.

Sunday Tribune - David Kenny: A word to Gormley on his new archaeology Code: Tara

A word to Gormley on his new archaeology code: Tara

By David Kenny

Sunday Tribune - 28 June 2009

“THIS boys,” said Mr Halpin, “will stay with you forever. I hope it makes a big impact.”

Ordinarily, whenever a teacher spoke of making an ‘impact’ at St Joseph’s National School in Glasthule, you started sweating. It normally involved the crack of a bamboo cane. Not on this occasion though. We were about to see something historic. Besides, Halpin always preferred sarcasm to brutality.

He was a bit of a hero. He played Mungo Jerry records in class and showed us how to make free plectrums out of detergent bottles. He also liked cartoons and had a wit as dry as a pub on Good Friday. He seemed to actually like us.

The historic occasion took place on a trip to the National Library in 1979. Myself and two other 11-year-olds, Cianan and Mick, were to choose books for the school. The four of us clowned the day away with Mr Halpin leading the laughter. Afterwards, he took us to see a part of Dublin he hoped we’d remember forever. He hoped seeing it would make an impact on our young minds. It did.

I can still see, through a gap in the hoarding, the muddy timber steps of Wood Quay. “This is going,” he said. “The council is covering it with concrete.” All the way home we simmered with anger, fuelled by his. He told us how protestors had found swords in the builders’ rubble and how the city walls had been razed. He explained how the quay had been named a national monument but the government destroyed it anyway. He told us the only people who wanted the ugly new buildings were politicians.

I still get angry when I pass Wood Quay. Halpin had given us a mental snapshot of our disappearing history. I’ll always have it in my head. Last week, I saw Wood Quay again when John Gormley announced a new archaeological code of practice to protect our monuments. There was the clang of a rusty gate being bolted and the distant neighing of a horse. This is the man who sold Tara to get into bed with Fianna Fail – the party which was responsible for Wood Quay.

Despite being ‘Green’, he has done nothing to halt the M3 ploughing through the Tara/Skryne valley. Instead he has concentrated on defending his predecessor’s demolition of the Lismullin national monument which lay in its way.

Dick Roche contravened European law by failing to commission an environmental impact study on the site. The government has now spent huge sums fighting the European Commission over the issue.

Gormley also spent a bundle drafting last week’s Eirgrid Code of Practice. If the European Court finds against Ireland, the National Monuments Act will have to be amended and the code will have to be redrafted. More money flushed away.

The M3 tolls will go out of Meath to a multinational. More waste.

The mishandling of Tara proves, conclusively, that we are being governed by profligate idiots. The M3 should never have been routed through Tara/Skryne. It was always going to throw up monuments like Lismullin and lead to costly court battles. The obvious thing to do was to route to the west of Tara, avoiding the valley.

The Greens campaigned against the M3. The World Monuments Fund and the Smithsonian Institution have placed it on their their ‘endangered’ lists. Gormley is still pushing ahead with it though.

In December, he hired 15 experts to help draft a list of sites, including Tara, to nominate to Unesco for world heritage status at its annual meeting last Tuesday. No list was delivered.

TaraWatch is continuing its campaign to re-route the road with a protest at the Dail this Wednesday (1pm). They will ask Gormley why the Unesco list wasn’t submitted as it would have tested the M3’s impact on Tara’s heritage status. They will also tell him that his new archaeological code of practice is meaningless while Tara is being vandalised.

Gormley’s betrayal of Tara/Skryne is endorsing Fianna Fail’s traditional approach to the environment – “cover it over with concrete”. That party’s love of unbridled development is the reason why places like Meath became an overspill for Dublin and why its roads desperately need to be improved. They mustn’t be improved at the expense of Tara. It’s bound up with our history. For 800 years it tied our ancestors to a legendary past which was ultimately used to stir up revolution and create our Republic.

The world sees Tara as our spiritual centre. It even features in one of the most popular novels/films of all time. Scarlett O’Hara’s plantation is named after it in Gone With the Wind. Her fictional Tara represents the Irish emigrant’s longing for home. Our real one now stands for longing to get home from work quicker. We need Unesco to protect Tara from ourselves.

Our generation stood by as the government over-developed our country. What will our legacy be? Some Namaesque hulks of buildings? Some half-built estates? A concrete dagger through the heart of Tara? Is this what we want to leave behind for future schoolchildren and young teachers like the late Mr Halpin?

I can imagine him surveying the M3 and sardonically quoting Scarlett’s famous line: “Is Tara still standing or is it gone with the wind?”

Scarlet? He’d be crimson with anger.

WRITE TO: editorial@tribune.ie

Join our Save Tara protest outside Dail Eireann, Kildare St, Dublin, Wed 1 July, 1.00pm

TaraWatch will hand in a series of Parliamentary Questions (PQs), to be made by members of the Oireachtas and Senate at 1.00pm on Wednesday, 1 July, outside Dail Eireann. Please come down and support us.

Thanks so much to those of you, whether near or far, who supported our demonstration yesterday. We had the Irish Times, Irish Examiner, Photocall, 98FM, International News Network, and Epoch Times covering the story. So, given the week that's in it, let's build on that.

Do you have any ideas for questions for your public representatives? Questions need to be divided between Ministers for Transport, Environment, Finance, etc. They also need to be tailored for different political parties, such as tolls for Fine Gael because they don't care about heritage. Please email ideas to info@tarawatch.org

Some possible topics might include:

- How much money has Gormley spent on the UNESCO consultation?

- Explain: why the Tentative List was not submitted to UNESCO in Seville?

- How much money has the Minister spent on employing outside counsel to defend the case against Ireland over Lismullin?

- What does the Government propose to do if they lose the case in the European Court of Justice?

- What will the financial implications be if the Government loses?

- What is the current cost of the tolls proposed for the M3?

- How much has the M3 cost so far?

NEWS STORIES

Group calls for Gormley resignation

Irish Times - Breaking News - 24 June 2009

Minister for the Environment, Heritage and Local Governement John Gormley must resign due to his failure to protect Irish heritage sites, representatives of the Save Tara campaign have said.

Members of TaraWatch, the organisation which runs the campaign, held a protest outside Custom House in Dublin today to voice their dissatisfaction with the minister, who they say has reneged on promises to nominate Irish cultural areas such at the Hill of Tara, the Burren and Clonmacnoise to the UNESCO World Heritage Committee, which meets in Seville today.

"He has totally reneged on his statutory duties to protect Irish heritage and the Irish environment," said spokesman for the campaign Vincent Salafia.

The group was also critical of the minister's decision to demolish the Lismullin national monument in order to make way for further developments to the M3 motorway.

The move has led to the European Commission bringing a case against Ireland to the European Court of Justice, alleging that the Government here has failed to implement the Environmental Impact Assessment Directive.

Mr Salafia is confident that the European Commission will be successful in the case and said that "by failing to let the EU or UNESCO protect Irish heritage sites, John Gormley has done the exact opposite of what a Minister for the Environment is supposed to do."

WRITE TO lettersed@irishtimes.com


Campaigners Target Gormley

Irish Examiner - 24 June 2009

ENVIRONMENTAL campaigners have criticised Environment Minister John Gormley for the delay in submitting the Hill of Tara for consideration as a world protected heritage site.

Members of TaraWatch, the organisation dedicated to the protection of Tara as a priceless archaeological site, picketed the Green Party leader's office yesterday at the launch of their 'Gormley Must Go' campaign.

The demonstration coincided with a UNESCO World Heritage Committee meeting in Seville.

WRITE TO letters@examiner.ie

http://www.tarawatch.org

http://www.hilloftara.info

Launch of GORMLEY MUST GO! Campaign Tomorrow at Custom House

PRESS RELEASE - TARAWATCH - 22 June 2009

'Launch of GORMLEY MUST GO! Campaign Tomorrow at Custom House'

TaraWatch will launch its GORMLEY MUST GO! campaign with a rally at Custom House, tomorrow at 12.00 noon. It will be first in a series of demonstrations, highlighting the Minister's failings. The aim of the campaign is to call on Minister for the Environment, John Gormley, to resign over his failure to protect the Hill of Tara, and other internationally important heritage sites around Ireland.

Minister Gormley broke his promise to present UNESCO with a revised list of Ireland's nominations for World Heritage Site, in Seville, tomorrow. The list was to include Tara, the Burren, Clonmacnoise, Kells, the Cliffs of Moher and many other important Irish sites. Despite employing 15 consultants, and conducting an expensive and lengthy public consultation process, he will not present the nominations to UNESCO as planned.

Minister Gormley has been spending vest amounts of taxpayers money hiring outside legal counsel to defend a lawsuit from the European Commission, over the demolition of the Lismullin national monument. The case is being heard this week before the European Court of Justice, and could result in the M3 being re-routed, after millions have been spent on construction.

The Green Party had campaigned to protect the Hill of Tara from the M3, and a lot of people voted for Gormley in the belief he would take action as Minister. However, having used Tara and other issues to get elected, Gormley promised silence and inaction in order to become Minister. Since then, he has failed in his constitutional duty to protect the environment and heritage.

Vincent Salafia said:

"Minister Gormley has done the exact opposite of what a Minister for the Environment is supposed to do.

"Not only that, but he is spending vast amounts of money trying to prevent the EU and UNESCO from doing his job for him, and has exposed the Irish taxpayer to huge expense by fighting the European Commission.

"Minister Gormley must resign, as he holds only 2% of popularity in the electorate, and has failed miserably in his job.

ENDS

Register for this event on Facebook

'Woodhenge' found in Hill of Tara's soil

'Woodhenge' found in Hill of Tara's soil - Computers bring 4,500-year-old monument to life

Sunday Times - Ireland | April 12, 2009 By Gabrielle Monaghan

Ireland's “Stonehenge”, a 4,500-year-old structure at the Hill of Tara in Co Meath, has been re-created by archeologists and computer-graphics experts. They have built a representation of a huge, wooden monument that appears to have been used for inauguration ceremonies and pagan burials of Ireland’s high kings. Underground remains of the structure were discovered by soil x-rays of the hill, which has been at the centre of an international dispute because of its proximity to the new M3 motorway. The model, to be shown on an RTE television documentary this week, was created using information gathered from studying a ditch, six metres wide and three deep, cut into the bedrock of the hill and enclosing the Mound of Hostages, an ancient passage tomb.

Study of the remains of tree trunks have prompted scientists to conclude the hill was once surrounded by a “wooden version of Stonehenge” that would have been 250 metres in diameter, a “massive scale” similar in size to Croke Park. Archeologists believe elaborately decorated timber posts and crossbars rose out of the ditch and surrounded the tomb, which is believed to be Tara’s oldest monument. It is estimated the mound was raised in about 3,000BC, making it a contemporary of Stonehenge, the ancient monument in the English county of Wiltshire, and the pyramids of Egypt.

Tara was the coronation place of the country’s pre- Christian kings. A pillar stone, the Lia Fail, originally stood at the northern end of the Mound of Hostages and legend had it that when the true king of Ireland stood on this phallic symbol, it would roar. Robert Vance, a historian who worked on the two-part RTE series, entitled Secrets of the Stones — Decoding Ireland’s Lost Past, and the author of an accompanying book of the same name, said there are a number of theories about what the wooden henge was used for.

“Part of the inauguration of new kings involved walking to the banqueting hall, which was really just a low subterranean channel, and passing the tombs of their forefathers,” Vance said. “Perhaps they were then made kings in the centre of that timber circle. But there’s also a chance bodies of kings were left within the timber structure to decay. In some excavations, bones of birds were found as well. So it’s possible \ took place there, in which winged raptors such as eagles were used to deflesh the body. Pagan people of similar beliefs in native America and Polynesia thought that using birds to pick away at the body would allow the soul to become free.”

Using high-definition, computer-generated imagery, a vision of the circular arena at the Hill of Tara was created for the documentary. It posits catastrophic events 4,000 years ago may have caused a change in our ancestors’ beliefs At around this time, there is evidence Ireland’s passage tombs were abandoned in favour of “new monuments and new gods” and people were never buried in them again. One theory is that a long spell of bad weather could have led people to change their beliefs. According to studies of ancient trees preserved in Ireland’s bogs, a growth pause caused by climate change occurred at this time, suggesting that some catastrophic event might have left people in fear. Another theory is that a volcano in the 6th century may have frightened pagan Celts Celts into believing in “new” gods because of the weather changes caused when the dust reflected light and heat away from the Earth.

Vance believes, however, that the event that led people to change their beliefs was more likely a comet during the Bronze Age, which partly disintegrated and sent fireballs and flaming debris across the sky. “We see such comet debris as shooting stars in the night sky. To our ancestors, these were terrifying heavenly signs,” he said. The comet would also have triggered a dust veil that caused temperatures to plunge. “The old-style temples like Newgrange weren’t powerful enough to compete with this new object in the sky,” according to the documentary. “It was enough to make these ancient people question their very beliefs. Did the prehistoric passage tomb builders abandon their religion in the face of something they couldn’t understand, something that nearly wiped them out?”

In February, Tara was included in a list of “must-see” endangered sites by a magazine published by the Smithsonian Institute, one of America’s most influential museums. The site was equated with the Church of the Nativity in Bethlehem. Tara has also been nominated for inclusion as a Unesco World Heritage site, and TaraWatch, a pressure group, claims the M3 should be re- routed as a result. The National Roads Authority says work on the M3 is ahead of schedule and it could be finished before the July 2010 deadline. “The existing road to Navan is even closer to the Hill of Tara, and the new motorway won’t be seen from the hill, so it doesn’t visually impinge on it,” Vance said.

Part One of the documentary aired on at 6.30pm on RTE 1. Part 2 will air on May 5.

SIGN THE SAVE TARA PETITION

Contact - info@tarawatch.org

TaraWatch Looks Across the Atlantic for Support

TaraWatch Looks Across the Atlantic for Support

Epoch Times - Apr 14, 2009 - By Martin Murphy

The M3 motorway is still under construction but TaraWatch have not given up their hopes of saving the Irish historical site called "The Hill of Tara" and surrounding monuments; help may be on its way from across the Atlantic. TaraWatch Public Relations Officer, Vincent Salafia, has just finished a publicity tour of the United States, where he met with representatives of both archaeological and Native American institutions.

I asked the TaraWatch representative why he felt he had to travel abroad to get support even though we had the Green Party in Government here in Ireland. Mr Salafia said with respect to the Green Party “They have been absolutely abysmal ... Tara was on the table when they were negotiating their terms for government ... the Greens basically traded off our backs. “We feel very betrayed by the Green party and we do not hold out any hope that they will do anything proactive in terms of saving Tara.”

While in the USA Mr Salafia met with the World Monuments Fund, in New York City, after submitting the nomination for the Hill of Tara to be on their 2010 List of Most Endangered Sites (Tara is on the current list.) “We were trying to mobilise them and get them involved in the UNESCO confrontation by supporting our argument.” TaraWatch's argument being that the motorway should be re-routed rather than having a UNESCO site with a motorway running right through it. Mr Salafia said “We are afraid that what will happen here in Ireland will be similar to what happened in Stonehenge in England, the motorway was completed and then UNESCO said the motorway had to be moved. “So it could be economically viable to move the road here now even though it's under construction, we still have not given up on the campaign.”

Mr Salafia explained that while in the US he made a presentation to the Council on Archaeology at Yale University in New Haven, Connecticut, and asked them to sign a statement calling for the M3 motorway to be re-routed, before Tara is declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Vincent Salafia told The Epoch Times that he was also trying to drum up support from the likes of Mr Daniel M. Rooney the next United States Ambassador to Ireland. According to Mr Salafia a number of US bodies have made statements on the issue which can be found on the Save Tara website www.hilloftara.info. “There is massive interest and support from Irish American and indeed all Americans, particularly the academics... the Smithsonian Magazine recently listed Tara on their ten must see sights before they disappear.”

Mr Salafia also met with representatives of Native American tribes, and proposed a gathering of indigenous peoples on the Hill of Tara, during Heritage Week, in late August. TaraWatch is currently in talks with indigenous peoples in Australia and Africa, as well as North America and Canada, regarding the proposed event. It was Mr Salafia hopes that with this new support a process of engagement and problem solving could restart.

Smithsonian Magazine: Endangered Site: The Hill of Tara, Ireland

A new tollway threatens the archaeologically rich complex that is the spiritual heart of the country

Endangered Site: The Hill of Tara, Ireland

Smithsonian magazine, March 2009
By Amanda Bensen

"The harp that once through Tara's halls
The soul of music shed
Now hangs as mute on Tara's walls
As if that soul were fled."

The words of 19th-century Irish poet Thomas Moore still ring true, and the only music you're likely to hear around Tara nowadays is the clang of construction equipment. Several hundred acres of gentle green fields, marked by some lumps and bumps, cover this patch of County Meath in northeast Ireland. A nice place to lie down and watch the clouds scud by, perhaps, but is it any more remarkable than the rest of Ireland's lovely landscape?

Cinnte, to use an Irish expression of certitude. The archaeologically rich complex on and around the Hill of Tara is seen by many as the spiritual and historic heart of Ireland. It was the venue for rituals, battles and burials dating back to 4000 B.C. More than 100 kings were crowned at Tara, and St. Patrick is said to have stopped there to seek royal permission before spreading his message of Christianity.

In more recent history, the hill was the site of Daniel "the Liberator" O'Connell's 1843 "monster meeting," a massive political demonstration that rallied some 750,000 people to the cause of repudiating the country's union with Britain. Thousands of people still gather on its crest on midsummer's eve, both for the panoramic view and what one visitor calls "the sense you get there of being close to something holy."

"Tara is a part of the Irish psyche," says George Eogan, a retired Dublin archaeologist who led excavations near the hill in the 1960s. "Irish people, they know of Tara from their very early days. It's in schoolbooks and stories, even in primary school."

But Irish history now risks being consumed by the Celtic Tiger—the nickname given to Ireland's phenomenal economic expansion for more than a decade. Inevitably, a thriving economy brought demands for an expanded infrastructure. And so, in 2003, the Irish government approved construction of a new four-lane tollway, the M3, to cut through the Tara complex. Construction began in 2005, and despite a storm of public protest, the project appears unstoppable.

Call for Submissions to be Made to UNESCO Consultation on Ireland’s Tentative List of World Heritage Sites

TaraWatch is calling on the public, around the world, to make submissions to an advisory group that has been set up by the Irish Minister for the Environment, Heritage and Local Government, to review the current list of potential UNESCO World Heritage Sites in Ireland, known as the Tentative List (of potential nominees as World Heritage Sites). The Irish Government is currently building the M3 motorway through the heart of the archaeological complex associated with the Hill of Tara, in County Meath, at the same time that it is proposing to nominate Tara to Ireland's Tentative List. We are asking members of the public to sign our petition and to make submissions, before Friday, January 30th, 2009. Email your submission to worldheritagetentativelist@environ.ie

Our position is that:

- The Hill of Tara complex qualifies for World Heritage status as a natural and cultural landscape of outstanding universal value, due to its unique cultural significance, and the extent of the surviving remains. Tara covers a much larger area than that the 100 acres of State-owned land on the summit of the Hill, which currently delimits the 'national monument'. The M3 passes through the middle of the area to be protected.

- The entire Tara archaeological complex and cultural/natural landscape should be declared a World Heritage site. Expert bodies such as the World Monuments Fund, the Heritage Council, have recognised Tara consists of the entire Hill of Tara along with the Tara / Skryne valley, as well as the defensive forts that encircle the hill, including national monuments such as the defensive forts of Rath Lugh (to the east), Rath Miles (to the north) and Ringlestown Rath (to the west), and have called for the re-routing of the M3.

-The M3 motorway, due to open in 2010, should be re-routed outside of the Tara complex, before the site is given UNESCO World Heritage Protection. It would be a breach of the World Heritage Convention for UNESCO to inscribe the site, with the M3 passing through it. This is confirmed by the fact that Tara was placed on the World Monuments Fund, 2008-2010 List of 100 Most Endangered Sites

World Heritage Sites list to be reviewed

The Irish Times - Monday December 1 2008

AN EXPERT advisory group has been set up by Minister for the Environment, Heritage and Local Government John Gormley to review the current list of potential World Heritage Sites in Ireland, known as the Tentative List (of potential nominees as World Heritage Sites). They are to submit a new Tentative List to him by spring of next year. The existing Tentative List of proposed sites dates back to 1992.

At present Ireland has two World Heritage Sites inscribed on the prestigious World Heritage List. Brú Na Bóinne in Co Meath was inscribed in 1993 and Skellig Michael, Co Kerry in 1996. Ireland ratified the World Heritage Convention in 1991 and undertook the responsibility of protecting and conserving both national and international world heritage sites, and of maintaining a Tentative List of potential sites for World Heritage Site nomination. It also undertook to nominate national heritage sites on this list to the World Heritage Committee for World Heritage listing.

As part of the public consultation process prior to preparing the Tentative List, interested parties and individuals are invited to request a copy of the current Tentative List and World Heritage Status. It is available from the department as guidance to people in making submissions on proposed sites for inclusion on Ireland's Tentative List of potential nominees as World Heritage Sites. These must have unique outstanding universal value and not just be of value in an Irish context.

Details www.environ.ie submissions by Friday January 30th.

Pre-Budgetary Submission to Dept of Finance - M3 motorway will lose money

Download TaraWatch Pre-Budgetary Submission

Dowload TaraWatch financial analysis of M3 motorway

M3 motorway will lose money, says TaraWatch

Irish examiner - Breaking News - 10 October 2008

The proposed M3 motorway will lose money, according to a financial analysis included today in TaraWatch's pre-Budgetary submission. The primary conclusion is there is a need for Strategic Environmental Assessment (SEA) of the National Development Plan (NDP), before any spending decisions are made on Transport 21. These conclusions are supported by the EPA Report on the Irish Environment, released on Wed October 8, which calls for SEA analysis of the NDP. The submission also details legal cases being taken against the Irish Government, by the European Commission and in the Supreme Court, regarding alleged breaches of SEA law.

The M3 Motorway PPP contractor, Ferrovial, is also examined in detail. A financial analysis of the M3 motorway, performed by a licensed engineer, Rodney Aldrich, claimed that the M3 motorway will be a losing proposition for taxpayers in collecting toll revenues, based on the NRA traffic projections, in order to cover construction and operating costs. Aldrich concluded that: "The tolls will fall short by a total of 1.165bn euro in repaying a 45-year financing." Mr Aldrich concluded: "If a rail link supplements improvements to the current N3, the possibility exists to avoid 180,000,000 euro in excess carbon emissions penalties that might very well result if the M3 is completed. "The Department of Finance should perform a fresh cost-benefit analysis, and investigate all real and shadow costs associated with the M3 before funding it any further.

Vincent Salafia of TaraWatch said: "The National Development Plan, and the M3 motorway, are losing propositions for the Irish taxpayer. "Even a cursory analysis of the PPP numbers shows that the M3, and the NDP, are examples of 'cowboy economics', and the figures simply don't add up." "The recent EPA Report on the State of the Irish Environment 2008 supports our findings, by calling for cost-benefit analysis and Strategic Environmental Assessment of the NDP."

Related stories

Irish independent - Principals in plea to spare schools from 'disastrous' cuts (6 Oct)

BreakingNews.ie - M3 motorway will lose money, says TaraWatch

Ireland Online - M3 motorway will lost money, says TaraWatch

TORONTO STAR: Celtic Tiger threatens 'very soul of historic Ireland'

Archaeology Magazine - News Headlines: Here’s a summary of what preservationists have tried to do to save Ireland’s Hill of Tara from highway construction. Their new argument suggests that the downturn in the country’s economy requires Ireland to save its historic resources as tourist destinations.

Celtic Tiger threatens 'very soul of historic Ireland'

MITCH POTTER - TORONTO STAR
Europe Bureau - Oct 07, 2008

HILL OF TARA, Ireland–It is a battle worthy of the old Irish legends, pitting history against modernity. But as a controversial highway creeps ever closer to the spiritual home of the early Celtic kings, it now appears both sides may lose.

For advocates of the twin ribbons of asphalt called the M3 now under construction north of the Irish capital, there is no choice but to live pragmatically with the roar of a commuter corridor in the shadow of the sacred Hill of Tara, because getting to nearby Dublin is a nightmare without it.

For opponents, the new toll highway is the most painful example of the Celtic Tiger's propensity for gnawing through all obstacles – up to and including "the very soul of historic Ireland" – in the pursuit of the almighty euro. Worse, they say, the highway is arriving just as the economy curls up into what many expect will be a deep slumber, worn ragged by a broken property bubble and the global credit squeeze.

EU Speak out on Tara

EU Speak out on Tara

South Meath Post 30-9-08
by Evan Short

Tarawatch anti M3 protesters claimed last week to have been backed by the EU in their continuing campaign against the motorway.

According to Vincent Salafia, the Petitions Committee of the European Parliament has expressed its "ongoing concern" regarding the impact of the M3 on the Hill of Tara archaeological complex and the demolition of the Lismullin National Monument.

In its annual activity report from 2007 released last Wednesday, the Committee commented specifically on the absence of any assesment in advance of a 2007 decision to remove a national monument situated at Lismullin in the path of the M3 Motorway project near Tara in County Meath.

The Lismullin Henge, described by the American Archaeological Journal as one of its most signiicant finds of 2007, was removed in January to permit the M3 to go ahead. According to Vincent Salafia, the comments were a welcome boost for Campaigners.

" We welcome the ongoing concern of the Petitions Committee in this matter and urge the EU Commissioner for the Environment Stavros Dimas to speed up his legal action against Ireland over Tara.The M3 isstill 3 years from completion as it has been delayed due to multiple sub contractors withdrawing from the project, and there is still plenty of time to resolve this issue"

Irish Independent: M3 motorway partners see 12pc drop in share price

Nicolas Villen Jimenez, chief financial officer of Grupo Ferrovial SA, poses at his office in Madrid on May 28, 2007. Photographer: Daniel Sanchez/Bloomberg News

M3 motorway partners see 12pc drop in share price

Irish Independent - Tuesday September 02 2008

THE Spanish construction giant Ferrovial Group , a partner in the construction of the controversial M3 motorway, saw its shares fall 12pc yesterday , after it reported a 25pc drop in earnings for the first half of 2008. While the group's cash flow remained healthy at more than €1bn over the period, it said earnings before interest and tax fell 25pc to €691m.

Ferrovial reported that Ireland was among the best performing areas for the group internationally. While traffic volumes on its toll roads grew by 8pc, revenues from this source were up a significant 13.5pc over the period, although the company declines to give an exact figure for those revenues. Despite the economic slowdown affecting some countries, the toll road business, including holding companies, expanded revenue by 7.3pc to €444.6m in the first half of 2008. "The results were affected by exchange rates and an up-tick in costs, together with a slowdown in traffic on some routes," said Luis Padron, an analyst at Fortis Bank . "Still, that was compensated by higher tolls and there were no great surprises overall."

Ferrovial ended the period heavily in debt -- net financial debt with recourse to the parent company was €2.201bn at the end of the half year. Tara Watch, the group which has opposed the building of the M3 close to the national monument at Tara, said the debt burdens under which construction firms such as Ferrovial are operating, as well as declining toll revenues worldwide, posed a serious problem for the Government.

Downturn

Vincent Salafia of Tara Watch said: "The global financial downturn has hit construction companies hard , and the increase in gasoline prices has also reduced toll revenues worldwide. These two factors are combining to create an ominous environment for the M3 contract, the National Roads Programme under the National Development Plan , and Transport 21 . We are calling on the Minister for Transport, Noel Dempsey, to investigate the matter, and to reveal the consequences of contractor liquidation, under the Public Private Partnership agreement."

Related articles:

- Bloomberg: Ferrovial Declines After Posting Quarterly Loss on Heathrow

- Wall Street Journal: Debt Costs Help Slash Net at Spain's Ferrovial

- Financial Times: Ferrovial profits dive as strong euro and rising costs add to woes

- Peninsula Star On-line: Ferrovial announces profit collapse

Email Ferrovial Shareholder Relations: accionistas@ferrovial.es

Downgrade for builders as concern over debts grows



Irish Independent - Wednesday July 23 2008

Hochtief , Germany's largest construction company, and other European builders were downgraded by Merrill Lynch on concern debt-financed acquisitions will add extra strain to their finances as economies deteriorate.

Merrill cut its recommendation on Hochtief, Bilfinger Berger and Ferrovial of Spain to "neutral" from "buy", according to analyst Luis Prieto. Merrill lowered Eiffage and Fomento de Construcciones y Contratas to "underperform'' from "neutral" and kept "buy" ratings on ACS and Vinci.

"The fact that contractors have not been stress-tested by previous economic downturns in their current configuration makes us adopt a very conservative approach," Mr Prieto said in a note.

"Negative sentiment" surrounds European builders' shares," added Mr Prieto. Attempts to diversify have exposed European contractors to additional risk. (© Bloomberg )

Motorists can be a driving force

Letter to the Editor - Irish Independent - Tuesday September 02 2008

I CANNOT for the life of me understand why Irish motorists take so much crap from the National Roads Authority and the Government. Here we are again with another stealth tax that the already hard-done by Irish motorists have to pay. What is wrong with you motorists? Do you not realise that you have an ace in your hands that, if used properly, could see the M50 tolls removed permanently?

A few years ago I was in Alicante, Spain. A new motorway had just been opened up and toll booths had been placed on the motorway. The Spanish motorists did not use the motorway; they did not want to pay the tolls and the government for the region had to remove the tolls and the motorway is now free to use. Can the Irish motorists not do the same? We know that Irish motorists using the M50 have paid for it many times over and now are being ripped off again with an increase in the toll charges.

Irish motorists, lend me your ears. Awaken in yourselves the passion and drive of our forefathers and unite as one to boycott the M50 motorway. Bring this rip-off to a close once and for all. I feel very strongly about this.

TONY LEGGETT
CO LIMERICK

write to independent.letters@unison.independent.ie

Sign the new online SAVE TARA - UNESCO petition

HILL OF TARA / M3 MOTORWAY - UNESCO / ICOMOS PETITION

THIS PETITION is addressed to:

The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO), which includes:

• The Director-General, Koïchiro Matsuura
• The Executive Committee of the General Conference
• The Intergovernmental Committee for the Protection of the World Cultural and Natural Heritage, called the World Heritage Committee
• All parties in attendance at the 32nd Session of the World Heritage Committee, Quebec, Canada, 2-10 July 2008.
• The Irish UNESCO Representatives

AND

The International Council on Monuments and Sites (ICOMOS), which includes:

• ICOMOS International
• ICOMOS Ireland
• All other national ICOMOS bodies, such as
- ICOMOS Canada,
- ICOMOS UK,
- ICOMOS US,
- ICOMOS Australia,
- ICOMOS Norway, and
- ICOMOS Aotearoa/New Zealand
• All parties in attendance at the ICOMOS Ireland AGM, Dublin, 4 June 2008
• All parties in attendance at the Sixth World Archaeological Congress, University College Dublin, 29th June to 4th July 2008

WHOSE JURISDICTIONS have been jointly invoked in this matter of great national and international importance by the Minister for the Environment, Heritage and Local overnment, of the Republic of Ireland, John Gormley, on 11 May, 2008, in his address at the launch of the legal incorporation and charitable status designation of ICOMOS Ireland. He announced that he had retained an ICOMOS member, Dr Jukka Jokilehto to visit the sites currently on Ireland’s tentative list, as well as the Hill of Tara. Minister Gormley concluded,

“The Hill of Tara National Monument has strong merit for inclusion in an application to UNESCO for consideration as a World Heritage site”, and that he did “... not see the proposed new road (the M3 motorway) as being an obstacle to making this recommendation.”

I EARNESTLY AND RESPECTFULLY PLEAD THAT:

[I.] The Hill of Tara archaeological complex / cultural and natural landscape, in it's entirety, (hereinafer referred to as “Tara”) be inscribed onto the UNESCO List of World Heritage sites.

BUT ONLY on condition that:

[II.] The proposed M3 motorway, (hereinafter referred to as “the M3”) currently under construction, is re-routed beyond Tara, before the site is given World Heritage Site status, because he M3 is destroying the integrity of the site and landscape,

I MAKE THIS PETITION FOR THE FOLLOWING REASONS:

- UNESCO adopted the Convention Concerning the Protection of the World Cultural and Natural Heritage (“The Convention”) in 1972. Ireland ratified the Convention in 1991. The Convention has as its goal the identification and protection of cultural and national heritage of “outstanding universal value”.
- The Hill of Tara complex qualifies as a natural and cultural landscape of outstanding universal value, due to it's unique cultural significance, and the extent of the surviving remains. Tara covers a much larger area than that the 100 acres of State-owned land on the summit of the Hill, which currently delimits the 'national monument'. The M3 passes through the middle of the area to be protected. The entire Tara archaeological complex and cultural/natural landscape should be declared a World Heritage site. Expert bodies, such as the Heritage Council, have recognised Tara consists of the entire Hill of Tara along with the Tara / Skryne valley, as well as the defensive forts that encircle the hill, including national monuments such as the defensive forts of Rath Lugh (to the east), Rath Miles (to the north) and Ringlestown Rath (to the west).
- Ireland has been in breach of the Convention since 1991, by failing to nominate the Hill of Tara to be a World Heritage site, until after the M3 motorway was approved. Article 3 of the Convention states: “It is for each State Party to this Convention to identify and delineate the different properties situated on its territory". A recent UN report on Ireland's implementation of the Convention found that “Inventories, established at national and local levels, have not been used as a basis for selecting World Heritage sites”. This has resulted in the contradictory approach being taken by the Irish Government, which is on one hand facilitating destruction of significant parts of the Tara complex, and on the other, seeking International legal protection for those same parts.
- The Minister for the Environment, has breached his responsibilities under the Convention by initiating the inscription process of making Tara a World Heritage site, while at the same time, failing in his legal duty adequately protect the Tara complex from the immient threat of the M3 motorway. John Gormley, said in a department press release, 11 April 2008, that he did not see M3 motorway preventing the Hill of Tara from being nominated as a world heritage site. He said his department had engaged Dr Jukka Jokilehto, a member of ICOMOS to visit Tara and issue a report on it. It is these statements and actions that have as well as other failures to act, that have invoked the jurisdiction of international law.
- ICOMOS is an international non-governmental organization of professionals, dedicated to the conservation of the world’s historic monuments and sites, and is an offical Advistory Body to UNESCO, for purposes of implementing the World Heritage Convention. Both UNESCO and ICOMOS would also be in breach of the Convention by accepting the Minister's nomination of the Tara archaeological complex and cultural/natural landscape, without insisting that the M3 motorway is rerouted, while it still can be.
- National survey's have shown that 70% of Irish people want the M3 rerouted and an Irish Times online survey showed that 82% of people want Tara declared a UNESCO site.
- The World Monuments Fund have placed the Hill of Tara on the 2008 List of 100 Most Endangered Sites.

SIGNED

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[Published by TaraWatch.org, 4 June 2008]