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.

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]

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

The Hill of Tara Round Table - Meeting One - 24 March

The Hill of Tara - Round Table - Meeting One

Be a part of the solution, not the problem!

Lectures and panel discussion, hosted by

The Centre for Medieval and Renaissance Studies, Trinity College Dublin and TaraWatch

Jonathan Swift Theatre - Trinity College Dublin

Tues, 24 March 2009 - 7.30 pm - 9.00 pm.

Admission free - All welcome

This will be Meeting One of the The Hill of Tara Round Table, a problem-solving initiative, aimed at finding a mutually beneficial solution to the Hill of Tara / M3 motorway problem.

There will be a focus on the UNESCO World Heritage Site nomination of the Hill of Tara, as well as the public consultation currently being conducted by the Department of the Environment, Heritage, and Local Government, on Ireland's List of Tentative UNESCO Sites.

There will also be lectures on the law of the human right to culture and the protection of cultural heritage sites in Ireland, in order to stimulate debate on the value of Tara, and cultural sites.

All stakeholders, such a heritage and environmental groups, community groups, historians and archaeologists, political parties and others interested in the Hill of Tara / M3 issue, are encouraged to participate in what will be a very challenging process - to find a solution for the M3 problem at Tara.

Speakers

- Sean Goggins (NUI Galway, Irish Centre for Human Rights) on human right to culture;

- Meghan Aibigail (NUI Galway/University of Texas Law School) on UNESCO and protecting cultural heritage;

- Sue Redican on the UNESCO nomination of the Great Blasket Islands;

- Vincent Salafia, TaraWatch - The UNESCO nomination of the Hill of Tara and other sites.

More information

Phone 3530871323365
Email: info@tarawatch.org

Sign our petition at http://www.savetarapetition.net

UK universities pension fund USS profits from M3 while Irish public pensions are cut to pay for construction

The Financial Times published a story called Ferrovial faces revolt over Cintra move on 11 March 2009. It described how toll company Cintra shareholders are rebelling against plans by construction Ferrovial, its parent comppany, to fully subsume Cintra. One of the group of investors rebelling is the Universities Superannuation Scheme (USS), which is the second largest pension fund for universities in the UK and Northern Ireland. Cintra is the tolling concessionaire for the M3 motorway, and Ferrovial is the construction company building it. Cintra shareholders, including USS, will profit from the M3, while pensions of public servants are being levied, in order to pay for the construction costs of the M3. Many academics in the UK and Northern Ireland, who protested against the M3, will be shocked to hear that it will be contributing to their pensions. Hundreds signed letters of protest to the M3, and they must now force USS to revolt and take an ethical stand on the M3. Such actions have occurred in the past, when People and Plant led a campaign for ethical investment in USS.

Tara campaign to give away money outside Government offices

Plush new Department of Finance offices - Merrion Row, Dublin

Breaking News - Ireland: 25/08/2008 - 12:22:46

Tara campaigners are to give money away to members of the public at noon tomorrow, outside the new Department of Finance offices on Baggot Street.

The gesture is being done to protest the Government's adherence to the National Development Plan, and the M3 motorway, despite the economic downturn.

Dressed as 'fat-cats', demonstrators will give passing members of the building trade €1 each. However, employees in the medical or educational fields will be given only 20 cents. Homeless people will not be given anything.

This is to symbolise what campaigners claim is an imbalance in Government priorities, where support for builders is higher than any other area of Irish society.

The action is being taken in response to Bertie Ahern's opinion piece in yesterday's Sunday Independent, calling for Taoiseach Cowen to ignore the financial crisis and proceed with the multi-billion investment in the NDP, and in particular the roads programme and Transport 21.

The takings from the TaraWatch benefit concert tonight at the Arts Club in Upper Fitzwilliam Street, Dublin will fund the giveaway.

Campaign spokesman Vincent Salafia said: "The economic justification for the NDP and the M3 has evaporated, with the economic downturn, and it is economic suicide to carry on as if nothing has happened.

"Fianna Fáil, mindlessly propped up by the Green Party and the Progressive Democrats, have clearly made a lot promises to their supporters in the building trade that they feel cannot be undone, no matter what logic it defies or what damage it does to the economy as a whole.

"We are demanding truly sustainable development, not the corrupted version we are being fed at the moment, that is harming rather than improving society as a whole."

COPY OF TARAWATCH RELEASE AND DETAILS OF EVENTS BELOW

NEW SAVE TARA PETITION WEB SITE www.savetarapetition.net

Dear Tara supporter,

Thank you to all of the 37,750 people who signed the original online petition to save the Hill of Tara from the M3 motorway in Ireland.

That small contrubution was very welcome, and all of those signatures were submitted to the Minister for Transport and the Minister for the Environment, as well as the Taoiseach himself, before he resigned. They also received significant media attention.

We now have a new peitition, addressed to UNESCO, ICOMOS and WAC, located at http://www.savetarapetition.net/

It is critical that we collect as many signatures as possible before the Sixth World Archaeological Congress (WAC-6), to be held in Dublin, beginning 29 June 2008, and the UNESCO World Heritage Committee meeting in Quebec, Canada, beginning 2 July 2008. WAC-6 will be holding a round table discussion about the ethics of the M3 and Tara.

The Minister for the Environment, John, Gormley, has proposed making Tara a UNESCO World Heritage Site, but with the M3 passing though the middle of it. We support the nomination to UNESCO, but want them to insist that the M3 is rerouted first.

So, please sign the new petition, forward the link to your friends, and post the link and logo on as many web sites as you can.

TaraWatch operates a SAVE TARA Cause application, on myspace and facebook. Our facebook cause has over 2,500 members, and the new myspace cause is is now ranked 1st amongst among new Envrionment causes. Please join us there, or join our email discussion list, with over 1,000 members.

If you would like to make a submission to WAC-6 or UNESCO, larger than that allowed for in the comment box of the petition, please email us at info@tarawatch.org

Thank you for your support,

TaraWatch

URGENT CALL for submissions and petition signatures to save Tara, Sixth World Archaeological Congress to meet in Dublin and discuss Tara/M3 29 June

URGENT! PLEASE SIGN THE NEW TARA PETITION

Irish Times - Breaking news: 'Archaeology event to discuss Tara'
Press Association - Archaeologists discuss Hill of Tara'
Melton Times (UK) - 'Archaeologists discuss Hill of Tara'

The Sixth World Archaeological Congress (WAC-6), will meet in Dublin from 29th June to 4th July, 2008, at University College Dublin, and will hold a round table session about the ethics of the Hill of Tara / M3 motorway issue. The World Archaeological Congress (WAC) is a non-governmental, not-for-profit organization and is the only archaeological organisation with elected global representation. WAC holds an international Congress every four years to promote the exchange of results from archaeological research; professional training and public education for disadvantaged nations, groups and communities; the empowerment and betterment of Indigenous groups and First Nations peoples; and the conservation of archaeological sites.

The co-organisers of the WAC Ethics Forum have selected the M3 Motorway/Hill of Tara "debate" as one of two themes to frame and discuss in public round table sessions. TaraWatch was informed yesterday by Dr Angela Labrador, Department of Anthropology, at the University of Massachussetts, Amherst, that WAC has identified them as a stakeholder for this debate. TaraWatch have been asked to submit a written position statement on the matter. This is part of the “Exploring WAC’s Approach(es) to Ethics Theme” sponsored by the WAC Standing Committee on Ethics.

Congress attendees are visiting Tara and Navan Forth Armagh for the WAC-6 Mid-Congress Tours on Wednesday 2nd July Tour 3:

"Tara and Navan – Royal Landscapes Tara in Co. Meath is associated with the high kingship of Ireland in the early medieval period. Emain Macha or Navan in Co. Armagh is the ancient capital of Ulster. Both sites are characterised by a range of archaeological sites going back in date to the Neolithic, but with a major monumental focus on the later prehistoric period. Tara and Navan both have enduring symbolic importance in modern Ireland and have been at the centre of recent debates about the impact of development."

Co-incidentally, TaraWatch launched an international online petition drive yesterday, asking UNESCO and ICOMS to intervene in the Hill of Tara issue. The petition is also addressed to “all those in attendance at WAC-6”. The petition states that it would be a breach of international law, for UNESCO and ICOMOS to declare the Hill of Tara a World Heritage site, with the M3 motorway being built through the middle of it. TaraWatch has agreed to participate in the forum. A comprehensive position statement is being prepared, with the co-operation of a number of historians, archaeologists and lawyers. The paper alleges that it would be a breach of professional ethics, as well as the World Heritage Convention, and other international charters, for UNESCO and ICOMOS to allow the M3 construction to proceed through the Tara landscape. It is of critical importance that the online petition receives as many signatures as possible, with as many comments as possible, from as many countries as possible, before the WAC-6 forum. Please do whatever you can to promote it. We already got 200 in the first 24 hours, so we're off to a good start.

WAC says it "seeks to promote interest in the past in all countries, to encourage the development of regionally-based histories and to foster international academic interaction. It is committed to the scientific investigation of the past, ethical archaeological practice and the protection of cultural heritage worldwide. It supports the empirical investigation and appreciation of the political contexts within which research is conducted and interpreted, and promotes dialogue and debate among advocates of different views of the past. WAC is committed to diversity and to redressing global inequities in archaeology through conferences, publications and scholarly programs. It has a special interest in protecting the cultural heritage of Indigenous peoples, minorities and economically disadvantaged countries, and encourages the participation of Indigenous peoples, researchers from economically disadvantaged countries and members of the public. Past Congresses have been held in England, Venezuela, India, South Africa and the USA. Patrons for past Congresses include Prince Charles (WAC-1), Nelson Mandela (WAC-4) and Harriet Fulbright (WAC-5). Selected papers from these conferences are published in the One World Archaeology Series."

NOTE - If you consider yourself a stakeholder, and want to make a submission on this, please forward it to info@tarawatch.org as soon as possible.

CALL FOR SUBMISSIONS on Hill of Tara / M3 motorway issue for Sixth World Archaeolocial Congress (WAC-6) round table sessionDeadline 12th June.

Please sign the new Tara petition to UNESCO/ICOMOS and WAC-6

TaraWatch recived notification on Thursday 5th June, from the WorldArchaeological Congress (WAC), Committee on Ethics, that we had been recognised as stakeholders in the ongoing Hill of Tara / M3 issue for the upcoming Sixth World Archaeological Congress, (WAC-6) to be held at University College Dublin, from the 29th June to 4th July.

We would like to extend the invitation to the public, and are offering to submit individual and group submissions, on their behalf. WAC have approved this process, and are anxious to hear from all converned parties. Submissions need to be made as soon as possible.
This is a massive boost for the Tara campaign, as it will be an opportunity for heritage experts and professionals from around the world will be looking at it from an objective and ethical standpoint. It is absolutely critical that this process is used to the utmost, to make the case for Tara, while there is still a whisper of time left to save it.

This notice is designed to share that news, and serve as a public consultation, under the laws principles and principles of Agenda 21, and sustainable development, which all public bodies, NGOs and stakeholders in the envionmental arena (including media outlets) are required to follow. Everyone has a stake in this issue, and a right to have their opinions heard. National surveys have shown that 70% of people want the M3 re-routed and an Irish Times survey showed that 82% of people surveyed think Tara should be a UNESCO site. Minister Gormley has responded that he will declare Tara a World Heritage Site, but with the motorway through it. We are campaigning to have UNESCO dcline that offer, and insist that the M3 is re-routed first.

Given the enormity of the issue, and the multiple events that have occurred over the last ten years, in relation to this project, compiling a complete dossier is a mammoth task, particularly when laws like the World Heritage Convention and the National Monuments Acts are applied to those facts, in an attempt to formulate arguments that are coherent. Expert affidavits, and technical reports make the mater all the more challenging. We are lucky to be working with some heritage experts, in this regard, but we need all of the information available, and as much co-operative assistance as possible. Hopefully, like with our successful World Monuments Fund - 100 Most Endangered Sites List nomination, we will get the job done.

The shortage of time in this matter is not our doing. We only received notice yesterday, that this issue would be raised and that we hold stakeholder status. Submissions need to be submitted in time for all the participants in the round table to have time to read and understand them - which is a week before the event, at a minimum. So, we are setting June 21, the Summer Solstice, as our date of submission. In order for us to process third party submissions, and integrate them into our own, we need to receive them at week before then, which brings us back to the 14th of June. So, we have a week to hear from as many people as possible. We are going to schedule a public event very shortly, which will explain the process in detail. In the meantime, there are a number of things you can do if you want to communicate your opinion on this matter to WAC-6, and indeed UNESCO and ICOMOS. If you prefer to stay anonymous, we will pass along the material as we are given it.

1. Please write a concise account of your opinions and/or experiences, in relation to this the Tara / M3 controversy. Address issues such as:
- why do you consider yourself a stakeholder/ why is Tara important to you?
- what is wrong/right with the M3 motorway, in relation to Tara?
- is this an indigenous rights, religious, philosophical, environmental, political, moral, economic, practical issue for you?
- what specific experiences have you had in relaiton to Tara?
- what specific experiences have you had in relation the authorities?
- what laws do you think apply?
- what solutions are available?
- how did it come to all this?

2. Place your statement into the online petition, as a comment, or mail it to info@tarawatch.org

TaraWatch launched an online petition on Wednesday 4th June 2008, addressed to UNESCO, ICOMOS and WAC-6 attendees. It was designed as a method of trying to raise the Tara issue with the WAC-6 delegates, as we were unaware that we would be invited to make a submission. Now, that peition is going to serve as a key part of our submission. It makes it easy for people to participate, and make their views known.

3. If you feel you want to assist further, there is a lot of work to be done compiling the full dossier. If you are interested in law, the environment, heritage, globalisation etc, and want to play a key role in making the case for Tara, on a world stage, please come and help us.
- please forward this notice to anyone you think might be a stakeholder
- please forward the petition link to all your contacts
- please try and attend the upcoming meeting, which will be noticed on TaraWatch.org
- please drop a line, and we'll find something for you to do.

Go raibh maith agaibh and thanks for your support!

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

_______________________________

[Published by TaraWatch.org, 4 June 2008]

Tara UNESCO Petition launch at ICOMOS Ireland meeting. Wed 4 June. Come and demonstrate!

The Hill of Tara is Ireland's ancient capital, and premier national monument. However, the Irish Government is planning to build a motorway through the Gabhra Valley between the Hill of Tara and the Hill of Skryne, County Meath, just 1000 metres from the top of the Hill. It was placed on the World Monuments Fund, List of 100 Most Endangered Sites, 2008, after being nominated by TaraWatch.

The Minister for the Environment, John Gormley, said in a department press release, April 2008 that he did not see M3 motorway preventing the Hill of Tara from being nominated as a world heritage site. Mr Gormley said that he believed it would be possible to take a series of initiatives to preserve the site. The initiatives would prevent “commercial spread” alongside the motorway, the Minister said. He also said a directive would be put in place to provide landscape protection. Mr Gormley commented that with these measures in place Tara could still meet the strict criteria for incorporation on the list of UN world heritage sites. Such criteria rely heavily on natural or man-made heritage being well preserved.

Referring to the review of the tentative list of proposed world heritage sites, Mr Gormley spoke of his desire to include the Hill of Tara national monument. He said his department had engaged Dr Jukka Jokilehto, a member of the International Council on Monuments and Sites (ICOMOS) to visit Tara and the other sites currently on what is known as the “tentative list” for inclusion.

ICOMOS is an international non-governmental organization of professionals, dedicated to the conservation of the world's historic monuments and sites.

Mr Gormley said Dr Jokilehto had “concluded that the Hill of Tara National monument has strong merit for inclusion in an application to Unesco for consideration as a world heritage site.

TaraWatch supports the nomination of the Hill of Tara archaeological complex and natural landscape to the UNESCO List of World Heritage Sites, but is opposed to the construction of the M3 motorway through the Tara-Skryne valley. The Minister for the Environment and the Irish Government have the power to reroute the M3 motorway, away from Tara.

We call on UNESCO and ICOMOS to support the nomination of the Hill of Tara to the World Heritage list, but to insist that the M3 be rerouted first. Allowing the M3 to proceed would destroy the integrity of the site, and be a breach of the World Heritage Convention, which Ireland signed in 1992.

ICOMOS Ireland is holding its AGM in Dublin next Wed, 4th June, at Royal Institute of Architects in Ireland, 8 Merrion Square, Dublin 2.

TaraWatch will use this occasion to launch the UNESCO/ICOMOS petition, reflecting the arguments made above. We will gather there at 9.00am, peacefully demonstrate, and give copies of the petition to ICOMOS members attending the meeting.

Contact: info@tarawatch.org - +353-87-132-3365

Aosdána, the national Irish arts organisation, unanimously passed a motion petitioning Minister Gormley over Tara / M3

Aosdána, the national Irish arts organisation, unanimously passed a motion at it's annual General Assembly, on Thursday, 8th May, agreeing with statements made by Seamus Heaney about the negative impact of running the M3 motorway through Tara.  The Irish Arts Council established Aosdána in 1981 to honour those artists whose work has made an outstanding contribution to the arts in Ireland, and to encourage and assist members in devoting their energies fully to their art. Aosdána members meet annually in a General Assembly, to elect new members, to review the affairs of the organisation and to discuss the position of the artist, and the arts in society. The following motion, proposed by Michael Holohan and seconded by Dermot Healy, was passed by the Assembly -

"That Aosdána supports the recent statement (in The Irish Times 1st/2nd March 2008) [below] by our fellow member Seamus Heaney that the surrounding archaeological landscape beside the ancient hill of Tara has been "desacralised" by the construction of the M3 motorway and consequently Aosdána calls upon the Minister for the Environment, Heritage and Local Government to strengthen the present legislation (National Monuments Act 2004) immediately in order to prevent the further destruction of our other national archaeological sites"

Further reading: Sunday Tribune - A portrait of the artists ignoring the elephant in the drawing room

Heaney claims motorway near Tara desecrates sacred landscape

The Irish Times - Saturday, March 1, 2008

POET AND Nobel laureate Séamus Heaney has described the M3 motorway as a ruthless desecration of the sacred landscape around the Hill of Tara, in a BBC documentary to be broadcast today at 11.30am on Radio Ulster, writes Frank McDonald, Environment Editor

In the same programme, Dr Jonathan Foyle, British chief executive of the World Monuments Fund, which placed Tara on its endangered sites list last year, likened the motorway to the destruction by Afghanistan's Taliban regime in 2001 of the Bamiyan Buddhas. In his interview with BBC reporter Diarmaid Fleming, Prof Heaney said the motorway "literally desecrates an area - I mean the word means to desacralise' and, for centuries, the Tara landscape and the Tara sites have been regarded as part of the sacred gound".

Referring to the 1916 Proclamation having summoned the Irish people "in the name of the dead generations", he said: "If ever there was a place that deserved to be preserved in the name of the dead generations from pre-historic times . . . it was Tara".  Prof Heaney added: "I suppose Tara means something equivalent to me to what Delphi means to the Greeks or maybe Stonehenge to an English person or Nara in Japan . . .It conjures up what they call in Irish dúchas, a sense of belonging a sense of patrimony, a sense of an ideal.  "The traces on Tara are in the grass, in the earth. They aren't spectacular like temple ruins in Greece but they are about origin, they're about beginning, they're about the mythological, spiritual source - something that gives the country its distinctive spirit."

He recalled that WB Yeats, George Moore and Arthur Griffith had written a letter to   The Irish Times (below) complaining that the British Israelites, who thought the Ark of the Covenant was buried at Tara, were desecrating a "consecrated landscape" by digging there.So, I thought to myself, if a few holes in the ground made by amateur archaeologists was a desecration, what's happening to that whole countryside being ripped up [for the M3] is certainly a much more ruthless piece of work," Prof Heaney said. According to Dr Foyle, the entire Tara complex "is the equivalent of Stonehenge, Westminster Abbey for its royal associations and Canterbury for its Christian associations all rolled into one" yet it was being destroyed "to shave 20 minutes off a journey time".

Support SAVE TARA, by installing the Causes application on your Myspace

For more information please visit www.tarawatch.org

Professor George Eogan TaraWatch interview at Rath Lugh, 21 March 2008

Interview with professor George Eogan on Rath Lugh national monument, Hill of Tara.

By Vincent Salafia, TaraWatch, March 21 2008.

The National Roads Authority have just erected a metal fence, to keep protesters from interfering with M3 motorway construction works, which are directly impacting the Rath Lugh national monument, and severing the archaeological complex.

George Eogan

Director of Knowth Research Project and Professor Emeritus of Archaeology, University College, DublinGeorge Eogan (Ph.D., Trinity College, Dublin) is a leading expert in the archaeology of Ireland, with particular interest in the Neolithic and Late Bronze Ages. He is the Director of the Knowth Research Project and has been excavating at Knowth for more than 40 years as part of his investigation of the Passage Tomb builders in Ireland and Western Europe. Professor Eogan is a native of Ireland and has taught and lectured extensively on the country’s archaeology. Now Professor Emeritus of Archaeology, University College, Dublin, his archaeological research has led to approximately 90 papers and nine books, including The Accomplished Art: Gold and Gold-working in Britain and Ireland During the Bronze Age (Oxbow Books, 1994), Knowth and the Passage Tombs of Ireland (Thames and Hudson, 1986), and (with M. Herity) Ireland in Prehistory (Routledge & Kegan Paul, 1977).

Townsend Urges People to Let Their Voices be Heard and Save Tara

Charlize Theron and Stuart Townsend at the Meteor Music Awards in Dublin

PRESS RELEASE

TARAWATCH.org

16 February 2008

'Townsend Urges People to Let Their Voices be Heard and Save Tara'

Dublin-born actor Stuart Townsend spoke out again against the M3 motorway being built in the Hill of Tara archaeological complex today at the premiere of his film 'Battle in Seattle' at the Dublin International Film Festival.

Written and directed by Townsend and starring Charlize Theron, 'Battle in Seattle' was screened at the Savoy in Dublin today at 11am and was followed by a post-screening discussion with the pair.

'Battle in Seattle' chronicles the protests at the World Trade Organisation meeting in Seattle in 1999 and marks Townsend's feature directing debut.

During the discussion, he commented that:

"If more people had protested against the idea of building a road on such as important site, the Government would not have even tried to go ahead with it.

But he stressed it was not too late to reverse the project, and said:

"People should let their voices be heard. This fim shows what people power can do, and Tara should be no different.

His comments come at a critical time in the campaign, with a new High Court challenge launched last week by Gordon Lucas, and with ever-increasing bitter clashes between demonstroators and construction workers on the site.

Vincent Salafia of TaraWatch said:

"Even though we have won the hearts and minds battle on this issue, with 2/3 of Irish people opposed to the M3 route in a recent Red C Opinion poll, our challenge is enabling people to forcefully express that opinion.

"We hope Stuarts consistent vocal opposition stirs a change of heart in the administration, and inspires more of the public to speak out.

"Stuart has also been working very hard behind the scenes to lobby Minister Gormley on this issue.

"We hope today's comments will help to put the matter into prespective for the Government, and will give the campaign a wider international profile.

ENDS

Video of Jonathan Rhys Meyers protesting on Hill of Tara, Ireland, against M3 motorway

Jonathan Rhys Meyers and Stuart Townsend on the Hill of Tara

Irish actor

Jonathan Rhys Meyers, of The Tudors, is interviewed by Vincent Salafia of TaraWatch on the Hill of Tara, Ireland and speaks out against the M3 motorway plan which will 'urbanise' the area. Taken during the making of a human harp being, consisting of 3000 people, being photographed by John Quigley on 23 September 2007.

Click here to view video [Filmed by Mel Cannon of Cannon Productions]

View slide show of images taken during the making of the human harp

Listen to audio of radio interview with Vincent Salafia

Aerial images by Paula Geraghty

New song by Rónán Ó Snodaigh in support of TaraWatch available on myspace

The song Sruth an Ath was written and performed by Rónán Ó Snodaigh, singer and bodhrán(drum) player with Kíla, one or Ireland's top traditional bands. You can listen to it on myspace.

The song was recorded for TaraWatch, who are campaigning to save the Hill of Tara Ireland's ancient capital and premier national monument, from the M3 motorway. It will appear on the forthcoming TaraWatch album 'Tara of the Kings', which will feature artists like Eamon Carr (of Horslips) & Richie Buckley - Paddy Casey - Mundy - Liam Ó Maonlaí - Mic Christopher - Camille O'Sullivan - Larry Beau - Kila - Eoin Dillon and many other Irish artists. The single was engineered by Dave Slevin at Virtu Studios

Sign the Save Tara Petition to Minister Gormley

09 July 2007: Today TaraWatch launched a new petition, calling on Minister for the Environment, Heritage and Local Government, to save the Hill of Tara archaeological complex from the M3 motorway development. The launch took place outside Green Party headquarters in Dublin.

Evening Echo News: Tara campaigners launch M3 petition

Irish Times: Group calls for change to M3 route

Petition to Minister Gormley, Minister for the Environment, Heritage and Local Government, to Declare the Entire Hill of Tara Archaeological Complex a National Monument and Re-route the M3 Motorway.

THE HILL OF TARA archaeological complex, Ireland's premier national monument and most sacred landscape, is under dire threat from imminent bisection by construction of the M3 motorway.

As Minister for the Environment, Heritage and Local Government, you have a constitutional imperative to give the highest level of statutory protection possible to the national monument. That includes all its individual components, many of which lie in the pathway of the M3, and are national monuments in their own right.

You were aware that the Director of the National Museum had stated that the massive enclosure at Baronstown should have been declared a national monument. Yet, it was demolished on your watch, after you ignored calls to place a Temporary Preservation Order on the site.

You have stated that you cannot alter the route of the M3, unless there is a "material change in circumstances", from those considered by Minister Dick Roche, who ordered the demolition of the newly discovered national monument; the Lismullin henge. There have in fact been many material changes, beyond the scope of the Lismullin file, including:

1. The inclusion of the Hill of Tara on the World Monuments Fund's List of 100 Most Endangered Sites is a material change in circumstances that was no considered by Minister Roche.

2. The fact that the EU has stated that the National Development Plan, as well as its M3 project, may be in breach of EU law constitutes a material change in circumstances. A report will issue in September 2007 from the Petitions Committee, and you should use the precautionary principle here, and halt the works in question, to prevent more irreversible damage to the delicate ancient remains.

3. The fact that an underground or 'souterrain' complex in Lismullin has been discovered is a material change in circumstances. It has been described as a "very significant" site by leading expert Professor George Eogan and should be declared a national monument.

4. The fact that you have been put on notice that the legal definition of a national monument is not being applied to these sites, or all monuments in Ireland, is a material change in circumstances. You have been advised by Conor Newman of a systemic flaw in the methodology for classification of national monuments currently being employed by the Chief State Archaeologist.

5. The Stern Report on the Economic Effects of Climate Change is a material change in circumstances that was not considered by Minister Roche, as it should have been. The M3 motorway was planned and approved in 2003, using radically outdated analysis.Due to the above material changes in circumstances you now have the legal power under the National Monuments Act to protect the Tara complex and to re-route the M3 motorway. We demand that you immediately halt all works within the Tara complex and declare the entire complex, as well as all the monuments within it, to be national monuments.Stop the Tara scandal now!

Sincerely,

The Undersigned

PRESS RELEASE

TARAWATCH.org

10 July 2007

'Gormley Must Save Tara' Petition 2nd in Online Ranking After 24 Hours

The petition launched yesterday calling on John Gormley, Minister for
the Environment, to declare the entire Hill of Tara archaeological
complex a national monument and re-route the M3, is the second higest
traffic of any other petition on the main World Wide Web petition site
http://www.petitiononline.com.

TaraWatch is asking all Irish media outlets to treat the petition as a
public service, and supply the public with the internet address, so
they have an opportunity to express their opinion to Minister Gormley.

The petition, was officially launched yesterday outside Green Party
offices in Dublin, where TaraWatch members received a very stropng
response from passing members of the public, collecting over 500
signatures in the first hour.

The petition was also launched online at 1.00am on Monday morning, on
the http://www.tarawatch.org site. Over 1,500 people have already
signed the petition online at
http://www.petitiononline.com/taram3/petition.html

The aim of the petition is to collect as many signatures as possible in
a seven day period, and deliver them to Green Party offices next
Monday.

Recent online polls have on Ireland.com indicated that 82% of
respondents think Tara should be declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site
and 74% want the M3 rerouted.

TaraWatch is also organising with campaigners via the Internet to hold
a series of protests at Irish embassies and consulates world wide this
Friday, including the US, Canada, Australia, the UK and other Europeans
countries.

Laura Grealish said:

"The Tara/M3 is a massive issue worldwide and on the Internet, which
many Irish at home are not aware of. The Archaeological Institute of
America is also featuring the story on the cover of their web site,
archaeology.org."

"We would love to the see Irish media give the public an opportunity to
clearly express their views, so we can deliver them to the Minister."

"I think the Minister will be surprised at the passion such a large
number of people have over this issue.


ENDS

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

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RECENT IRELAND.COM POLLS

Do you think the Hill of Tara should be added to Unesco's list of World
Heritage Sites?

82% YES

18% NO


Should the M3 be rerouted away from Tara?

74% YES

26% NO