Heavy machinery has been working near Lismullin attempting to re direct the Sacred Gabhra River. Protestors have been successfully holding them off for hours at a time delaying the desacration. The NRA need to complete this work while the weather is good or hold off til next season! So this protest is More than Crucial. Support is needed now! 2 people were arrested today in an effort to draw attention to what is happening. Your support is needed urgently. Gardai have been happy to let people walk away so arrest is your own buisness. Peaceful Protest is a powerful method. That said, how can you do NOTHING? Now that directions to Rath Lugh are up here ,there is no excuse. See ye at the March, which I hope will be the best attended yet. Blessings, Carmel ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ letter from Dr Muireann ni Brolchain Tara CallingUrgent Call If now you, then who? If not now, then when? 086 1758 557 086 1537 146 This must stop! For the past 5 working days heavy machinery has been trying to divert the sacred Gabhra River where it passes within 30m of the newly discovered wooden henge at Lismullen. Huge cement pipes have been laid and 2 large diggers dig between the archaeological portacabins and the henge. This blatant malpractice is yet another token example of the lack of respect the construction contractors have in this archaeological landscape. As the henge was declared a national monument in April and the fact the EU have told the Irish Government to stop work as it is illegal you would think they would have the gumption to break the law discreetly, or at least as discreetly as they are doing it at Rath Lugh. Rath Lugh - yet another national monument - sits about 100m east of the henge. It It is one of the 7 outer defense forts of the ancient city of Tara, its ditches and horse shoe shaped enclosure are still magnificently visible among the beautiful Coillte forest on the hill. According to the NRA the toll road should be 110m away. Unfortunately last Stephen's Day, a company called Sean Delamere came in and cut a huge section of the ancient forest and exposed the side of the hill. A company called Will's Bros are at present digging away creating a cliff face of this ancient Fianna fort. The sacred Gabhra stream runs along past Rath Lugh on the South, turning right around the henge into Lismullen woods, with its huge badger sets and collapsed souterrain. Again and again locals have tried to show ACS and the NRA archaeologists the structure in the heart of the woods as it resembles the souterrain found on the site. Alas as it is not in CPO land, even if only be a few feet, it is not their priority. As work by heavy machinery continues clues to the fingerprint of Ireland are lost forever. Thuggery and corruption taint the air in the sacred Gabhra valley as the dawn chorus on Rath Lugh competes withe the wild cats and their huge engines. Where is the owl that perched above my tent last March? As a local woman said at the vigil fire "Sure the Celtic Tiger isn't an indigenous animal to Ireland". This fire has been burning since June 21st 06 as a beacon of hope for Tara as this onslaught ravages the everchanging landscape. The family alcohol free camp is a beautiful example of the educational and inspirational possibilities of the proposed World Heritage Park. From Skryne Castle (the best view of the valley) looking out over Rath Lugh, Baronstown and Collierstown now meander along the Gabhra River through the valley the proposed M3 tollroad or proposed Heritage Park is visible as the long brown strip cutting through the green fields and woods. The camp at Rath Lugh is a much more active camp, people have taken to the trees as the NRA have moved the CPO fence several times into the woods, cutting more trees each time. We question the validity of an EIS statement with such blurred perimeters. Supplies and support are needed here now as the seasons change and Winter approaches. The lively gang are up for the craic and the kettle is always on. Daily direct action, passive resistance and peaceful protests are ongoing throughout the valley. 086 1758 557 //////////////////////////////////////////////////////////// Letter Irish Examiner, 17 September 2007 Route to scandal MOST people I know agree with me that the M3 was most likely another brown paper bag scandal. Fine Gael agreed with the routing, so at the last election both of the main parties were deemed to be corrupt. That’s why voters saw no point in ousting Fianna Fáil. People are sick of all the tribunals because they make no difference. Strange decisions are still being taken with no reasonable explanations and the documents relating to these decisions are routinely withheld. Pauline Bleach 26A Cois Cuain Salthill Galway //////////////////////////////////////////////// [This just came in this morning] Dear Muireann, did you hear already about the ICCs letter to Mr John Gormley? It was sent following a unanimous vote in favour of such a letter, at the closing session of the Congress. I attach a copy of this letter below. All the best, Gisbert %%%%%%%%%%%%%% Dr. Gisbert Hemprich 16 August 2007 Mr John Gormley, TD Minister for the Environment Custom House Dublin 1 A Aire Uasail, a chara, At its closing session on Friday 27 July, the assembled delegates to the XIII International Celtic Congress, Rheinische Friedrich-Wilhelms-Universität, Bonn, instructed us to send you this letter, to protest most vigorously against the destruction of the environs of Tara and of other historic and prehistoric sites in Ireland, such as Lismullin. These are essential parts of the Celtic and pre-Celtic inheritance not only of Ireland but of the whole of European civilisation. We urge you, Minister, to reverse these official decisions and to act decisively as the protector of Europe’s cultural heritage. Yours sincerely William Gillies Professor of Celtic, Edinburgh University President of the Permanent Bureau for the International Congress of Celtic Studies Anders Ahlqvist Professor Emeritus of Old and Middle Irish and Celtic Philology, NUI, Galway Secretary of the of the Permanent Bureau for the International Congress of Celtic Studies |
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