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HARPERS OF IRELAND AT DÁIL TO SAVE TARA
On Saturday 22nd
September 2007 at 3 p.m. the harpers of Ireland will gather at Dáil Éireann to
demonstrate publicly the strength of their opposition to the destruction of
historic cultural sites at the Tara/Skryne Valley as a result of the current
route of the M3 motorway. The harpers will assemble with their harps along
Kildare Street, and will submit a petition to Minister John Gormley insisting he
implement alternatives to the continued destruction which is taking
place. Ireland is unique in having a musical instrument, the harp, as
its national emblem. This indicates the primacy of the harp in Irish culture.
The sites currently under threat are inextricably linked with the harping and
bardic traditions for more than 2,500 years. Tara was the gathering
place for thousands of harpers to 142 kings, and the harp was an integral part
of the ancient Irish parliament at Tara. The harp has been used in the coat of
arms of Ireland since 1270 and is the symbol of the Irish State today. It is
found in the seals of the President, Taoiseach, Tánaiste, Government Ministers,
on State currency and is the insignia of the Irish Law Courts. It is an
outrage that the Irish people should be forced to choose between infrastructure
and heritage. As a country we are embarrassed internationally by profit-driven,
shortsighted planning as exemplified by the fact that World Monument Fund has
placed Tara on its list of 100 most endangered sites worldwide. Many can
rightly point out that it would be an archaeological loss, and a historical one.
It is also a spiritual loss, since even before the conversion by St Patrick of
Ireland’s High Kings it was a place where the Irish sought to express their
spirituality. And significantly for us as a nation, it was the place of birth of
Christianity in Ireland. The gathering of harpers says that it is also a
musical and cultural loss and asserts that the sound of Tara’s harp will not be
drowned by traffic jams and the cash registers of toll plazas. Further
information from www.myspace.com/TaraHarpers Laoise Kelly Tel. 086 2603405 or
laoise.kelly@face.ie Anne-Marie O’Farrell 01-2966222 or 087-2348964 or
amofharp@iol.ie
Tara Harper's PETITION HARPERS FOR
TARA
Dear Minister,
We, the undersigned HARPERS OF IRELAND,
strongly object to the continued destruction of historic cultural sites at the
Tara/Skryne valley as a result of the current route of the M3 motorway. If these
sites are destroyed it will also have been an intentional and willful
destruction of the home of the national symbol of Ireland. Ireland is
unique in having a musical instrument, the harp, as its national emblem. This
indicates the primacy of the harp in Irish culture. The sites currently under
threat are inextricably linked with the harping and bardic traditions for more
than 2,500 years. Tara was the gathering place for thousands of
harpers to 142 kings, and the harp was an integral part of the ancient Irish
parliament at Tara. The harp has been used in the coat of arms of Ireland since
1270 and is the symbol of the Irish State today. It is found in the seals of the
President, Taoiseach, Tánaiste, Government Ministers, on State currency and is
the insignia of the Irish Law Courts. Many of the undersigned harpers
have represented Ireland all over the world. We wish to continue to do so with
pride in a country, which provides necessary transport infrastructure without
destroying its valuable and irreplaceable cultural heritage. We ask you
to act without delay in rerouting the M3 motorway away from the Tara/Skryne
valley using the shorter, cheaper route that does not impact so disastrously on
our shared cultural heritage.
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