Good Friday Newsflash from the Tara Foundation:

The mound upon which ancient Rath Lugh rests is now being sliced for the M3 Motorway.

The National Roads Authority has stated work is advancing on the M3 motorway in the area close to Rath Lugh where protestors have set up camp. Up to fifty Gardaí are said to be at the scene.
The NRA says it is putting in place what is known as a ‘box cut’, which outlines the road’s route. It is also building a quib wall and security fencing. It says the steps are being taken for health and safety reasons, and with the advice and consent of the Gardaí.
The NRA alleges that workers at Rath Lugh are being intimidated by protestors, and that a civil understanding reached with Lisa Feeney allowing for the fencing to be put in place has not been honoured. Previously the NRA had claimed that no agreement was reached with the tunnel protestor.

Protesters say Ms Feeney only agreed to come out of the tunnel on the night of 15th March 2008, after a deal was struck on with the National Roads Authority to halt work at the monument for a month.
On 17th March, St. Patrick's Day, Lisa Feeney stated that she had a "whale of time" underground and was pleased to have won a month-long moratorium on work at the site.

Work will not begin at Rath Lugh until April 17th, Lisa Feeney stated, giving M3 opponents enough time to mount further legal challenges to this contentious section of the road, which they say is too close to important heritage sites.
"There is a Supreme Court challenge in three weeks, so that will give us enough time to prepare for that", said Ms. Feeney.

Minister for the Environment and Green Party member John Gormley visited the Rath Lugh monument on March 20th, where he discussed preservation issues around the site with the Department’s archaeologists. Minister Gormley did not visit the M3 site or speak with protestors. A spokesman for the Department said that the Minister is satisfied that measures being proposed by the NRA will protect the national momument at Rath Lugh.

On March 1st, Poet and Nobel laureate Séamus Heaney described the M3 motorway as a ruthless desecration of the sacred landscape around the Hill of Tara.
Dr Jonathan Foyle, British chief executive of the World Monuments Fund, which placed Tara on its endangered sites list last year, likened the M3 motorway near the Hill of Tara to the destruction by Afghanistan’s Taliban regime in 2001 of the Bamiyan Buddhas.

Scrap the M3 Motorway, which will increase Carbon Emissions. Support a comprehensive railway system for Dublin and Meath!!!

Emergency call-out: Protests are ongoing on Rath Lugh and Soldiers Hill near Tara. As many people as possible are needed for the protests:
Protest Every Day at Soldiers Hill - but especially every Friday at 3pm

Directions to the Rath Lugh Camp:

By Car: Take the N3 from Dublin. Tara is halfway between Dunshaughlin and Navan. At Ross Cross, there is a pub on the left called "Tara na Ri", a yellow building with flat roof. Turn right here towards Skryne and Duleek. Go straight, and take the first right towards Skryne. This is a very windy road, and woodlands will be on the right hand side. Go straight through the crossoroads. Rath Lugh camp is on the right, on the sharp bend on the road. The entrance is a gap in the woods, usually with a few cars parked on the side of the road.

By Bus: Daily buses from Busáras, Dublin City Centre. Take the N3 towards Navan. Ask to get off at the Tara Na Ri Pub and follow directions above.
For further information: 0035386 1537146


Directions for the Tara Camp:

By Car: Take the N3 and then turn left at the Tara signpost

By Bus: Take either the Navan, Kells or Cavan bus, departing Busáras. Ask to get off after Tara Cross at the Lismullen bus stop and it is a short walk from there.

The vigil camp is located near the car-park at the Hill of Tara, about 200 metres on the right and a little in from the road. There are sign posts from the car-park.
For further information: 0035386 175 8557

To ring from NI or UK- replace first zero with 00353




Sources:

 http://www.tarawatch.org/

 http://www.savetara.com/articles/2008/031708_reprieve.html

 http://www.stonepages.com/news/archives/002723.html

 http://www.irishexaminer.com/text/story.asp?j=eyojojgbsnsncwcw&p=4557x7x8&n=45570746

 http://www.savetara.com/articles/2008/031608_surfaces.html

Tara Foundation 2008

To Contact:  http://www.tara-foundation.org

Website:  mail@tara-foundation.org