Celebs join
forces- to protest over M3
- at historic site
By - Maeve Quigley.
Hollywood star Stuart Townsend lay on the Hill of Tara yesterday for his most unusual photocall yet.
Dubliner Stuart swapped the red carpet for the green fields when he joined protesters to create a giant human harp on the hillside as part of the Save Tara campaign.
He said: "It's been unbelievable. There must be 1000 people here and it is a magnificent sight".
"It's been an extraordinary day and great fun for everyone involved".
The 34 year-old Howth man has given his time to the campaign to stop development of the M3 motorway through the historic site in Co. Meath.
And he called on the Government to open dialogue with the protesters to find an alternative to the current route.
Stuart said: "The Hill of Tara was Ireland's religious and political centre for hundreds of years".
"Daniel O'Connell came up here with 100,000 for Catholic emancipation and before him Tara was used by the druids, the High Kings and the Fianna".
"Tara is the sacred and spiritual heart and we have to save it and preserve it. There is an alternative route which is much more sustainable and we are hoping that the Government will open up a dialogue and consider other options".
"We will keep the pressure on and we will continue to campaign until the Government listens to us".
"The pressure is building and the momentum is growing because so many people out there realise that you can have both prosperity and sustainability".
"Irish people want a good environment too".
Stuart said Ireland's cultural heritage was not only important historically but had great value as a tourist attraction.
He added: "There is a huge potential to create thousands of jobs from our cultural heritage and that is what the Government have to realise".
"Ireland's cultural heritage is one of the richest in the planet". Stuart has taken time out from promoting his latest film Battle in Seattle which premiered at the Toronto Film Festival to spearhead the Save Tara campaign.
He wrote and directed the new film which stars his partner Charlize Theron and centres on the five days of the World Trade Organisation riots in the American city.
But Charlize could not attend the demo because she is filming.
Stuart refused to talk about recent reports that the couple were married after they were spotted wearing matching Claddagh rings.
But he said Charlize would love to have been part of the human harp on the hill.
He added: "Charlize is working in L.A. but she is here in spirit. She's very much into animal rights and I am more interested in the environment".
"But I think everyone should be outraged at the plans to put a motorway over the sacred heart of Ireland".
Stuart was joined on the demonstration by fellow Hollywood star Jonathan Rhys Meyers.
And aerial photographer John Quigley took a photograph of the "human harp" to highlight the plight of Tara around the world.
© Irish Daily Mirror, 24th. September 2007.
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