M3 motorway protesters
claim
- to have entered tunnel under road
By - Harry McGee.
CAMPAIGNERS AGAINST the M3 motorway claim they have
stepped up their campaign by occupying a tunnel they say
they have secretly dug under the proposed route that
passes through the Tara Valley in Co. Meath.
A group calling itself the Rath Lugh Direct Action Camp
last night said protesters are already occupying the
tunnel and were capable of sealing themselves in. They
said that construction traffic passing over the tunnel
would leave it vulnerable to collapse.
Derek Berrill, a spokesman for the group which is
affiliated to the Save Tara campaign, said the passageway
was located in front of the Rath Lugh promontory fort in
the Gabhra Valley.
"It has been occupied since March 6th. We have moved in
because we are never too sure when they plan the next
move against us", said Mr. Berrill.
He said that work had commenced on the tunnel in secret
in August 2007. He would not specify its exact size. "I
can say the tunnel is big, although I am not in a
position to give the diameter", said Mr. Berrill.
"It goes directly down and then goes halfway under the
route itself, crossing about halfway across [the width of
the proposed] motorway".
The protesters say they intend to occupy the tunnel
indefinitely to prevent construction traffic from passing
overhead.
They say they also want to draw attention to what they
say is continued erosion of the landscape from
construction traffic.
Mr. Berrill said they were "absolutely certain" that the
tunnel itself would not cause damage.
Michael Egan of the National Roads Authority said there
was no independent verification as yet that any tunnel
had been built.
Entering a caveat that protesters have claimed actions in
the past that did not materialise, Mr. Egan said that if
a tunnel had been dug then the contractor, and if
necessary the Garda Síochána, would have to
deal with the situation.
"They have no right to be on that property. They are
trespassing above and below the ground", he said.
The Department of Environment said it had no reason to
believe that any activity close to Rath Lugh was
endangering or damaging the monument.
Minister for the Environment John Gormley's spokesman
said that issues surrounding the construction of the road
were matters for the Department of Transport and the
authority.
The spokesman said that Mr. Gormley yesterday signed a
permanent protection order for the Rath Lugh promontory
fort - until now it has been protected by a temporary
order. This order, he said, was a coincidence unrelated
to yesterday's development.
He added that the department was unaware as to the
existence of a tunnel.
© The Irish Times, 8th. March 2008.
Related Articles:
Statement from Rath Lugh Direct Action Camp.
Video
footage from within Rath Lugh Tunnel.
