Anger over "pressure" on Tara
tunnel protester
By - Anne-Marie Walsh.
The National Roads Authority has been accused of using
"psychological pressure" to force a subterranean
eco-warrior out of her tunnel.
Paddy O'Kearney said his former girlfriend Lisa "Squeak"
Feeney (26), is 'rattled' after abandoning her protest
against the M3, following pleas by her dad.
The Dublin-based bicycle courier started her protest near
the motorway building works last Thursday but finally
surfaced on Saturday night.
She had brought supplies and a book by Padraig Pearse to
help get through a planned two-month stay in a 33-foot
deep tunnel near the historic Rath Lugh fort, near
Tara.
Her underground occupation was part of a protest to stop
the motorway cutting through an area that is dotted with
ancient ruins and historic sites.
Her father Jim, a hotelier pal of Taoiseach Bertie Ahern,
persuaded her to end her campaign.
Ms. Feeney, from Kerry, also succeeded in getting an
offer from the National Roads Authority to postpone work
at the site until April 17th.
"She's in good health but is a bit rattled and was under
an extreme amount of psychological pressure", said her
ex-boyfriend Paddy O'Kearney last night. "It was quite
brutal".
"The NRA was constantly worrying her parents by telling
them she was in grave danger, when for them, it was just
a case of their mounting costs".
He denied reports that Taoiseach Bertie Ahern had given
her a "dig out" of any kind and said he had nothing to do
with the ending of the protest.
Ms. Feeney was recovering from her ordeal with her family
in Tralee yesterday and is planning to take a few days
off next week.
The psychology graduate does not see the abandonment of
her sit-in as a defeat.
However, there were mixed feelings among over 30 members
of the Rath Lugh Direct Action Camp who continued their
campaign overground yesterday.
Protester Terry Canty said it was difficult not to see it
as a defeat.
© The Irish Independent, 17th. March 2008.
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