NRA restarts work
- claiming M3 protesters broke truce
By - Tim O'Brien and Adam
Harvey at Rath Lugh.
THE NATIONAL Roads Authority (NRA) has withdrawn its
commitment to refrain from work on the M3 near Rath Lugh
in Co. Meath, after what it said was continual "violent
protests", and damage to fencing and equipment.
Instead the NRA yesterday instructed contractor Eurolink
to bring forward work on a "box cut" - an outline for a
future road - within the construction zone at Rath
Lugh.
The authority said the outline would demonstrate that the
M3 would not encroach on the national monument or the
protection zone around it.
Protesters reacted with dismay at the move, saying they
had been trying to stop work on the Rath Lugh "esker" - a
glacial ridge - since last September, on the grounds that
it is an integral part of the 2,000-year-old fort.
Gardaí moved on to the site yesterday to allow
workers to build a two-metre tall spiked steel fence to
separate the construction site from a protest
encampment.
At the same time, gardaí searched tents in the
protest encampment.
By early afternoon excavators and trucks had removed the
portion of the hillside that had stood in the motorway's
path. The esker was the last obstacle in the path of the
motorway through the Gabhra Valley, which runs close to
the Hill of Tara.
Three protesters were arrested at the site yesterday,
said Insp. Pat Gannon from Navan Garda station. He said
gardaí had searched the protesters' tents to look
for weapons. None were found.
In a separate move yesterday, Minister for the
Environment John Gormley visited the national monument
and inspected maps and plans for the new road before
declaring himself satisfied that the NRA proposals, if
implemented as proposed, would result in the protection
of the monument.
A spokesman for the NRA acknowledged that it had made a
commitment on Saturday last to protester Lisa Feeney to
have a one-month moratorium on construction work near
Rath Lugh in order to persuade Ms. Feeney to leave the
tunnel she had occupied for more than 60 hours.
However, the authority said it understood that in return
the protesters would not interfere with a "haulage road"
and fence being constructed to allow the contractor to
move plant and equipment past Rath Lugh.
The NRA said matters worsened last Tuesday when the
contractor "sought to erect fencing on the project
boundary line, which is outside the area covered by the
national monument preservation order".
"In addition the contractor sought to commence the
construction of the haul road that had been clarified
with the tunnel protester on Saturday evening. In both
areas violent protests ensued and the contractor ceased
work due to safety concerns for his operatives and the
protesters".
The NRA also said contractor's equipment had been daubed
with excrement and urine, something which was later
confirmed by the Garda press office, which added that
such daubing had been going on for the last week.
However, Ms. Feeney said yesterday she had no knowledge
of violent demonstrations and said her fellow protesters
were engaged in a peaceful protest. She said she had
heard nothing about vehicles being interfered with in any
way.
Ms. Feeney also maintained that the creation of a fence
was never agreed with the NRA. The only contact
protesters had with the fence that she had been aware of
was in relation to people crawling under it, she
said.
Ms. Feeney said she could not see why the NRA had reneged
on its commitment to a moratorium on construction work
"as I have kept my side of the bargain, I came out of the
tunnel".
Dr. Muireann Ní Bhrolcháin of the Save Tara
Campaign also said she have not heard anything about such
incidents, adding that she sincerely hoped they had not
happened.
Paddy O'Kearney, a spokesman for the Rath Lugh Direct
Action group, said it was very upset that its efforts had
failed.
"There isn't anything we can do," he said, gesturing
towards dozens of gardaí lining the newly-built
fence.
Of the claims that protesters threw excrement, or damaged
construction fencing, he said: "It's absolutely not
true".
A few protesters tried to run on to the construction site
yesterday afternoon but were held back by workers and
gardaí.
Others stood in a circle as a robed "druid" conducted a
memorial service for the esker.
© The Irish Times, 21st. March 2008.
Related Articles:
Violence ends deal with motorway protesters.
Commencement
Rath Lugh Works. Statement, NRA.
NRA
Move in Diggers as Gormley Exits Site. Statement,
STC.
Activist says extra land lets M3 avoid Rath Lugh
site.
