Council chairman`s attack
- on "time-wasting" M3 protestors
By - Ann Casey.
THE M3 motorway protestors have been told they should
"leave Ireland for Afghanistan and join the Taliban" by
Meath County Council Cathaoirleach, Nick Killian.
Speaking at the opening of the 28th. Local Authority
Members Association (LAMA) conference in Knightsbrook
Hotel in Trim, he described the protestors as
"time-wasters" and "a plague on society" and suggested
they would find their true vocation in mysticism and
heritage with the Taliban.
In a further strongly-worded attack on those opposing the
route of the M3 through the Tara-Skryne valley, Colr.
Killian said they should leave their "wigwams" at Rath
Lugh, where they had "desecrated the area by
camping".
The council chairman went on: "We have suffered with a
plethora of protesters over the construction of the M3
and the false claim that we are putting the road through
the Hill of Tara. Nothing could be further from the
truth, as the new M3 is 1.8km away from the Hill of Tara.
The sheer nonsense of the recent protest, mainly from
people with little else to do, who are not even residents
of the county, have cost this county dearly", he told the
gathering of councillors from all over the country.
He said that Meath's 29 councillors were proud of Meath's
strong heritage - "Newgrange, Knowth, Dowth, Tara, the
wonderful castle here in Trim, plus many more sites along
our Boyne Valley".
"As far as the residents of this county are concerned, we
need this motorway for the future economic well-being of
our county and the continued development of our northern
counties on the north-east corridor, as well as for the
safety and comfort of motorists".
He said that new residents had come to Meath to live in a
county that had a lot to offer in terms of a way of life,
"where the rural pursuits and traditional pastimes of
horse-racing, hunting and fishing are enjoyed, where our
equine industry employs thousand of people and where
traditional rural families can continue to live in the
communities they were born into and where decisions on
rural one-off housing are not interfered with, by
officials whose view on life is on the River Liffey".
Colr. Killian welcomed the delegates to Meath and said he
was very pleased to welcome representatives of the
National Association of Councillors from Northern
Ireland, representatives from a number of Northern
Ireland`s councils and also from councils in the United
Kingdom.
He paid tribute to the excellent work of councillors from
both the south and north of Ireland who have formed a
body called the North South Federation of Councillors,
which promotes contacts and assists towards building
peace and reconciliation in the island of Ireland.
He also acknowledged the hard work of county secretary,
Bill Sweeney, and his staff, as well as Colr. Jimmy
Cudden, in preparing for the conference.
© The Meath Chronicle, 5th. April 2008.
