Motorway will destroy
history
Imagine the outcry if the Egyptian government announced
plans to build a tolled motorway through the
archaeological important areas surrounding the Pyramids?
Yet, here in Ireland, such a plan is being
considered.
Meath County Council, the National Roads Authority and An
Bord Pleanála have passed and approved the
construction of a toll motorway from Kells, through the
Tara-Skryne Valley, to Dublin. Despite the NRA's own
report, submissions from eminent historians,
archaeological experts and locals, the proposed road will
go ahead.
Built as a private venture at the estimated cost of
€680m, it will bring commuters through the
beautiful, unspoilt, historical lands surrounding the
Hill of Tara, taking a matter of minutes off the journey.
Thousands of year's history destroyed for the sake of
saving less than half an hour.
I have visited the Hill of Tara a number of times over
the last few years, most recently with my children and
visitors from abroad. I have noted that discoveries are
still being made in and around the site and that digs are
ongoing.
Surely it makes more sense to take the alternative route,
as proposed by the NRA's own advisors, away from the
areas of such historical wealth.
JIM HEFFERNAN,
Temple Gardens,
Santry,
Dublin 9.
© The Sunday Tribune, 5th. December, 2004.
