Killing the Golden
Goose
Dear sir - What a formidable task the newly elected
directors of the Meath Tourism Board have taken upon
themselves! How do you promote tourism in a county that
is about to have its heart and soul ripped out?
Now that Meath County Council is at last waking up to the
importance of the tourism industry to the county, it
seems inconceivable that it is simultaneously promoting
the building of a motorway through its most valuable
asset, The Hill of Tara.
We are all familiar with the tale of the Golden Goose.
Surely Tara is Meath's golden goose?
As national and international condemnation gathers
momentum against the route of the proposed M3, it may be
worthwhile for us to pause for a moment and ask why
visitors would want to come to Meath or Ireland in the
first place.
They come here because they want to savour that which is
rapidly disappearing elsewhere. They want to soak up the
timeless atmosphere of our ancient past. This cannot be
done with a four-lane motorway thundering past and a
floodlit interchange lighting up the Hill of Tara 24
hours a day, not to mention the rest of the chaos that
will come with it.
These visitors - the very people who will continue to
create the prosperity that this county needs - look on in
horror at what is about to happen here. If you don't
believe me, go up to Tara and talk to the bus loads of
disbelieving tourists as I have done.
We often fail to notice what is on our own doorstep. So
many people drive past Tara every day without a second
thought, but that does not diminish its importance to
those who are aware of its qualities.
The undeniable fact is that people flock from all around
the globe to visit Tara. The legend and mystery
surrounding it has a magnetic effect that many a
businessman wishes he could bottle and sell. Tara is not
for sale.
I sympathise with the plight of commuters travelling to
and from Navan and Kells every day, as the government
blatantly ignores viable alternatives. The real problem
of transport needs a creative solution, not influenced by
those whose sole aim is to make excessive profits.
Are the commuters of Kells really going to be happy with
paying two sets of tolls and yet still finding themselves
sitting in traffic at the numerous bottlenecks en route
to Dublin? The destruction of Tara does not provide the
solution to this problem.
Presumably the Tourism Board will carry out some overdue
market research in due course. We can only hope that this
will happen before the most sacred site in Ireland is
lost forever.
In this progressive age it is easy to forget what has
gone before. Perhaps we should remind ourselves of the
wisdom of the old fairy tale, as any child will tell you
- only a fool would kill the Golden Goose that lays the
golden eggs.
Yours sincerely,
ROSALEEN ALLEN,
20 The Grange,
Ratoath.
© The Meath Chronicle, 4th. December, 2004.
