Tara: no longer
relevant?
Dear Sir - I wish to respond to Mary Deevy's article in
the last issue of Archaeology Ireland (Vol.19, 2). I do
not doubt Ms. Deevy's commitment and sincerity, but
reading between the lines, it is apparent that the M3
tolled motorway will proceed on the basis that Tara is no
longer relevant. It is perceived simply as an obstacle to
commuting traffic and an impediment to progress and
development. Tara's moment in history has been-and-gone
and its past glories can now be brushed aside for the
imperatives of the present, and to make way for more
impressive monuments to the future.
The National Roads Authority in collaboration with Meath
County Council command seemingly unlimited financial
resources. Such resources, backed by dedicated personnel,
make it possible for the "preferred" M3 route to be
analysed, justified and ultimately realised irrespective
of moral, ethical or commonsense arguments in support of
the other equally viable options. Environmental impacts
assessments, economic stratagems and engineering options
provide analyses, forecasts and solutions: mountains can
be moved, rivers forded and environmental impasses
overcome as required. Heritage and historical concerns,
even those as culturally colossal as Tara, can be
measured, assigned a weighting factor, and included among
a myriad of other greater or lesser categories in the
great equation to "cost benefit return". Environmental
impacts can be assessed and the costs of mitigation can
be factored. Archaeology can be resolved, artifacts
salvaged and monuments preserved by record - within
acceptable financial limits and time constraints. The
motorway "product" can be neatly packaged by PR
consultants and "sold" to the general public through the
media of free glossy booklets, newspaper adverts,
exhibitions, seminars and articles, to explain the "real"
facts at tax-payers expense.
But wait a minute, what about some of the more
fundamental questions? Is a twice-tolled motorway in the
public interest and the best solution to Meath's
commuting problems? Is this business venture, to be
financed through Public-Private Partnership, in the
national interest or in the interest of a handful of
private investors? Is large-scale development in such a
culturally sensitive area in the best interests of
Ireland's environmentally friendly image or tourism
industry? Is this short stretch of motorway through the
heartlands of Tara's royal demesne in the best interest
of sustainable development and our obligation to preserve
and protect national and world heritage? Is the major
interchange at Castletown Tara/Blundelstown just a fancy
roundabout or a godsend to hungry developers who
recognise the green-field potential of this untapped
rural resource on the threshold of our burgeoning capital
city? As a nation, are we about to sell the very soul of
our cultural identity for the rather dubious promise of
progress and prosperity? In short, are we being sold a
costly pup with an outsized tail?
Yours faithfully,
Joe Fenwick,
Department of Archaeology,
N.U.I.,
Galway.
© Archaeology Ireland, Autumn 2005.
