Time for all to get over the
Hill
Is there no escape from the sanctimonious outpourings of
Tarawatch or the manic activities of the on-site camp
protesters, some an embarrassment to Tarawatch themselves
and wasting resources, such as Gardaí, in the
area?
Listening to them, one might be forgiven for thinking
that the Government has granted the NRA permission to
blow the hill itself to smithereens.
I visited the site recently with my wife and as we looked
around we came to the rapid conclusion that there was not
a whole lot to see on the surface, a couple of small
hills (one with a fake monument), a couple of
tourist-trap commercial outlets, and a protest caravan.
I'm sure it would have been better if we had availed of a
guided tour but the absence of any "physicality" was
striking.
We may as well have been standing in just about any field
in any county in Ireland.
Of course, there should be a place in everyone's heart
for the history and heritage of his or her
background.
I live in Dunshaughlin. Just outside the village is the
old workhouse, a stark, bricks and mortar reminder of the
famine. Looking at the building from the outside one can
almost see the gaunt faces of those unfortunate people
staring out.
So while I can see where the M3 protesters are coming
from, I think there has to be a balance between the
modern world and the past.
The NRA has gone through all the pros and cons of the
various possible routes and rightly or wrongly it has
gone with the present route.
We have had years of unnecessary delay. It's about time
we moved on with a project that is going to make driving
safer and is going to enhance commercial life in Meath
and beyond.
When the road is built, Tara will still be there and
there will be plenty of scope to improve the present
(and, I would suggest, poor) facilities.
So, protesters, regarding the Hill of Tara, get over
it.
John Reilly,
Dunshaughlin,
Co. Meath.
© The Irish Independent, 3rd. December 2007.
