Greens buried in the Hill of
Tara
Environment Minister John Gormley's recent announcement
that he intends to seek UNESCO World Heritage Site status
for the "unique environment" of The Burren and the
monastic settlement at Clonmacnoise, while no doubt
laudable, contrasts starkly with his Pontius Pilate act
regarding that other "unique environment", The Hill of
Tara, since he entered Government.
Gormley's party's stance on the Tara situation was,
frankly, just one of a number of nails applied to the
coffin in which their reputation is now buried.
By the declared definition of a World Heritage Site as
one with cultural significance "so exceptional as to
transcend national boundaries and to be of common
importance for present and future generations of all
humanity" Tara, described by WB Yeats as "Ireland's most
consecrated site", undoubtedly qualifies. Therefore, it
is intriguing as to why Gormley can't/won't act on this
issue, but then again since the start the Tara-M3 debacle
and the rather murky issues surrounding it has raised
rather more questions than it has answered.
David Marlborough,
Kenilworth Park,
Dublin 6.
© The Irish Independent, 1st. March 2008.
Related Articles:
Yeats/Moore/Hyde Letter to The Times - 1902.
