Press Release. Campaign to Save Tara,
16th. September 20:50.
16th. September 20:50.
Tara Equinox Aerial Art Event
John Quigley, the internationally renowned
aerial artist, will create a piece of human aerial art on
the Hill of Tara on Sunday 23rd. September. His good
friend, Dublin-born Hollywood actor, Stuart Townsend,
will also take part.People are required to help create this aerial art event at Tara and those who wish to participate are asked to meet at the car park at 3pm. Participants are requested to wear white or a very light colour to contrast with the green grass. It is advisable to bring rain gear to sit or lie on. Between 500-1000 people are needed to spell out the words SAVE TARA VALLEY and also the outline of a harp on the hill. The public are asked to leave the Hill as they find it: "Take nothing but memories - leave nothing but footprints".
John Quigley is internationally renowned for his environmental messages and images spelt out by human bodies and photographed from the air. The Sunday Times said: "Political protest has come a long way from banners and megaphones. These days if people have a message for the world, they form huge patterns that can be seen from the air - using human beings".
Among his striking images are SOS spelt by 35 people on an iceberg in Antarctica to bring attention to rising sea levels. Another photograph shows 600 people beside London's Eye spelling out STOP CLIMATE CHAOS.
Join us in creating a striking human aerial image to tell the world about the destruction of the Gabhra Valley (the valley of the white mare). The event is also designed to draw attention to Tara as part of the shared heritage of Ireland, encompassing both North and South.
Seamus Heaney commented recently, "It could be said that the Campaign to Save Tara is putting its case in the name of the dead generations. For the past two millennia those generations regarded Tara as a place invested with sacred as opposed to secular value. Protest against the loss of this value remains an imperative".
Colum McCann said in the LA Times, "But we bury the past only if we're ashamed of it. We have a responsibility to heritage, environment and, indeed, imagination. Yet most meaningful Irish debates these days seem to take place only in the realm of time and money".
The building of a twice-tolled, 4-lane motorway when the world faces huge climate change and Ireland has a massive rise in CO2 emissions seems senseless. The chosen route is designed to attract maximum traffic. A huge interchange is included within 1 mile of the top of the Hill of Tara and 10 bridges are planned for the Gabhra Valley between Navan and Dunshaughlin.
Dr. Muireann Ní Bhrolcháin from the Campaign to Save Tara said, "We are delighted to welcome John Quigley to Tara to create this image. The EU Petitions Committee report this week shows Ireland's scant regard for European laws and directives. We welcome their criticism of the route, the interchange and the fact that rail was not considered. We call on the Taoiseach and the Minister for Transport to stop construction in the Valley until the legalities of the route are dealt with in the European Court of Justice".
ENDS
Media queries:
Dr. Muireann Ní Bhrolcháin
Tel: 00 353 (0)87-9249510
E-Mail: info@savetara.com
Web site: http://www.savetara.com
Related Articles:
Aerial Art Event Poster.
Harpists demonstrations in Ireland and USA.