UN Must Save the Hill of Tara from the M3 Motorway
THE HILL OF TARA
The Hill of Tara, Ireland's premier national monument and internationally renowned cultural icon, is being desecrated by construction of the M3 motorway. The works are in breach of international law, which protects this site for humanity, and the United Nations must intervene now.
Lying 30 miles north of Dublin, it was Ireland's capital for millennia; where over 142 kings were crowned, dating back to 3,000 BC. Since then, hundreds of monuments were built on the slopes and in the surrounding landscape. Today, the cultural landscape is defined by the remains of a number of defensive Iron Age hillforts which surround the Hill, lying approximately 2-3 miles away.
THE M3 MOTORWAY
The M3 motorway is being built by the Irish Government, in public private partnership with Siac and Ferrovial construction companies, through the centre of this landscape, and a 50 acre interchange is being built 1,000 metres from the summit. Already, dozens of archaeological sites within the landscape have been excavated and demolished, and construction is due to be completed in 2010.
CELEBRITY SUPPORT FOR THE TARAWATCH CAMPAIGN
The campaign to save Tara, and re-route the M3 motorway has reached a critical point. Celebrities such as Bono, Seamus Heaney, Jonathan Rhys Myers, Gabriel Byrne, Colm Toibin , Louis le Brocquy and Jim Fitzpatrick, supported by hundreds of international experts in Irish history, archaeology and mythology have spoken out against the M3 route. National surveys show that the vast majority of Irish people want Tara protected, and made into a UNESCO site.
Nobel Laureate, Seamus Heaney said:
If ever there was a place that deserved to be preserved in the name of the dead generations from pre-historic times up to historic times up to completely recently - it was Tara. I think it literally desecrates an area - I mean the word means to de-sacralise and for centuries the Tara landscape and the Tara sites have been regarded as part of the sacred ground.
TARA ON ENDANGERED LISTS
The World Monuments Fund, Smithsonian Institution and Sacred Sites International have placed Tara on endangered sites list, and others such as the International Celtic Congress, the Archaeological Institute of America, the Landmarks Foundation, the City of Chicago and the Massachusetts Archaeological Society have issued statements condemning the M3 route.
EUROPEAN COMMISSION v. IRELAND, LAWSUIT
The European Commission is currently taking a lawsuit against Ireland in the European Court of Justice against Ireland, for illegally demolishing the Lismullin national monument, which was discovered in the pathway of the M3 in 2007, after being voted on of the Top Ten Most Important Discoveries in the world in 2007 by Archaeology magazine. The Irish authorities refused to heed the Commission's demand that demolition be halted, and construction is proceeding despite the EU legal action.
DELAY OF UNESCO NOMINATION FOR TARA
The Minister for the Environment, John Gormley, has delayed nomination of the Hill of Tara to become a UNESCO site, until the M3 motorway is complete. UNESCO has stated that it cannot intervene, until Ireland completes the nomination, which was due to take place at the World Heritage Committee Meeting in Seville, in June 2009.
BREACHES OF UN LAW
It is clear that the Convention Concerning the Protection of the World Cultural and Natural Heritage protects all sites of outstanding universal value, even if they are not on the World Heritage List. Other UN agreements, such as the UN Global Compact, the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, both human rights Covenants, and the UN Declaration of Rights of Indigenous Peoples also require that Tara receive the highest level of protection possible.
APPEAL TO UN TO INTERVENE
The only body that can now intervene and save the Hill of Tara is the United Nations. This petition is directed to the United Nations Headquarters in New York City, and asks that you intervene in the Tara crisis, and begin a problem-solving initiative, which will protect Tara and allow the M3 to be completed.
The UN must intervene now and enforce UN law, on behalf of the people of Ireland, the Irish Diaspora, and both the global community.
_________________________________________________________
WHAT YOU CAN DO TO HELP SAVE TARA
Please forward this petition to:
- all of your friends
- local and national Irish cultural groups
- historical and archaeological organisations
- political representatives
WE MUST REACH OUR GOAL OF 1,000,000 signatures by Dec 31, 2009
JOIN TARAWATCH
Hill of Tara UNESCO public consultation site, hosted by TaraWatch
CONTACT TARAWATCH
Suite 108
The Capel Building
Mary's Abbey
Dublin 7
Republic of Ireland
353-87-132-3365
info@tarawatch.org
THE HILL OF TARA
The Hill of Tara, Ireland's premier national monument and internationally renowned cultural icon, is being desecrated by construction of the M3 motorway. The works are in breach of international law, which protects this site for humanity, and the United Nations must intervene now.
Lying 30 miles north of Dublin, it was Ireland's capital for millennia; where over 142 kings were crowned, dating back to 3,000 BC. Since then, hundreds of monuments were built on the slopes and in the surrounding landscape. Today, the cultural landscape is defined by the remains of a number of defensive Iron Age hillforts which surround the Hill, lying approximately 2-3 miles away.
THE M3 MOTORWAY
The M3 motorway is being built by the Irish Government, in public private partnership with Siac and Ferrovial construction companies, through the centre of this landscape, and a 50 acre interchange is being built 1,000 metres from the summit. Already, dozens of archaeological sites within the landscape have been excavated and demolished, and construction is due to be completed in 2010.
CELEBRITY SUPPORT FOR THE TARAWATCH CAMPAIGN
The campaign to save Tara, and re-route the M3 motorway has reached a critical point. Celebrities such as Bono, Seamus Heaney, Jonathan Rhys Myers, Gabriel Byrne, Colm Toibin , Louis le Brocquy and Jim Fitzpatrick, supported by hundreds of international experts in Irish history, archaeology and mythology have spoken out against the M3 route. National surveys show that the vast majority of Irish people want Tara protected, and made into a UNESCO site.
Nobel Laureate, Seamus Heaney said:
If ever there was a place that deserved to be preserved in the name of the dead generations from pre-historic times up to historic times up to completely recently - it was Tara. I think it literally desecrates an area - I mean the word means to de-sacralise and for centuries the Tara landscape and the Tara sites have been regarded as part of the sacred ground.
TARA ON ENDANGERED LISTS
The World Monuments Fund, Smithsonian Institution and Sacred Sites International have placed Tara on endangered sites list, and others such as the International Celtic Congress, the Archaeological Institute of America, the Landmarks Foundation, the City of Chicago and the Massachusetts Archaeological Society have issued statements condemning the M3 route.
EUROPEAN COMMISSION v. IRELAND, LAWSUIT
The European Commission is currently taking a lawsuit against Ireland in the European Court of Justice against Ireland, for illegally demolishing the Lismullin national monument, which was discovered in the pathway of the M3 in 2007, after being voted on of the Top Ten Most Important Discoveries in the world in 2007 by Archaeology magazine. The Irish authorities refused to heed the Commission's demand that demolition be halted, and construction is proceeding despite the EU legal action.
DELAY OF UNESCO NOMINATION FOR TARA
The Minister for the Environment, John Gormley, has delayed nomination of the Hill of Tara to become a UNESCO site, until the M3 motorway is complete. UNESCO has stated that it cannot intervene, until Ireland completes the nomination, which was due to take place at the World Heritage Committee Meeting in Seville, in June 2009.
BREACHES OF UN LAW
It is clear that the Convention Concerning the Protection of the World Cultural and Natural Heritage protects all sites of outstanding universal value, even if they are not on the World Heritage List. Other UN agreements, such as the UN Global Compact, the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, both human rights Covenants, and the UN Declaration of Rights of Indigenous Peoples also require that Tara receive the highest level of protection possible.
APPEAL TO UN TO INTERVENE
The only body that can now intervene and save the Hill of Tara is the United Nations. This petition is directed to the United Nations Headquarters in New York City, and asks that you intervene in the Tara crisis, and begin a problem-solving initiative, which will protect Tara and allow the M3 to be completed.
The UN must intervene now and enforce UN law, on behalf of the people of Ireland, the Irish Diaspora, and both the global community.
_________________________________________________________
WHAT YOU CAN DO TO HELP SAVE TARA
Please forward this petition to:
- all of your friends
- local and national Irish cultural groups
- historical and archaeological organisations
- political representatives
WE MUST REACH OUR GOAL OF 1,000,000 signatures by Dec 31, 2009
JOIN TARAWATCH
Hill of Tara UNESCO public consultation site, hosted by TaraWatch
CONTACT TARAWATCH
Suite 108
The Capel Building
Mary's Abbey
Dublin 7
Republic of Ireland
353-87-132-3365
info@tarawatch.org
Dear United Nations,
Please intervene in the international dispute over the Hill of Tara and the M3 motorway in Ireland, and save this site of outstanding universal value to humanity.
The Hill of Tara is Ireland's premier national monument, and internationally renowned cultural icon. Lying 30 miles north of Dublin, it was Ireland's capital or millennia; where over 142 kings were crowned, dating back to 3,000 BC. Since then, hundreds of monuments were built on the slopes and in the surrounding landscape. Today, the cultural landscape is defined by the remains of a number of defensive Iron Age hillforts which surround the Hill, lying approximately 2-3 miles away.
The M3 motorway is being built by the Irish Government, in public private partnership with Siac and Ferrovial construction companies, through the centre of this landscape, and a 50 acre interchange is being built 1,000 metres from the summit. Already, dozens of archaeological sites within the landscape have been excavated and demolished, and construction is due to be completed in 2010.
The World Monuments Fund, Smithsonian Institution and Sacred Sites International have placed Tara on endangered sites list, and others such as the International Celtic Congress, the Archaeological Institute of America, the Landmarks Foundation, the City of Chicago and the Massachusetts Archaeological Society have issued statements condemning the M3 route.
The European Commission is currently taking a lawsuit against Ireland in the European Court of Justice against Ireland, for illegally demolishing the Lismullin national monument, which was discovered in the pathway of the M3 in 2007, after being voted on of the Top Ten Most Important Discoveries in the world in 2007 by Archaeology magazine. The Irish authorities refused to heed the Commission's demand that demolition be halted, and construction is proceeding despite the EU legal action.
The Minister for the Environment, John Gormley, has delayed nomination of the Hill of Tara to become a UNESCO site, until the M3 motorway is complete. UNESCO has stated that it cannot intervene, until Ireland completes the nomination, but it is clear that the Convention Concerning the Protection of the World Cultural and Natural Heritage protects all sites of outstanding universal value, even if they are not on the World Heritage List. Other UN agreements, such as the UN Global Compact, the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, both human rights Covenants, and the UN Declaration of Rights of Indigenous Peoples also require that Tara receive the highest level of protection possible.
The only body that can now intervene and save the Hill of Tara is the United Nations. This petition is directed to the United Nations Headquarters in New York City, and asks that you intervene in the Tara crisis, and begin a problem-solving initiative, which will protect Tara and allow the M3 to be completed.
Thank you for your kind consideration in this critical matter.
Because a site of such mythical and historical significance should not be treated as an obstacle in the way of efficiency and capital, that is appalling.
Yes, too many world heritage sites are being abused or destroyed and it should be brought into the public sphere as an important and unignorable topic of discussion and activism.
Shame on whoever is doing this aren't there enough roads and building construction everywhere why destroy one more place forever. Teri
because there's no new land being created lots of man made things to clutter up cities. Shame on mankind and his greed of this generation.
It would be a wound on our collective selves to let such a special place be destroyed. The thought of it feels almost physically painful. We must respect our roots and try to maintain them, no matter how far we have traveled away from them now. A place that is sacred to many must be respected by all.
It is the responsibility of the UN to protect areas of the world where local political interests make people myopic to the larger ramifications of their decisions. Once it is gone it can never be replaced, and this is a loss for all humanity.
It is unique.
Because the Irish government is incompetent and ignorant
THIS IS, AND ALWAYS HAS BEEN A VERY SPIRITUAL SITE AND SHOULD BE PRESERVED AND PROTECTED!
THE AREA SHOULD BE PROTECTED AND PRESERVED BY EVERYONE AND EVERY ORGANIZATION BECAUSE IT IS AN HISTORICAL AREA!
Family history and personal religious views.
Historical. If so much effort is put into saving the African American heritage why not the Euro-Americian Heritage?
It is a sacred place that I hope to one day visit, preferably INTACT. As a Priestess and Ordained Minister I am appalled at the thought of a sacred site being desecrated like this. It is simply WRONG.
It is not only a national treasure, but an international one. It is a sacred site that is irreplaceable. It is as if the Taj Mah Hall or other historical and precious site were being vandalized or destroyed. There is no way to replace it and its loss would be one felt by many generations.
This is a crucial piece of European history! Its a cultural landmark.
It should be a World Heritage Site
THE JUDGMENT OF TARA: The royal Arch Druid Amergin, spoke this poem as his invocation of Hibernia. Together ... See More I request the land of Hibernia (to come forth) coursed is the wild sea wild the crying mountains crying the generous woods generous in showers (rain/waterfalls) showers lakes and vast pools vast pools hosts of well-springs well-springs of tribes in assembly assembly of kings of Tara Tara host of tribes tribes of the sons of Mil Mil of boats and ships ships come to Hibernia Ireland high terribly blue an incantation on the (same) wind (which was the) wind empty of Bres Bres of an empty cup Ireland be mighty Ermon at the beginning Ir, Eber, requested (now it is) I (who) request the land of Hibernia! Are you able to speak this Druid Incantation in Gaelic? (THE DRUID TALE) I am the moon, who guards your dreams with care,...And I'm also the sun, who keeps you warm...When happy, I'm the soft breeze through your hair,...But when angry, beware; I am the storm...I am Nature; thus, I am everywhere:..The proudest rock of the highest mountain;...The liveliest leaps of the tiny hare;...The coolest splash of a river's fountain...I am a Mother; the milk of my breast is the rain that nurtures the farmer's field...My guilt is the snow's flakes, tenderly dressed...To cover the fallows and keep them sealed...I have given birth to each blade of grass...And guided the paths of each new flower...I bring sleep to souls when it's time to pass...From Lifes minute to Eternity's hour....Th's world is my cradle...treat it with care,...And it will sustain you all of your days...With rain for abundant harvest to share,... a moon's gentle beam, and a sun's bright rays
The Druid's Brehon Laws has been committed to memory in Gaelic since the beginning of the Ice Age. In 438 CE by the order of the High King of Tara, Leogaire UiNiáll had his Druid government employe a commission to commit the Druids Brehon Laws to writing by the Chief Druid Dubhtach Maccu Lugir. The High King's personal Druid advisors was Rossa, Fergus, Dara who revised the Druid's Government Brehon Laws for modern times by the three Druid Kings, of Corc, Munster, Ulster. The Druid's Brehon Laws is also known as the Senchus Mór (civil law of the ancient Celts), you are able to read these ancient manuscripts in Old Gaelic, which is located at the Royal Irish Academy and Oxford University. Today these ancient Celtic Druid Kingdoms of Gaul is the unification of the EU, which should invest in the preservation of these ancient Indo-European Documents and making them accessible for academic study for the next generation of modern Druids of today. Dear born again Pagan Celts: The Hill of Tara's Royal Grove is asking for your support in preserving our ancestors ancient Indo European Heritage and Traditions. In the name of King Daith who was the last Pagan Druid High King of The Hill of Tara, The Princes of (Ui Fiachrach / Hy Fiachrach) is calling for all Druids from around the world to help save our ancestors ancient Invisible Kingdom from the M3. This can be done by sending a protest E mail to the EU Environment Commissioner at: stavros.dimas@ec.europa.eu or a letter to UNESCO at - Europe and North America Unit, World Heritage Centre, UNESCO, 7 place de Fontenoy 75352 Paris 07SP, France. Sincerely we all want to thank you for investing your time regarding this urgent situation. We need to start up an International Celtic Druid Society network, the Power is in Numbers...On Halloween lets give homage to our Pagan ancestors from around the world who have died for our religious freedoms on a million burning crosses. In 433 CE what did the Druid Government of Hibernia think about Maewyn Succat after he burned 180 Druid Books and now this at the Hill of Tara? A Real Celt or a Born Again Pagan Celt Would Never Bow Down To a dead middle Eastern man who was (Elected) as Rome's New God in 325 CE!
We can't allow them to destroy such a beautiful piece of the ancient celtic culture. If it's so meaningless to the bureaucrats why not tear down St-John in London? Or the Big Ben? Let us try to preserve a little bit of the past, especially in times where the present is more and more being overtaken by the future. Let's just try...
To take away such an important monument to my Irish ancesty's culture would be criminal.There is plenty of open land for a raceway in other parts of Ireland
The United Nations can stand up and show that is not for the most part not a useless organization for once.Do the right thing
Because the site not only has cultural significance for the Irish people but it has massive history&undiscovered historical wealth which is vital to understanding ancient history.THE WORLD NEEDS TO KNOW IT'S OWN HISTORY!TARA IS PART OF THE PUZZLE.
Because regardless of what the future brings,we must not forget our ancient past nor distort&fabricate the truth of what the Hill of Tara can tell us.
I wish to visit Ireland one day as it is where my ancesters are from.I wish to go to see the green rolling hills not a motorway....
Who ever should step up should do it because I'm sure that is not what God had intended for something so beautiful that he has created to turn into a major eyesore. Lets start having a little more respect for things people.Bigger and faster are not always better!
I visited the Hill of Tara in 2006. I study sacred sites and Tara is one that was very inspiring for me. It has the cave with the glyphs, a grove, and does have archaeological significance to the hearts of the people...It is one site that hasn't been demolished or vandalized and the people who make the excursion to go are not disappointed...Its authentic and special on the world wide level, as Ireland is one of the only countries rich in religious and otherwise defined sacred sites...that the public is free to visit without a tour guide, to inspire artistic expression, which the Irish culture boasts through its history of acclaimed poets and writers. It would be a shame to destroy a site which still invokes the mystical past that Ireland is famous for...Please dont tear down this overwhelmingly significant site...it would be a cultural tragedy!
I visited the Hill of Tara in 2006. I study sacred sites and Tara is one that was very inspiring for me. It has the cave with the glyphs, a grove, and does have archaeological significance to the hearts of the people...It is one site that hasn't been demolished or vandalized and the people who make the excursion to go are not disappointed...Its authentic and special on the world wide level, as Ireland is one of the only countries rich in religious and otherwise defined sacred sites...that the public is free to visit without a tour guide, to inspire artistic expression, which the Irish culture boasts through its history of acclaimed poets and writers. It would be a shame to destroy a site which still invokes the mystical past that Ireland is famous for...Please dont tear down this overwhelmingly significant site...it would be a cultural tragedy!
in england if you can prove the existence of an ancient religious site no one is allowed to destroy it.
the majority of tax paying everyday people have lost their faith in govts doing the right thing by people, instead we see them doing the right thing by money, all govts need to change before its too late and turns into an atlantis like scenario.
Je ne connais pas cette île mais je suis pour le respect de la nature et des sites historiques.
A Song For Tara-Skryne// All chased across the land and through the hills/ Rejecting fights, they kept their purest wills/ While those who wouldn’t budge and kept their ground/ Were swallowed up—now none of them are found./ But those who gave their land up willingly,/ Thinking there’s farther out we still can be/ Were pushed into the land no one had seen/ Through seas to lands where no one yet had been/ Five thousand years ago they took the ground/ That no one yet had conquered—no one’d found/ They saw the land was mercifully green—/ The lushest land that they ever had seen./ The air was clean; the sea was full of fish/ For greater luck they would not ever wish/ They built of rock a proud community/ And worked with one another peacefully/ Their earth-made monuments were stone & round,/ Those that the people now call fairy-mound./ They were not aided by metallurgy,/ Yet how precise their structures prove to be./ They measured time out by the constant sun/ And shared their knowledge gained with everyone./ But knowledge shared was only knowledge learned/ If those with ears to hear for knowledge yearned./ A thousand years ago their language lost;/ Now we can only wonder—at what cost?/ And yet what little left of them remains/ A roadway seeks to trash at greatest pains.
If not them, who? If not now, when? Time grows short.
it is so important to me because it is everything that is irish and it shows the lack of respect that this gov shows to our heritage and historical and ancestoral values
there is not much left in our heritage as it is so they need to step in and stop this lunasy.aiden murphy
I am Irish in my ancestry and have traced back to Brian Boru. He may have been crowned there and I wish to travel and see it while it is still in the form that it is now.
It is an important venue. VERY important to the Irish.
The Hill of Tara is a sacred place!!! I'm not sure that christians would like that a motorway cross the city of Vatican, or Lourdes for example!! It's one of the oldest sacred places in Europe and it must remain just like it is!!!
I was sure that this place was already an UNESCO site: it is incredible it is not yet!!! it should be classed as humanity treasure!!!!
