Update on TaraWatch news and events

national | history and heritage | news report Tuesday May 22, 2007 22:06 by TaraWatch info at tarawatch dot org 087-972-8603

It's been a busy week, with more to come

TaraWatch has been busy campaigning for the preservation of the Hill of Tara archaeological complex, and plans to step up the campaign over the weekend. Please come to a meeting on the Hill of Skryne on Saturday at 2.00 pm, for the launch of Monuments Watch.

TaraWatch protest's Kenny - Irish Examiner 22 May

Since reporting the existence of the new national monument to the media earlier this month, TaraWatch has been making detailed plans for its protection, and have organised a number of events and activities that will help ensure its preservation, 'in situ', forever.

After running our Tara Protection Pledge drive on Grafton Street over the weekend, TaraWatch began the week early Monday morning with a protest at the Enda Kenny /Pat Rabbite press event on Stephen's Green. (See image)

The Tara Protection pledge is going well, both on the ground and on the Internet, with hundreds of people already having promised to come and protect the new national monument discovered at Lismullen, if it is in imminent danger of harm. For more information please see: http://tarawatch. org/?p=376

Shortly after the Monday protest, we held the first in a series of academic events, in conjunction with the Centre for Medieval Studies, Trinity College Dublin. Dr Sean Duffy of the Department Medieval History and Dr Gerald Morgan, along with Dr Sarah Alyn Stacey all gave impassioned and informative papers at a conference entitled 'The Hill of Tara, Historical and Cultural Importance'. For today's media reports of these events from irish Times, Irish Indpendent and Irish Examiner please see: http://groups. yahoo.com/ group/hilloftara / We will post audio and images here soon.

Currently, members of TaraWatch are taking legal advice on how to proceed in the courts to ensure their protection. To assist, the group
as a whole is currently doing a fundraising drive to raise money for a Tara Archaeological Report, which will be done by a professional
archaeological consultancy company. We are also continuing our campaign for the public to make submissions to Minister for the Environment, Dick Roche, while he is deciding whether or not to reroute the M3 around the new monunent, and indeed the entire valley. If the Minister decides to proceed as planned, there may be a window between the time of his decision and the time a court application can be made, and that is when we will call in the Tara Protection Pledge.

This Saturday we are beginning a Tara Monuments Watch, at Lismullen and Rath Lugh National Monuments. This will entail 24 hour monitoring of both sites, and reporting to the wider group, the media, public and the legal team. Please come to the meeting on Saturday on the Hill of Skryne at 2.00 pm in the old church.

We are also planning a Mid-summer's Festival at Tara/Skryne, beginning on Wednesday 20th June, and running until the following Sunday. it will feature nights of poetry and music. We hope this weekend event will bring in people from around the world, in solidarity with Tara.

TaraWatch wishes to clarify its position in relation to the current skirmishes between Vigil members and construction workers at Roestown. We are not involved, in any capacity, and wish the vigil members well. If they want our assistance, we are happy to oblige, but are otherwise remaining focused on our current primary objective of protecting the two surviving national monuments in the Tara / Skryne Valley being impacted by the M3: the newly discovered Lismullen National Monument and Rath Lugh.

Please join us tomorrow morning in protesting outside the Fine Gael Headquarders On Wednesday, 23 May at 11am.

TaraWatch will stage a demonstration outside Fine Gael party headquarters at 51 Upper Mount Street, Dublin 2, in response to Enda Kenny's failure to state his party's position with regard to the M3 motorway. For more information please call Laura at 087-972-8603