To Whom It May Concern:

Below you will find an urgent message to Irish Diasporans and their
descendents. This term was chosen to represent the broadest number of people
possible, as the Irish government does not recognize Pagan, Neo-Pagan, or
Druid religions. Please circulate this document and attached letter to as
many groups as you can think of. The Hill of Tara, sacred to so many of us,
is in grave danger. A legal campaign is being mounted, but these people
desperately need our help-and we can help by writing letters of
international protest.

Thank you for your time and consideration in this matter.

Beverly J LaPorte

Fhiona MacGhilleRuadh/|\

Urgent Message to all Irish Diasporans and their Descendents:

Hill of Tara Under Attack

It was no mistake that Margaret Mitchell called the plantation of the O'Hara
's
"TARA" in her epic novel, Gone with the Wind. When Scarlett O'Hara's life
lies in ruins, she gazes off into the distance, with a far away look and
says:

"Tara, yes, I'll go home to Tara"

The Hill of Tara, in myth and legend is the sacred navel, or center of
Ireland.

It embodies the soul of the Irish people.

One hundred and forty two High Kings are said to have reigned there, and it
was believed to be the abode of the ancient Gods, the opening to the
Otherworld.

From the summit of the Hill, Newgrange can be seen in the distance, as can
the Hill of Slane, and the Lia Fail, or Stone of Destiny is located here,
which is said to cry out at the touch of a true King.

The area is as rich in archeological artifacts, as it is in history.

The Hill of Tara, and the Irish people need your help.

The Irish government is planning a multi-million dollar, 4 lane highway
project, which will pass by the Hill of Tara, and link with a clover leaf
interchange just north of the Hill. The Hill of Tara is in danger, as are
141 other, as yet uninvestigated, archeological sites in the immediate area.

A group has formed in Ireland, in an effort to stop the project from
proceeding via legal means. They are a very small group. And they need our
help.

Diasporans and their descendents played a significant role in Ireland's bid
for home rule, and Diasporan impact can have an influence here as well.

A large portion of the national revenues come from the tourist trade- and
many of the tourists are Diasporan descendents in search of their roots.

If you would like to help, it will only take a moment of your time, and the
cost of an airmail stamp.

Print off the letter below

Date it, Sign it

Include your legal mailing/residential address

And send the letter to the addresses below: ( Do not send email, as email
letters of this nature may not, apparently, be considered a legally
recognized form of communication according to international law.)

Mr Martin Cullen
Minister for the Environment, Heritage and Local Government
Department of the Environment and Local Government
Ministers Office
Custom House
Dublin 1
Tel: 01 8882571
Fax: 01 8882627
Emails: minister@...
Press-Office@...

Mr Seamus Brennan
Minister for Transport
Department of Transport
44 Kildare St.
Dublin 2
Tel: 6041062 / 2957171
Fax: 6763533
Email: seamusbrennantd@...

Margot Wallström
Commissioner for the Environment
B-1049 Brussels
Belgium
Phone: + 322 2981800
Fax: + 322 2981899
Margot.Wallstrom@...

Senior Executive Officer
Roads Department,
Meath County Council,
County Hall,
Railway Street,
Navan, County Meath
Telephone: (046) 9021581 Fax: (046) 9021463
roads@...

If you wish further information, or wish to confirm that this is not just
another internet scam, go to taraskreen@ yahoogroups.com

To Whom it May Concern

I declare that I am of the age of majority in the country of my residence.

I am writing this letter in protest of the proposed motor highway project in
the Tara-Skreen Valley. This project will irreparably destroy or damage the
Hill of Tara and numerous other archeological and historical sites in the
proposed project area. Why is the Irish government ignoring other proposed
routes, which would not disturb such a culturally valuable area?

The Hill of Tara and its immediate environs embody the soul of the Irish
people. It is the navel of the Land. The Irish government seems determined
to destroy an important part of our Irish culture. In 1995, the Irish
government, in a Discovery program documentary, claimed that Tara and its
environs was an important, and central part of Irish culture. Has its
importance recently changed?

The Hill of Tara, and the surrounding area should be designated a World
Heritage Site. The earliest settlement of the Hill dates to Neolithic times.
The Mound of the Hostages, featured in myth and legend, was built circa 2500
BCE. It is a passage tomb, and one of the oldest structures on the Hill.
Home to 142 High kings in myth and legend, it is said that Niall of the Nine
Hostages kept hostages from all over Ireland and England here, at the Hill
of Tara.

Now more than ever, this humble Hill embodies the spirit of the people, a
sense of national identity, and the spirit of the Land of Ireland herself.

I urge you, the Irish government, to reconsider the motorway plans for the
Tara-Skreen valley, and to designate the Hill of Tara, and its surrounding
environs, a World Heritage Site. Once it is gone, we can never regain it.

Yours truly
Name
Address
Date

__________________________________________
Ellen Evert Hopman, herbalist and Druid Priestess is the author of Tree
Medicine-Tree Magic,
A Druids Herbal - For The Sacred Earth Year, Being a Pagan - Druids, Wiccans
and Witches Today (with Lawrence Bond), and Walking The World In Wonder - A
Children's Herbal. Her herbal and Pagan videos, audio tapes and books
can be found on line at:
http://saille333.home.mindspring.com/willow.html