>  Forwarded: call for submissions for WAC...
   >
   >  For those interested in the Tara issue, this is a superb opportunity. Read
on...
   >
   >  Stiof
   >
   >  #####################################################
   >
   >  Call for submissions on Hill of Tara / M3 motorway for Sixth World
   >  Archaeolocial Congress. Deadline 12th June.
   >
   >  TaraWatch recived notification on Thursday 5th June, from the World
   >  Archaeological Congress (WAC), Committee on Ethics, that we had been
   >  recognised as stakeholders in the ongoing Hill of Tara / M3 issue for
   >  the upcoming Sixth World Archaeological Congress, (WAC-6) to be held at
   >  University College Dublin, from the 29th June to 4th July.
   >  http://www.ucd.ie/wac-6/
   >
   >  We would like to extend the invitation to the public, and are offering
   >  to submit individual and group submissions, on their behalf. WAC have
   >  approved this process, and are anxious to hear from all converned
   >  parties. Submissions need to be made as soon as possible. Please send
   >  them to info@...
   >
   >  TaraWatch yesterday received the exciting news that WAC-6 is going to
   >  address the Hill of Tara/M3 motorway issue at a round table session,
   >  which is being organised by the WAC Standing Committee on Ethics.
   >  http://www.worldarchaeologicalcongress.org/site/active_stan.php
   >
   >  This is a massive boost for the Tara campaign, as it will be an
   >  opportunity for heritage experts and professionals from around the
   >  world will be looking at it from an objective and ethical standpoint.
   >  It is absolutely critical that this process is used to the utmost, to
   >  make the case for Tara, while there is still a whisper of time left to
   >  save it.
   >
   >  This notice is designed to share that news, and serve as a public
   >  consultation, under the laws principles and principles of Agenda 21,
   >  and sustainable development, which all public bodies, NGOs and
   >  stakeholders in the envionmental arena (including media outlets) are
   >  required to follow. Everyone has a stake in this issue, and a right to
   >  have their opinions heard. National surveys have shown that 70% of
   >  people want the M3 re-routed and an Irish Times survey showed that 82%
   >  of people surveyed think Tara should be a UNESCO site. Minister Gormley
   >  has responded that he will declare Tara a World Heritage Site, but with
   >  the motorway through it. We are campaigning to have UNESCO dcline that
   >  offer, and insist that the M3 is re-routed first.
   >
   >  Given the enormity of the issue, and the multiple events that have
   >  occurred over the last ten years, in relation to this project,
   >  compiling a complete dossier is a mammoth task, particularly when laws
   >  like the World Heritage Convention and the National Monuments Acts are
   >  applied to those facts, in an attempt to formulate arguments that are
   >  coherent. Expert affidavits, and technical reports make the mater all
   >  the more challenging. We are lucky to be working with some heritage
   >  experts, in this regard, but we need all of the information available,
   >  and as much co-operative assistance as possible. Hopefully, like with
   >  our successful World Monuments Fund - 100 Most Endangered Sites List
   >  nomination, we will get the job done.
   >  http://wmf.org/watch2008/watch.php?id=S8351
   >
   >  The shortage of time in this matter is not our doing. We only received
   >  notice yesterday, that this issue would be raised and that we hold
   >  stakeholder status. Submissions need to be submitted in time for all
   >  the participants in the round table to have time to read and understand
   >  them - which is a week before the event, at a minimum. So, we are
   >  setting June 21, the Summer Solstice, as our date of submission. In
   >  order for us to process third party submissions, and integrate them
   >  into our own, we need to receive them at week before then, which brings
   >  us back to the 14th of June. So, we have a week to hear from as many
   >  people as possible.
   >
   >  We are going to schedule a public event very shortly, which will
   >  explain the process in detail. In the meantime, there are a number of
   >  things you can do if you want to communicate your opinion on this
   >  matter to WAC-6, and indeed UNESCO and ICOMOS. If you prefer to stay
   >  anonymous, we will pass along the material as we are given it.
   >
   >  1. Please write a concise account of your opinions or experiences, in
   >  relation to this the Tara / M3 controversy. Address issues such as:
   >  - why do you consider yourself a stakeholder/ why is Tara important to
   >  you?
   >  - what is wrong/right with the M3 motorway, in relation to Tara?
   >  - is this an indigenous rights, religious, philosophical,
   >  environmental, political, moral, economic, practical issue for you?
   >  - what specific experiences have you had in relaiton to Tara?
   >  - what specific experiences have you had in relation the authorities?
   >  - what laws do you think apply?
   >  - what solutions are available?
   >  - how did it come to all this?
   >
   >  2. Either write it into the onlone petition, as a comment, or mail it
   >  to info@...
   >
   >  TaraWatch launched an online petition on Wednesday, addressed to
   >  UNESCO, ICOMOS and WAC-6 attendees. It was designed as a method of
   >  trying to raise the Tara issue with the WAC-6 delegates, as we were
   >  unaware that we would be invited to make a submission. Now, that
   >  peition is going to serve as a key part of our submission. It makes it
   >  easy for people to participate, and make their views known.
   >  http://www.ipetitions.com/petition/savetara/
   >
   >  3. If you feel you want to assist further, there is a lot of work to be
   >  done compiling the full dossier. If you are interested in law, the
   >  environment, heritage, globalisation etc, and want to play a key role
   >  in making the case for Tara, on a world stage, please come and help us.
   >  - please forward this notice to anyone you think might be a stakeholder
   >  - please forward the petition link to all your contacts
   >  - please try and attend the upcoming meeting, which will be noticed
   >  here
   >  - please drop a line, and we'll find something for you to do.
   >
   >  This story has broken on the main news outlets, during the course of
   >  the day today. Please see:
   >  http://www.ireland.com/newspaper/breaking/2008/0606/breaking74.htm
   >  http://ukpress.google.com/article/ALeqM5hWz-ZP6Uz-FvkHz7Cr5AdFYien1Q
   >  http://www.meltontimes.co.uk/latest-irish-news/Archaeologists-discuss-Hill-
of-Tara.41620
24.jp



Save the Hill of Tara from the M3 Motorway!
http://www.tarawatch.org

Letter to editor, Irish Times, from Kathy Sinnott MEP in response to an article
in IT on
the EU Petitions Committee report on the M3 and the actions carried out by the
NRA and
Meath County Council...

Stiof

#####################



  Dear all,



Please find attached my letter in reponse of an article in yesterday's Irish
Times on the NRA and the Petitions Committee report. Please feel free to
circulate.



Thank you,

Kathy



________________________________________________________



Monday, 08 October 2007



Dear Editor,



I would like to suggest to the NRA and Meath County Council that the report
of the EU Petitions Committee is not as they claim: an EU confirmation "that
they have behaved entirely properly throughout this process." ("Roads body
embraces M3 report" Irish Times 8/10/07)



The report points out that "Routes to the West of the main Tara site,
running closer to the river Skrane, for example, do not seem to have been
seriously considered by the authorities". Also "The delegation is however
perplexed by the choice of route and by the damage done to the integrity of
the many sites in the Tara area.  It is also concerned as to why it has been
deemed necessary to build one of the largest M3 intersections precisely at
this most vulnerable location in terms of Ireland's national heritage, which
destroys forever the intact archaeological landscape of the area. This
motivates a clear call by this Committee for a substantial review of the
environmental impact of the M3 and for less intrusive alternative routes to
be designated which should safeguard this area for the Irish nation."



Further, it finds " It is surprising that there is no commuter rail service
between this area, Navan, and Dublin, and that none is planned before 2015
at the earliest, a fact which condemns and confirms an inevitable choice of
motorway construction." This is a clear breach of the EU guidelines on
sustainable transport.



To construe from the report that the Petitions Committee gave its blessing
to the NRA and MCC process is ludicrous. They are as critical with the
continued destruction of Tara as they are with the continued dumping in
Aughinish, the over quarrying of Carrigtwohill "It appears to be the case
that authorisation has been considered without regard for European
Directives and the cumulative impact of the activity has been ignored", the
poor scrutiny in the case of Dan Brennan's shrinking cattle, the ongoing
problems of contaminated drinking water and many other issues.



Not only did the report not vindicate the NRA but it found fault with two
other cases, the new M8 with its rediversion of traffic through
Watergrasshill Village and the almost complete lack of rest stops nationally
for truck drivers who must by law stop and rest. "It is considered that the
Irish NRA received considerable sums of money from the EU for road
development but little if any thought was given to the provision of suitable
stopping points, filling stations and resting space."



It is time, as the report suggests, to have a National Transport Authority
rather than a National Roads Authority so that people can get where they
need to go in an efficient, safe and sustainable manner.





Yours truly,

Kathy Sinnott, MEP

Petitions Committee Vice President

My response to Minister Gormley's reply to Marcin Libicki:

With all due respect to the minister, this response is assinine.

In particular, I would point to several comments:

   >  As it is not open to me to review or reverse these directions, I have a
   >  responsibility to ensure that the excavation is carried out in
accordance
   >  with best archaeological practice, and that any potential damage to the
site
   >  is avoided.

Pause here for a moment, if you will, dear reader, and consider the meaning
of the word "excavate". To excavate an archaeological site it is neccessary
to remove the topsoil, expose the site to the elements, remove any artefacts
found, and in most cases dig through upper layers of the site to reveal
those below, perhaps three or four layers down, depending on the nature of
the site.

The effect of excavation is to destroy the site.

I think readers will appreciate that exposing a site to the elements and
removing all artefacts goes beyond "potential damage" and becomes actual,
predictable, inevitable damage. Further, going beyond this and removing
upper layers of remains to access those beneath goes beyond actual,
predicable, inevitable damage and can only be described as destruction of
the upper layer or layers. The minister is right of course to be concerned
about "potential damage". I would, however, request that his fellow party
members advise him that equal or greater concern ought to be directed
towards the actual, predictable, inevitable damage and destruction of the
site.

The good name of the Green Party has been hard won over the last 20-odd
years. It was awareness of issues like the above that gave us confidence in
the Green Party, and gave us hope for the future. This feels like your
parner of twenty years is having an affair.

   >  It is important to point out that the advice I have received from the
expert
   >  committee is that the monument at Lismullen is in a very vulnerable
   >  condition, could not sustain or withstand preservation in situ and
that,
   >  therefore, excavation is desirable and in the best interests of the
   >  archaeological remains.  It is therefore most urgent that these
excavations
   >  begin as soon as conditions allow, as recommended by the expert
committee.
   >  I am enclosing a copy of this committee’s report for your information.

This statement is deeply upsetting. The site has survived for several
thousand years despite the ongoing use of the land for agricultural
purposes. What places Lismullen "in a very vulnerable condition" is the fact
that a motorway is about to be run through the heart of it.

Nothing else threatens preservation in situ.

The minister has agreed with Fianna Fail to bot contest the work on the M3
along the current route and therefore, as this route runs through Lismullen,
he cannot contest the inevitable, predictable damage this work will cause.
With this as an a priori condition, the site is not simply "in a very
vulnerable condition" but due for imminent destruction. Under these
conditions, there is no doubt that preservation in situ is simply
impossible. Excavation of the entire site is the only way to preserve some
record of what is about to be lost.

The minister cannot but be aware that the site has survived for thousands of
years and also be aware that it is only the work currently being carried out
for the M3 that has placed it in danger. To present a recommendation for
complete excavation with Conor Newman's name on it goes beyond disingenuous.
Prof Newman has stood against this work from the outset.

This is not what Green Party voters voted for.

   >  However, as you will appreciate, the immediate
   >  issue of avoiding damage to the vulnerable site at Lismullen
   >  must be the overriding concern, so it is my intention that the
   >  recommendations of the Lismullen Advisory Committee be
   >  pursued as soon as they consider appropriate.

The site has already been damaged. The site is, because the Green Party
minister has not contended the appropriateness or ethics of the current M3
route, due for destruction. These have been given to the Lismullen Advisory
Committee as a priori conditions for their study and report. With these
conditions set, they have no choice but to recommend that as thurough a
record as possible is gained prior to the now inevitable destruction of the
site. Once again it seems appropriate to restate that "avoiding damage"
utterly misrepresents the situation. The site will be destroyed.

   >  Your letter asks for urgent action to halt existing works in this area
and
   >  to review the routing of this section of the M3 motorway.  As
responsibility
   >  for the works, and for the routing of the motorway, lies with the
National
   >  Roads Authority, I have forwarded a copy of your letter to the Minister
for
   >  Transport, Noel Dempsey TD, for consideration.  I should point out that
the
   >  motorway works at this location have indeed stopped, and will not
recommence
   >  until excavations of the national monument at Lismullen are complete.

The minister has, throughout this letter, failed to respond in any way to
the clear, unequivocal statement, which was itself a repeat of previous
statements to the same effect, that the current M3 works in their entirety
constitute an infringement of EU law. It is not a matter of passing on
comments for "consideration". The only authority as regards interpretation
of EU law is the EU itself. The EU position on this matter is that the M3
words are illegal under EU law. There is no case here for consideration.
Clearly, the action required must come from minister Dempsey, not minister
Gormley. Nonetheless, the minister has ignored the explicit advice of the EU
as regards the illegality of the M3 works. It is not the role of minister
Gormley to pass on a letter for consideration. His role and duty as an EU
citizen is to advise minister Dempsey of the illegality of these works.

That the roadbuilding work on the Lismullen area has ceased is not a matter
of any surprise. The little remaining protection for Irish heritage sites
still left states that, where a site is due to be damaged or destroyed by
building or other works, that portion of the site affected must be fully
excavated. Thus, the current situation is simply in compliance with current
national law. Further, the recommendations of the Lismullen Advisory
Committee can now also be understood as nothing more than a statement that
current national legislation must be complied with. They have been so
utterly hamstrung by a priori conditions laid down as part of the definition
of their remit that they have been unable to make any recommendations beyond
this: "national law must be complied with". This hardly constitutes a
finding.

A duty now lies with all members of the Green Party to take clear, urgent
action on this matter. Terrible damage has been done to the Green Party. It
is now time for action. Years of slowly building up credibility in the eyes
of the Irish people are being cast away daily as the current Green Party
ministers demonstrate that the Green Party is, in fact, little more than an
environmental sub-committee of the Fianna Fail party.

This is not what we voted for.

This is not what the Irish people want.

This is not what the Green Party need.

Ultimately, we will all suffer as lost grants, legal costs, fines and clawed
back funding are retrieved by the EU from Ireland. Our taxes will pay for
the illegal activities of those in government.

This is not what we voted for.

This is not what the Irish people want.

This is not what the Green Party need.

With respect,

Stiofan macAmhalghaidh

Below is the response of Minister Gormley to the warning letter from Marcin
Libicki, Chair of the European Parliament Committee on Petitions.

I will post my response to this shortly.

Stiof

###############################




24 July 2007





Marcin Libicki

Chairman

Committee on Petitions

European Parliament





Dear Mr Libicki,



Thank you for your letter of 20th July, following the visit of your
delegation to Ireland in June.  I was delighted to have the opportunity to
meet your delegation on that occasion, and I trust the rest of your visit
was productive.  As I said at our meeting, it is my hope that your committee
will investigate all of the relevant petitions as rigorously as possible, in
particular those which relate to environmental issues.  I look forward to
receiving your full report in due course.



In your letter you express the committee’s concern about damage to sites of
great archaeological and historical value and significance along the route
of the M3.  Although I do not have responsibility for the M3 or its routing,
as Minister for the Environment I am responsible for protecting our heritage
and any significant sites uncovered during this project.  In 2005 my
predecessor issues a series of directions in respect of sites along the
route of the proposed motorway, and in June 2007, shortly before I took
office, he issued further directions in respect of the national monument at
Lismullen, which had since been discovered.  These directions ordered the
excavation of the archaeological remains at this site.



As it is not open to me to review or reverse these directions, I have a
responsibility to ensure that the excavation is carried out in accordance
with best archaeological practice, and that any potential damage to the site
is avoided.  For this reason, I established an expert advisory committee to
advise on the conduct of the archaeological investigations.  This committee
includes Dr Conor Newman, a leading expert on the archaeology of Tara, Dr
Pat Wallace, Director of the National Museum of Ireland, Professor Gabriel
Cooney of the School of Archaeology, UCD, as well as representatives of the
National Monuments Service of my department, and of the National Roads
Authority.



It is important to point out that the advice I have received from the expert
committee is that the monument at Lismullen is in a very vulnerable
condition, could not sustain or withstand preservation in situ and that,
therefore, excavation is desirable and in the best interests of the
archaeological remains.  It is therefore most urgent that these excavations
begin as soon as conditions allow, as recommended by the expert committee.
I am enclosing a copy of this committee’s report for your information.



The issue of compliance with EU law is of particular concern to me, as I
have stated that one of my priorities in office will be to resolve a number
of outstanding cases taken against Ireland for infringements of EU
directives.  For this reason I sought a meeting with Commissioner Dimas
earlier this month, at which we discussed the M3 project amongst other
issues.  My department is actively engaged in preparing a response to the
recent Reasoned Opinion in respect of the EIA Directive, and we have sought
legal advice in the matter.  However, as you will appreciate, the immediate
issue of avoiding damage to the vulnerable site at Lismullen must be the
overriding concern, so it is my intention that the recommendations of the
Lismullen Advisory Committee be pursued as soon as they consider
appropriate.



Your letter asks for urgent action to halt existing works in this area and
to review the routing of this section of the M3 motorway.  As responsibility
for the works, and for the routing of the motorway, lies with the National
Roads Authority, I have forwarded a copy of your letter to the Minister for
Transport, Noel Dempsey TD, for consideration.  I should point out that the
motorway works at this location have indeed stopped, and will not recommence
until excavations of the national monument at Lismullen are complete.









Yours sincerely,





John Gormley TD

Minister for the Environment, Heritage and Local Government

Thought people here would be interested in this new site by someone pretty
knowledgeable with regard to ancient Celtic matters...

Stiof

###################
FWD MSG:


Hello all.  I would like to announce the launch of my new website,
http://ancient-celts.com
I know it's only in its rudimentary phase, but any comments
would be appreciated, on-list or off-list.  Thanks.  Oh, and feel free
to cross-post this anywhere you want (apologies for any cross-posting
on my part).

--WP

Coverage from the Irish Independent.

Stiof




EC court move to save Tara site may be too late
By Bernard Purcell
Thursday July 12 2007

THE ruling under which the Government last month gave the go-ahead to
extend M3 road works through Lismullin by the Hill of Tara site breaks
European law, the European Commission said last night.

A case is to be brought to the European Court of Justice in the autumn
but officials and campaigners fear that may be too late to save the
archaeological site as the Government delivers a "fait accompli".

Independent MEP Kathy Sinnott called on Environment Minister John
Gormley to halt works straight away.

Mr Gormley - who says he will hold a conference on treatment of
historic sites in the autumn - said the Commission's legal threat is
being taken seriously and will be studied carefully.

Environment Commissioner Stavros Dimas sent a final warning to the
Government on June 29 telling it to amend the 2004 National Monuments
Act to include environmental impact assessments and open public
consultations on the Tara site.

Officials say a recent European Court judgment ruled certain high
value archaeological sites will often need more than one impact
assessment as more becomes known during excavation.

The Commission has been in dispute with the Government - which insists
that the relevant EC Directive does not cover actual demolition works
- for over a year.

Brussels argues that there would be very little point to the Directive
if it did not cover demolition. The Environmental Impact Assessment
Directive covers motorways and urban development projects and
specifically mentions archaeological and cultural heritage sites.

Last year the Commission advised the Government that it could not go
ahead and demolish protected structures without a proper assessment
which would open the way for objectors to register their concerns.

When they became aware of the Lismullin site they decided to send the
final legal warning .

Strictly speaking the Commission has not ordered works to stop. What
it has done is to tell the Government to change the 2004 legislation
to make provision for proper impact assessment before the site is
totally destroyed.

Sources indicated they would welcome an application in the Irish
courts for an injunction.

- Bernard Purcell

Another Kathy Sinnott press release

Stiof




Press Release-



Thursday, 12 July 2007



Kathy Sinnott: John Gormley can and must reverse the decision on M3 and Tara



On RTE Radio 1's Morning Ireland programme this morning, John Gormley,
Minister for the Environment, stated that "unless a material change in
circumstances has occurred, I cannot reverse the decision made by (previous
Minister for the Environment) Dick Roche" on the M3 Motorway. The Minister
said this in response to Kathy Sinnott, MEP who pointed out that the
European Commission informed the Minister on June 29 last that the M3
Motorway project lacks a valid Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) because
the discovery of the national monument at Lismullin constitutes a material
change to the original EIA. The M3 Motorway project in its present route is
now illegal.



"According to the European Commission a material change has occurred in the
shape of the monument at Lismullin, which was not taken into account in the
Environmental Impact Assessment conducted in 2003. This assessment was on
the basis that no national monument lay in the path of the road. The
discovery and identification of Lismullin as a national monument this year
represents a definite change in circumstance that could not have been taken
into account at the time of the 2003 EIA," says Independent MEP for Ireland
South Kathy Sinnott.



In addition, the Commission state that in its opinion the National Monuments
Act relied on by Dick Roche and now John Gormely to demolish Lismullin is
not in line with the EIA Directive and therefore invalid. This warning is
another "material change in circumstances."



On the basis of this material change, Minster John Gormley is now in a
position to reverse the former Environment Minister's decision and can
suspend works on the M3.



"I call on the Minister to hold true to his words this morning and stop
construction of the M3 which is destroying our precious cultural and
archaeological heritage in Tara."



-ENDS-



For further information, questions, comments or interview, please contact
Kathy on:  +353 87 2786 552 (mobile), +32 228 47692 (Brussels office) or
+353 21 4888 793 (Cork office)

Lots going on right now, with the EU laying down final warnings to the
Fianna Fail led government regarding the M3 development at Tara.

Stiof

First instalment:




Last Updated: 12/07/2007  16:06
No M3 re-routing despite EU warning
http://www.ireland.com/newspaper/breaking/2007/0712/breaking31.htm

Clodagh Mulvey

Campaigners against the current route of the M3 motorway near the Hill
of Tara will picket a number of international Irish embassies and Dáil
Eireann tomorrow in protest at the Government's response to a European
Commission warning over the legality of aspects of the project.

Members of Tarawatch will picket at noon (local times) in London, New
York, Chicago, Boston and Los Angeles, while local protesters will
begin gathering at Leinster House at 11am.

A protest march will also be held in Dublin on Saturday, July 21st at
1pm, which will go from the Garden of Remembrance to Custom House, the
headquarters of the Department of the Environment.

Campaigners have said they are "inflamed" by what they describe as the
Green Party's election pact with Fianna Fáil to agree to the M3
motorway project and today's announcement by Environment Minister John
Gormley that the Government will not re-route the road despite Euopean
criticism.

Earlier today the Government said it will not re-route the M3 despite
an official warning from the European Commission that it is in breach
of European law in relation to the planning of the controversial road.

This morning Minister for the Environment John Gormley said he did not
have the power to undo the last-minute decision taken by predecessor
Dick Roche to sign an order which permits the road works to proceed.

But Irish MEP Kathy Sinnott has called on the Government to re-route
the M3, saying the legal breach now makes it possible for the Minister
to do so.

She said Mr Gormley "can and must" re-route the road, which campaigners
claim will destroy precious cultural and archaeological heritage near
the Hill of Tara site at Lismullen, Co Meath.

Speaking on RTÉ radio this morning Mr Gormley said his department had
received a 20-page document from the European Commission last week
outlining the legal breach, which he claimed is "essentially about the
transposition of environmental impact assessment directives and our
failure to do that properly".

Mr Gormley said the matter had been raised with the Government
initially in 2001 and again in 2005 but said that following the legal
advice of the Attorney General he was now in a position where "unless
there was a material change of circumstances I could not revise the
decision that was made by Dick Roche".

However, Ms Sinnott said the identification of the Lismullen site as a
national monument this year constituted a material change of
circumstances and insisted the M3 Motorway project was now "illegal" as
it lacks a valid Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA).

"According to the European Commission a material change has occurred in
the shape of the monument at Lismullin, which was not taken into
account in the Environmental Impact Assessment conducted in 2003," she
said.

"This assessment was on the basis that no national monument lay in the
path of the road. The discovery and identification of Lismullin as a
national monument this year represents a definite change in
circumstance that could not have been taken into account at the time of
the 2003 EIA," she added.

Today Mr Gormley said he was taking the EU warning "very seriously
indeed" and would travel tomorrow to Brussels to discuss the matter
with the European Commissioner for the Environment Stavros Dimas.

Responding to Ms Sinnott's calls to re-route the M3 Motorway, Mr
Gormely said: "I don't have the power to re-route the entire M3 . . . I
can only deal with the powers that I have, and what I intend to do is
to speak to Commissioner Dimas tomorrow".

Darren Delahunty, one of the London group organisers, said: "Irish
people in the UK are outraged at the refusal of the Irish authorities
to try and proceed with the road, even when the public are so against
it, and the EU have stated it is illegal.

"Since the Irish abroad could not vote in the Irish elections, we are
making our views known to our Government in the only way we can," he
said of the planned picket.

The press statement from CST, Kathy Sinnott MEP's press release and question
from Kathy Sinnott to the European Commission and their response

Stiof



STATEMENT ON BEHALF OF THE CAMPAIGN TO SAVE TARA

CAMPAIGN WELCOMES MORATORIUM CALL BY MEP KATHY SINNOTT

The Campaign to Save Tara welcomes the call by the Independent MEP Kathy
Sinnott for an "immediate moratorium on M3 construction”. We are calling
on Minister Gormley and the Government to listen to the EU and the
concerns expresses by Commissioner Stavros Dimas if they will not listen
to the people of Ireland.
The fact that the National Monument of Lismullin was not discovered by
the initial exploratory methods demonstrates that there may be other
monuments still undiscovered on the route.

The destruction of Baronstown under cover of darkness, just before
documents released by the Department of Environment showed that the
Director of the National Museum considered it a National Monument as
well, adds to the urgent need for such a moratorium. The National Roads
Authority, a development body, has assumed to itself the power to
designate a National Monument in Ireland and the advice of the Director
is being ignored.

The Campaign to Save Tara demands that the letter about the demolition
of newly discovered monuments from the EU Commission to Kathy Sinnott be
heeded and that this moratorium begins immediately. The Commission’s
letter applies to Baronstown as much as it does to Lismullin. We also
demand at this stage that the rest of the route between Dunshaughlin and
Navan be archaeologically examined by geophysical survey before it is
left to a bulldozer driver to discover the next National Monument that
may come to light in this highly sensitive area.
For verification ring Muireann Ni Bhrolchain 087-9249510

Please find below the press release from Kathy Sinnott as well as the
letter of response from the Commissioner in response to her question.
Also visit this photobucket that shows the sites mentioned and others
http://s168.photobucket.com/albums/u167/muireanntemair/A%20selection%20of%20
photos/

////////////////////////////

-Press Release-

Wednesday, 11 July 2007

Commission Sends Warning on Tara: All Work at Tara Must Stop!

In a speech to the European Parliament in Strasbourg today, Kathy
Sinnott, Independent MEP for Ireland South, stated that the European
Commission has sent a warning to the National Roads Authority in Ireland
concerning the planned demolition of the Lismullin National Monument
near the Hill of Tara.

The site, which was just discovered in 2007, is due to be demolished as
part of the continued roadwork for the new M3. However, on 29 June,
2007, the Commission sent a Reasoned Opinion (final warning) to the NRA
expressing doubts about the Irish National Monuments Act. This Opinion
follows-up a warning sent to Ireland over concerns that the effects of
demolition works are excluded from the scope of their implementation of
the Environment Impact Assessments Directive, the results of which are
largely determining the direction of the M3.

The Commission does not expect to hear back from Irish officials for at
least two months. "Because of this, I am calling for an "immediate
moratorium on M3 construction. We cannot allow for the continued
destruction of our historic and cultural landmarks when multiple viable
alternatives exist for transport through this area," said Mrs. Sinnott.

"I believe this moratorium is necessary primarily to sort out the status
of the various archaeological projects in the area," added Kathy, who as
Vice Chairwoman of the European Parliament Petitions Committee recently
brought a delegation of the Committee to Ireland so they could witness
first hand the destruction of the Hill.

There is now an added urgency for the moratorium with the destruction of
a significant historical location near Baronstown at 4 am on 4 July.
This site was considered by many to be as worthy of National Monument
status as Lismullin, but the process of moving the Baronstown site
towards this status was delayed, and ultimately rendered moot by its
destruction.

“It is clear that the Commission’s letter must be heeded and all works
stopped until the legal status of the Irish National Monuments Act is
established.”

-ENDS-

For further information, questions, comments or interview, please
contact Kathy on: +353 87 2786 552 (mobile), +32 228 47692 (Brussels
office) or +353 21 4888 793 (Cork office)


Note to Editor
· Attached is the Question by Kathy Sinnott to the Commission and the
Commission's Answer, received yesterday

Question to the Commission regarding Tara asked by Kathy Sinnott MEP

The World Monument Fund has just included Tara in its list of the 100
Most Endangered Sites.

I would like to know the current position of the Commission in relation
to the road construction work in the area of the Hill of Tara, Co Meath,
Ireland, and the general issue of the proposed route for the M3.

Could you also please briefly sketch the history of the Commission's
position and its interaction with the Irish authorities?


Answer from the Commission 10th July 2007

The Commission is only in a position to intervene in a matter of this
kind if there is some procedural flaw.

The Commission received a significant number of complaints about the
environmental impact assessment (EIA) undertaken for the M3 motorway
project in 2003 but, based on the evidence received, was unable to
identify any such flaw up to and including the Planning Appeals Board
2003 decision.

However, in a quite separate case, the European Court of Justice has
recognised that decisions to approve projects may unfold in more than
one stage and that it may be inappropriate to limit the possibility of
EIA to an early stage as new circumstances and new factors may arise at
the time of a second-stage decision.

In June our attention was drawn to a new decision relating to the M3
project - namely the decision under the National Monuments Act, 2004 to
allow the demolition of the Lismullin national monument, which had been
discovered in 2007 and was unknown at the time of the original EIA. Our
attention was also drawn to the fact that the National Monuments Act
made no provision for the possible need for an EIA in respect of such a
decision.

As it happened, the Commission already had an infringement procedure
open against Ireland for excluding demolition works from the scope of
its implementation of the EIA Directive, 85/337/EEC on the assessment of
the effects of certain public and private projects on the environment.

On 29 June 2007, the Commission notified a Reasoned Opinion (final
warning) to Ireland in relation to the demolition issue. By way of
illustration of what the exclusion can mean in practice, the Reasoned
Opinion mentions Lismullin (which was not specifically mentioned
previously, as it only emerged as an issue in June of this year). It
also raises the issue of the compatibility of the National Monuments
Act, 2004 with the Directive and takes note of the World Monument Fund
listing that you mention.

When the EIA was undertaken for the M3 in 2003, the assessment was on
the basis that no national monument lay in the path of the road. The
discovery and identification of Lismullin as a national monument in 2007
represents a circumstance that was not - and could not - have been taken
into account at the time of the (first-stage) EIA. However, the National
Monuments Act, 2004 makes no provision for (second-stage) EIA in
relation to decisions allowing for destruction of national monuments
that were unknown at the time of a first-stage EIA.

A response is not expected for two months.

I hope that this clarifies the matter for you.

Kathy Sinno appeals for email submissions to Stavros Dimas ahead of a
meeting between Dimas & the Irish Environment Minister. Note that this was
originally sent c.1pm Thursday 12th and emails need to be delivered by
pretty much first light on Friday 13th.

Stiof



[Just in from Kathy Sinnott - Email stravos.dimas@...]

Dear All,

Tomorrow John Gormley, Minister for the Environment will be travelling
to Brussels to meet with Commissioner for Environment Stravos Dimas
about Irish Infringement matters (including Tara).

  I have just spoken with Commissioner Dimas' office about Tara.

What is now urgently needed is for everyone to email the Commissioner
about the Tara, M3, Lismullin issue and plead with him to save Tara. We
need as many emails as possible sent to the Commissioner today and no
later than tomorrow morning (also note Brussels is 1 hour ahead of
Ireland).The email of Commissioner Dimas is stravos.dimas@...
If you could copy me with the email that you send to Commissioner Dimas
that would be wonderful.

So please starting emailing and also pass this on to everyone else you
can think of who is interested in the issue. The more emails that are
sent the better.

I attach my speech made in Plenary in Strasbourg today mentioning Tara.

Thank you,

Yours,
Kathy

Kathy Sinnott, MEP for Ireland SouthEmail S

=

Kathy Sinnott, MEP for Ireland South

Explanation of Votes- Barsi Pataky Report on Sustainable Mobility

Thursday, 12 July 2007

The report on Sustainable Mobility for our continent, which we have
just voted on, stresses not only the need to build-up a better
infrastructure, but implies that this must be done responsibly.  It
points out that Member States must keep an eye on the environmental
impact of improved infrastructure as well as examining transport while
taking into account socio-economic factors vis a vis safety.

This is particularly relevant to my own country, Ireland, where we are
currently battling the need to make the preservation of a national
historic landmark a priority. The Irish authorities are in the process
of destroying one of the most important archaeological sites in Europe
in a bid to build the M3 motorway, improve transport systems in
Ireland. 41 sites which comprise European Heritage, including the
National Monument at Lismullen, will be demolished due to a motorway
that is unnecessarily routed through it. Once these monuments are
destroyed there is no way to replace the culture and heritage that will
be lost with them.

According to the Sustainable Mobility report, future transport policy
will have to optimise each country's own potential to meet the
objectives of clean and efficient transport systems. Ireland can
achieve this but a motorway through Tara is not the answer. Irish
authorities have not considered alternative routes and instead by road
construction, they are destroying significant historical locations,
like the site at Baronstown that was destroyed at 4am on the 4th July
last. Nor have they considered revising an old rail line in the area to
carry commuters to Dublin, reducing road traffic and fuel usage. We
should return to the old methods of transport like the train that used
to operate near Tara.

While I agree with a sustainable Europe and better transport
infrastructure, I firmly believe that we cannot and should not
sacrifice one of our most precious archaeological sites for a misplaced
motorway.

And it just keeps coming... Tarawatch demo outside the Dáil...

Stiof

#####################################################

Tara demo tomorrow - Dail Eireann, Kildare St.  11.00am

We HAVE to have a good showing. This is a very critical moment.

http://www.tarawatch.org

Thought this might be of interest...

Stiof

#########################################

METALS AND METALWORKING IN IRELAND
Dublin, 14-16th September 2007

This year’s Historical Metallurgy Society conference is being run in
conjunction with the Mining Heritage Trust of Ireland and will be based in
the National Museum in Dublin, by kind invitation of its Director, Dr
Patrick Wallace. There will be visits guided by four of the Museum’s
curators to both the Archaeological collections at Kildare Street and the
Decorative Arts and History collections at Collins Barracks. In addition
there will be two half-day lecture sessions at Collins Barracks with a wide
range of papers on all aspects of metals and metalworking in Ireland, from
the earliest times to the more recent past. On the Friday and Monday there
will be optional visits to historic mining sites near Dublin, organised by
the Mining Heritage Trust of Ireland.

Accommodation has been arranged in Trinity College Dublin, which is in the
centre of the city. Non-residents can join us for dinner on both Friday and
Saturday evenings.

The early evening lectures on Friday will be in the National Museum in
Kildare Street, which is close to Trinity College. They will provide an
introduction to the subject matter of the conference and be followed by a
wine reception. On Saturday morning we return to the Museum in Kildare
Street to visit the archaeological collections. Highlights are the Bronze
Age gold, the Treasury with its many Early Christian metal artefacts, and
the Viking and medieval galleries with displays including a wide range of
metal objects and evidence for metalworking. On Saturday afternoon there
will be the first lecture session at Collins Barracks. On Saturday evening
there will be a series of short members’ talks at Trinity College before we
adjourn to the bar. On Sunday morning we return to Collins Barracks for a
second lecture session, followed by a buffet lunch and visits to the museum’
s collections, which include coins, pewter, Georgian silver, military items
and the ‘What’s in store’ visible storage display of over 16,000 objects
including metalwork and scientific instruments. There may be an opportunity
to see Viking metalworking finds from Dublin in the stores.

The lecture programme is being finalised and will be posted on the HMS
website at the end of July. A downloadable registration form can also be
found on the website (http://hist-met.org/conf2007.html).

For further details of the conference please contact the organiser:
Justine Bayley, English Heritage, Fort Cumberland, Eastney, Portsmouth PO4
9LD
Email: justine.bayley@...




This e-mail (and any attachments) is confidential and may contain personal
views which are not the
views of English Heritage unless specifically stated. If you have received
it in error, please delete it
from your system and notify the sender immediately. Do not use, copy or
disclose the information in
any way nor act in reliance on it. Any information sent to English Heritage
may become publicly available.

Forwarded for information. Further information will be passed on as & hen it
becomes available.

Stiof

###################

Dear All,

A number of archaeologists and cultural organisations have come together to
form a
Heritage Protection Alliance.  A press release has been issued, I
understand, at 1pm on 16th
May 2007.

The press release is as below, as forwarded to me on the 16th May prior to
the actual
release.

Please disseminate to all who would have an interest in furthering the
Alliance's aims to
protect Ireland's archaeological and cultural heritage and to your press
contacts locally if
appropriate.  The Alliance's contact details are given at the end of the
release and contacts
for particular sites of interest, as included in the release, are also
given. 

Thanks

Dr. Chris Smal

PRESS RELEASE FOLLOWS:


HERITAGE PROTECTION ALLIANCE of IRELAND

CHARTER  May 2007

The Heritage Protection Alliance of Ireland is being founded in May
2007 to seek the repeal of the National Monument Act of 2004.   This
Act extended the powers of the Minister of the Environment, Heritage
and Local Government, to allow for the destruction of archaeological
remains.  The alliance seeks a strong National Monuments Act which
would ensure that real protection is afforded to what remains of our
archaeological heritage.

The past ten years have seen an unprecedented number of sites being
subjected to unnecessary destruction.   Poor identification and
research at the planning stage have cost the taxpayer millions of euro
through unnecessary excavations which could and should have been
avoided.

The alliance members include professional archaeologists, historians,
senior academics and other experts and community leaders, including
Professor Donnachadh O' Corrain, Dr. David Edwards, Dr. Muireann Ní
Brolacháin, Dr. Padraig Lenihan, Rev. Brian Kennaway, and   Senator
David Norris.  Their combined professional experience and expertise
has led them to the conclusion that Irish archaeology and protection
given to heritage is in crisis. This is an issue which needs an
immediate response by any new government.  The National Heritage has
been unnecessarily downgraded to facilitate development pressures and
this must be revisited.

During the past 10 years over 10,000 sites of archaeological potential
have been investigated in the Republic of Ireland under licence to the
Department of the Environment and Heritage.   Approximately 70% of
these sites have tested "archaeologically positive", a phenomenal
number by any standards.  To put this number in perspective, it should
be recalled that in 1989 a mere 101 sites were excavated.

In a period of rapid change, the cultural heritage of the country has
been subjected to an unprecedented policy of what is, essentially,
rescue archaeology.   Sites which should have been protected, have
been perfunctorily excavated and reduced to "preservation by record" -
so frequently that this has almost become an acceptable practice in
itself.   This in many cases should be re-named "destruction by
documentation".

Immediate reform is needed to halt this perfunctory excavation and
destruction of sites, monuments, and their curtilages - which has now
become almost a matter of routine. The current situation is totally
unacceptable.

There is now an urgent need to protect what remains.

The policy which has allowed the present situation to arise is
fundamentally flawed and unsustainable.   It must be remembered
Archaeology is a finite resource, and the duty of the National
Government is to offer the utmost protection to this irreplaceable
resource.

Prior to this government's ill-advised amendment to the National
Monuments Act in 2004, the presumption was that "destruction by
recording" was an extreme measure that should be avoided.   Since the
failure of the government of the time to prevent the destruction of
Wood Quay, Ireland's track record on the protection of our heritage
has been poor. The 2004 Act has reduced the status of archaeology to
the point where there is a development assumption, with lamentably few
worthy exceptions, and that now, excavation and recording is the norm
rather than the rarity.

The impact of the amendment has been devastating effect to local
communities, where resources which should have been used to develop
Heritage Tourism and Environmental Education have had to be diverted
into long and costly Court Cases and Bord Pleanala hearings.   It is
to the credit of the community as a whole that, in so many areas,
strong and effective participation has prevented some of the worst
excesses of the current policy, and the community has been at times
supported by An Bord Pleanala in their efforts, often overruling the
local authorities' initial grants of permission.

The 2004 amendment must be repealed for the sake of the cultural
integrity of this island.   A new policy must be formulated, and this
Alliance is seeking to place this issue on the agenda as a priority
for the next government.

The Monuments & Antiquities Committee of An Taisce welcomes the
formation of an alliance of professional experts and academics, in
partnership with local communities, and has offered a support role in
the development and co-ordination of the Alliance.   A spokesperson
from An Taisce said that they fully accord with the need for a new and
effective policy in the National Interest:

"Individual communities have seen the erosion of the local vernacular
sites which define their towns, villages and landscapes, without
little recognition of their local knowledge or research.   A common
experience is that when local knowledge indicates that a site is
important, it has not been sufficiently acknowledged by the Department
of the Environment, Heritage and Local Government, or the local
authority. This situation has served no one.

Developers have been subjected to astronomical costs in "resolving"
archaeology, which is then passed on to the public and business sector
- while communities have struggled to raise funds to hire
archaeologists, lawyers, and planners to try and do what is the
state's responsibility - to identify and protect our heritage.

National infrastructure projects have been delayed because archaeology
becomes an issue late in the day, because basic research has not been
conducted and routes for roads which were ill advised in the first
place are at great expense and delay, eventually re-routed or built at
a price that is no longer acceptable.   It is sad but true that
taxpayers are paying for the destruction of heritage they wish to see
protected, in the name of progress."

Some sites have been totally destroyed through lack of proper planning
at initial design phase. Consultant archaeological companies are
perceived to be "developer-led", and are believed by many communities
to have "fast tracked" excavations.   Local Area Plans and re-zoning
issues have proved, in many instances, to have been developer-led, and
failed to include local history organizations reasoned submissions in
relation to heritage.

A solution, where appropriate, would be to create a levy on new
development which provides an archaeological process independent of
the developer, and prior to any planning application.   A strong
independent National Monuments Advisory Body should be reinstated.
Permanent protection to the archaeological heritage and landscape must
be enshrined in new legislation.   We cannot undo the destruction that
has occurred, but we can seek to end it.

Non-intrusive techniques and the historic record alone could have
protected many sites which now exist as a paper record only.   The
establishment of a robust register of sites of vernacular importance
in each settlement area, to augment the power of the present Sites and
Monuments Register/County Development Plans is long overdue.   It is
the landscape and history of each town and village which gives it it's
unique identity, and it is this that has been lost in many instances.

It has been a pattern in Irish life and politics that abuse is
recognised only in retrospect.   Our capacity to deal with it is
hindered by the lack of decisive intervention even after it has been
acknowledged.  We are asking our future political leaders to take
responsibility and pledge commitment to a protection of our now very
damaged archaeological heritage landscape and support the thousands of
individuals who want reform.

We are looking for a government that recognises that what has happened
is disgraceful, and that takes the time to explore and cherish what is
essentially Irish.

CASE STUDIES

The Heritage Protection Alliance of Ireland has identified the
following sites as case studies where the policy as defined by the
Planning Acts has been inadequate and in need of further protection.
The various organizations who have identified and defended these
sites, and their professional experts are committed to a reform of the
planning acts to provide an integrated policy for the protection of
the archaeological heritage and landscape of Ireland.

Alliance membership includes professional archaeologists, architects,
academics and local community groups who are or have been instrumental
in protecting or attempting to protect the following sites:

TEMPLE SITE, TARA-SKRYNE VALLEY, CO. MEATH

The discovery of a sacred Temple site at Tara (of the High Kings) is
one of the most significant archaeological discoveries in these
islands in the 21st Century.   The public was not informed for a month
after its finding, and no attempt has been made to involve the
international archaeological community in this extraordinary
development.   The circular enclosure has a remarkable diameter of 80
metres.

A wooden post circle is reminiscent of discoveries at Emain Macha
(seat of the ancient Kings of Ulster) and Dun Ailinne (seat of the
ancient Kings of Leinster); a National Monument without question, and
one totally deserving of preservation.  This site should have been
identified prior to any road plans being drawn up.   It is
incomprehensible, given the technologies available, that it was not.
An appeal by An Taisce awaits hearing in the Supreme Court.

VIKING LONGPHORT SITE, WOODSTOWN, CO WATERFORD

A Viking longphort site - in essence the site of early Waterford city.
 National Monument belatedly declared.   Intrusive archaeological
testing led to the destruction of large parts of the site, and
contrary to all best practice, Viking objects were found and removed
from soil dump. The alarm was raised only when young archaeologists
expressed concern.   The opportunity to place this site in the
research corpus of international Viking sites was lost.

KILSALLAGHAN HISTORIC LANDSCAPE, CO. DUBLIN

Complex of sub-surface monuments at the heart of a largely intact
prehistoric into medieval landscape.   Proposed super-prison, (the
largest in Europe), combined with the Central Mental Hospital.
Decision to buy land based on "incomplete, inaccurate, and misleading
information". Lack of proper impact study undertaken prior to the
purchase of the site. Local residents ignored and deemed not worthy of
consultation by the relevant Minister. This coupled with new
legislation, designed to allow the government to build no matter what
the retrospective Environmental Impact Assessment uncovers. High Court
proceedings have been re-initiated.

BATTLE OF THE BOYNE SITE, CO. LOUTH/ MEATH

A site, which under international heritage conventions, would have
been preserved intact. However at present there is a proposal to build
a so-called "eco-friendly" hotel immediately adjacent to the place of
King William's wounding during the battle! A "strongly worded" letter
sent by the OPW to Co. Louth planners (Febuary 2006); How about
outright refusal? An Taisce has filed an objection.

TRIM CASTLE, CO. MEATH

A proposal to build a hotel immediately across the narrow street from
the perimeter wall of Ireland's most impressive castle.   Despite the
views of Department of Environment archaeologists, and other concerned
professionals to reject the proposal, the experts were over-ruled and
the hotel was built by consent of the Minister for the Environment of
the day.

ROUND TOWER, CLONDALKIN, CO. DUBLIN

Proposal to build a bar/restaurant immediately adjacent to the Early
Christian Round Tower! Resisted successfully thanks to the efforts of
the local residents and the cross-party co-operation of the elected
representatives(2005).

AUGHRIM BATTLEFIELD SITE, CO. GALWAY
Major battlefield in the 1690s Williamite/ Jacobite war, t he Aughrim
battle site is under threat from the proposed motorway which cuts
through the left flank of the Irish position to the north of Aughrim
village. The integrity of the rest of the site and especially the
Jacobite lines on Aughrim Hill has been and is being degraded by house
building. Galway County Council refuses to recognise the need for any
controls over building in the core of the battle site. The contract to
build the road was agreed last month (April 2007).

HILLFORT AT RAHALLY, CO. GALWAY

A trivallate hillfort of exceptionally rare form.   Diameter of 400
metres.  Omitted from Environmental Impact Assessment.  Topsoil within
perimeter mechanically removed, which is contrary to best practice;
hardly any topsoil finds! This is part of the route for the proposed
M6.

BLACK PIG'S DYKE, CO. CAVAN & ULSTER

An ancient defensive barrier believed to have once stretched from
Armagh to Donegal, dating from around 100 BC and, according to
Professor Donnachadh O' Corrain of UCC, is "monumental evidence to the
type of accounts given in the Tain Bo Cuilleanna," - the ancient myths
which feature Cucullen and the saga of the Brown Bull of Cooley.
Last year Cavan County Council considered an application by a quarry
company to expand their operation at an area in which the last
surviving section of the dyke in Cavan is sited.   The company has
already destroyed a 220 metre section of the dyke since they began
quarrying there in the mid-1970's; the only arrest on this
environmental brutalism has been through the efforts of local
voluntary heritage interests.

PREHISTORIC-MEDIEVAL LANDSCAPE, RATHDOWN, CO. WICKLOW.

This landscape includes Rathdown Castle and St. Crispin's Cell;
continuous settlement from prehistoric times, with a complex
multi-period series of sites and remains.   One of the few landfall
sites remaining in the country intact, on the slopes of Bray Head, and
one of the most important deserted Medieval sites in Ireland.
Located in the Barony of Rathdown, home of the MacGillaMcolmogs and
other Leinster Chieftains, its landscape has survived almost intact on
the costal strip.  Gave its name to present administrative area of Dun
Laoghaire-Rathdown.

The protection of the Rathdown site has been ongoing over the past 17
years, involving the local community in numerous planning appeals.
Most of the site has been preserved, but some unnecessary loss
occurred, after trial trenching failed to identify significant
prehistoric settlement (Beaker period) and an Early Christian
corn-drying kiln.

The present proposals for a Marina and c.350 apartments now with An
Bord Pleanala, has confirmed substantial archaeology on the 'Castle
Bawn' field to the south of the present 24 acre National Monument.
The developers propose to use almost all of the field for a merely
temporary industrial facility to facilitate the works.  The original
planning application by Wicklow Co. Council disregarded the wealth of
information about the site already on their files, and objections on
heritage grounds were ignored.   The destruction of national heritage
to serve temporary works is incomprehensible.

CARRICKMINES CASTLE & MEDIEVAL SETTLEMENT, CO. DUBLIN

Unique revetted fosse with a well-documented history. Declared a
National Monument only after Court action.   Destruction directed by
the Minister for the Environment after the National Monuments Act had
been downgraded in 2004. All future major discoveries are accordingly
put in jeopardy.   The unanswered question posed by Judge Flood in the
Tribunal - "who decided to move the site of the interchange onto the
known castle site?" Answer by the relevant authorities was "can't
remember"; an answer described by Judge Flood as "unimpressive".   It
is believed this junction, the 4th in a 9 kilometre stretch of the
M50, was designed, and specifically the roundabout, to facilitate the
opening up of the rezoned lands that belonged to Jackson Way.

CARRIGAPHOOCA CASTLE, MACROOM, CO. CORK

Carrigaphooca Castle; until now one of Irelands best kept Hiberno
Norman Tower-houses, sited in an outstanding setting.   This demesne
is listed in the National Inventory of Architectural Heritage category
on historic gardens and designed landscapes.  It was from this castle
that Justin MacCarthy, Lord of Muskerry and Carrigaphooca, led the
first Irish brigade to France.   WB Yeats included a story from the
castle in his collection of Irish Faerie Tales.

The current plan for Carrigaphooca Castle, manor house, and nearby
pre-historic stone circle, is to slice through this demesne by placing
a four-lane highway and two flyovers less than 200 metres from the
castle door - thus obliterating the entire setting of the castle, the
remnants of its bawn, and manor house.   An outrageous proposal that
should never have been considered in the first place.



The Alliance is concerned at the dilapidation and possible destruction
of a number of heritage buildings, their settings, and historic and
architectural potential:

16 MOORE STREET, DUBLIN CITY

The location of the last documented headquarters of the 1916
Provisional Government.   Twice scheduled in the City Development Plan
for protection - and yet the roof was being let collapse in on what is
now a derelict building.  As with Clondalkin, the only reason the
building is being saved is through the voluntary efforts of community
response- and as such there are yet uncertainties as to the ultimate
fate of the building in question, with the designation of it being a
National Monument under challenge.

12 DORSET STREET, DUBLIN CITY

The remainder of the birthplace of the playwright Richard Brinsley
Sheridan, who authored "The School for Scandal", amongst other works.
 In the last few months Dublin City Council has granted permission -
currently being appealed - to demolish and replace this supposedly
"protected structure" with a block of flats.

1 MOUNTJOY SQUARE, DUBLIN CITY

A house of significant cultural importance.  Left neglected and
empty with deadbolts on the front door, this house had been in the
charitable hands of a religious institution until it was sold a decade
ago.  Subsequently sub-divided and let out in multiple occupancies, a
fire occurred at the house last Christmas (December 2006).   This was
a location of Dail Eireann which met here during 1919 and 1920 when
owned by Alderman Walter Coles, who also let Michael Collins use of
the address as a safe house during The War of Independence.
Previously it had been the residence of Home Rule MP T.M. Healy, and
prior to that had been residence to Archbishop Hawksley.

GREYSTONES HARBOUR, CO. WICKLOW

The department of the Environment has conceded the destruction of the
19th Century South Pier in Greystones harbour, and acceded to
proposals which will open up development possibilities on every soft
shoreline in the country. Wicklow Co. Council has refused - despite
strong local objections to re-zoning and planning - to accord
Architectural Conservation Area status to the harbour area, one of the
finest Victorian landscapes on the East coast, which includes 14
protected buildings whose setting will be irretrievably damaged by the
Marina Proposals.

CONCLUSION

In every corner of this island, there are concerned citizens involved
in protecting what is essentially our collective identity.   The
Heritage Protection Alliance of Ireland seeks to provide a platform
and a forum in defence of the history, cultures, and integrity of the
island.
 In the context of a general election in the Republic it is of great
interest and concern to a sizeable proportion of its citizens to know
just where exactly the respective political parties stand in relation
to heritage and more importantly its protection.

It is the intention of the Heritage Protection Alliance to seek formal
meetings with the relevant spokespersons of the respective parties.
The individual reactions/ pronouncements of the parties shall then be
made public.

There has been a consistent pattern to date, which is no longer
acceptable.   The scale, losses and destruction of our built and rural
heritage has reached a point where it is vital that a new policy is
devised which protects the fragile remains of our settlements and
architectural and archaeological landscapes.

The pattern is one of systematic destruction of the physical
manifestations of our collective history and cultures on the island of
Ireland.   In the cause of citizenship and democracy, it is time to
re-instate the onus back upon the taxpayer-funded state bodies to
protect the physical heirlooms of our unique and shared cultures.

HERITAGE PROTECTION ALLIANCE of IRELAND - SPOKESPERSON PER SITE:

Tara ancient seat of High Kings - Dr. Muireann Ní Brolacháin.
Tel: +353 87 924 9510 Email: muireann@...

Woodstown Viking site - Professor Donnachadh O' Corrain.
Tel: +353 86 832 7202, Email:
ocorrain@...

Kilsallaghan Historic Townland, Co Dublin - Teresa McDonald
Tel: +353 85 722 5659,
Email: info@...

Boyne battlefield site - Rev. Brian Kennaway.
Tel: +44 7778 998 115,
Email:bkennaway@...,
Dr. Padraig Lenihan Tel: +353 91 527 003,
Email: padraig.lenihan@...

Trim Norman Castle - Councillor Phil Cantwell.
Tel: +353 87 288 0288,
Email: pcantwell@... Rathdown Prehistoric and

Medieval settlement, Greystones Victorian Harbour :Emer Singleton.
Tel: +353 871 151 949, Email:  info@...

Carrickmines Medieval Settlement - Ruadhán Mac Eoin,
Tel: +353 86 814 6077, Email:  ruadhan.maceoin@...

Aughrim battlefield site - Rev. Brian Kennaway.
Tel: +44 7778 998 115,
Email:bkennaway@... ,
Dr. Padraig Lenihan Tel: +353 91 527 003,
Email:  padraig.lenihan@...

Carrigaphooca Castle, Macroom, Co Cork - Dr. David Edwards. +353 86
161 9866, Email:   d.edwards@...

16 Moore St, Dublin, HQ of 1916 Provisional Government - Dominic
Dunne.  Tel.: +353 85 7387565,
Email:  domodun@...

12 Dorset Street, Dublin, birthplace of Brinsley Sheridan - Senator
David Norris.   Tel: +353 1 618 3333,
Email: info@...

1 Mountjoy Square - Michael Smith.
Tel: +353 1 873 5824, Email: michaelsmith@...


CO-ORDINATORS:


Dr. Mark Clinton. +353 85 109 2473,
Email:norahbk@...

Ruadhán Mac Eoin Tel: +353 86 814 6077,
Email: ruadhan.maceoin@...

Dr. Chris Smal,
64 The Grove, Rathdown,
Greystones, Co. Wicklow, Ireland
Phone and Fax:  +353-(0)1-2877400
Mobile: 086-3075756
Email:  smalc@...

Apologies for the ongoing cross-posting, but I think the occasion warrants
it. This will be the last such cross-posting from me today on this topic.

More support provided to the Heritage Alliance.

Stiof

   >  -----Original Message-----
   >  From: Dr. Muireann Ni Bhrolchain [mailto:muireann@...]
   >  Sent: 16 May 2007 22:41
   >  To: aoife@...
   >  Subject: Press Release - Save Tara Campaign
   >
   >
   >
   >  Find below a press release from the Campaign to Save Tara. Here is a
   >  link to a Photobucket that contains the aerial photographs taken by
   >  Paula Geraghty for the Campaign to Save Tara. Also included are two
   >  aerial shots taken of a new site near Collierstown - these were taken
by
   >  the Sunday World and have been given free of charge to the Campaign to
   >  use. If using Paula's photographs please credit her.
   >  http://s168.photobucket.com/albums/u167/muireanntemair/April%20
   >  aerial%20shots/
   >  Also found at the end is a detailed release from the Heritage
   >  Protection
   >  Alliance of Ireland
   >
   >  Muireann Ní Bhrolcháin 087-9249510
   >  http://www.savetara.com
   >
   >  Campaign to Save Tara supports the Heritage Protection
   >  Alliance of Ireland
   >
   >  The Campaign to Save Tara welcomes and supports the
   >  announcement of the
   >  Heritage Protection Alliance of Ireland and their call to repeal the
   >  National Monument Act of 2004. Ireland had the best protection of
   >  heritage in Europe until Minister Cullen amended this act and
   >  effectively gave ministers the power to destroy National Monuments in
   >  order to facilitate the agenda of unbridled and unsustainable
   >  development in the name of progress.
   >
   >  Archaeology must be taken back into the care of the state and
   >  away from
   >  the NRA and the private archaeological contracting companies that it
   >  employs. Dúchas, or a body of its kind, must be put in place with an
   >  independent voice for archaeology.
   >
   >  The practice of “preservation by record” is the order of the day and
   >  this is what faces the new National Monument at Lismullin. Why declare
   >  the appearance of a National Monument one week only to order its
   >  destruction the next? The Campaign to Save Tara asks that this site be
   >  fully investigated and then covered over and left in peace.
   >  The Campaign
   >  also asks that the whole area between it and Rath Lugh and its
   >  environs,
   >  including what used to be Lismullin Wood, be fully investigated by
   >  independent archaeologists and not those associated with the NRA. The
   >  Campaign also demands that the full extent of the associated finds at
   >  Lismullin be given and published immediately by the NRA.
   >
   >  M. Ní Bhrolcháin said: “Tara is the line in the sand. If the
   >  Government
   >  are allowed to destroy Tara’s landscape then nowhere in
   >  Ireland is safe.
   >  The aerial shots taken by the Campaign clearly show that the whole
   >  Gabhra Valley is a monument and the road cannot be moved within it
   >  without destroying another possible National Monument. Sites such as
   >  Collierstown, Rowestown and Baronstown should also have been
   >  declared as
   >  National Monuments.”
   >
   >  Michael Canney said: "This new heritage protection alliance is
   >  absolutely necessary if we are to stop the increasing trend of seeing
   >  our heritage as a obstacle to progress; as some kind of
   >  inconvenience to
   >  a glorious concrete-covered future. The time has come, and the public
   >  are way ahead of the political classes in this regard, where we must
   >  recognize environmental protection and economic development as
   >  a shared
   >  goal, because it is only through thoughtful management of our
   >  environmental and heritage resources, that future prosperity
   >  is guaranteed."
   >
   >  For verification:
   >  Muireann Ní Bhrolcháin 087-9249510
   >  Michael Canney 086 8528200

New Academy for Heritage aims to protect historical environment
Fiona Tyrrell

Irish Times
Friday, April 23, 2004

Countering the profit-driven approach to planning is the aim of a new
organisation of historians and academics, which is due to be launched
in the next two weeks.

The organisation plans to involve historians, archaeologists and other
academics in trying to protect what "is left of our historical
environment", the historian, Prof Roy Foster, a member of the new
organisation, said before addressing the History Society of Trinity
College, Dublin last night.

Academy for Heritage, which is being set up by 20 academics, historians
and archaeologists in Ireland, aims to "speak up for heritage",
according to Dr David Edwards, Department of History, University
College of Cork. The organisation plans to make regular public comments
on heritage conservation, he explained. "We insist on having a role in
planning," he said.

The moment is ripe for such an organisation, according to Prof Foster,
not only because of the number of threatened sites, but also because of
"clear evidence from the tribunals and elsewhere how corrupt and
careless the entire area of planning has been in the past".

News report dealing with the Heritage Alliance

Stiof

#################

Sites of historical importance which are currently under threat,
according to Prof Foster, include No 16 Moore Street, where leaders of
the 1916 Easter Rising had their last headquarters before surrendering
to British forces; Yeats's house in Rathfarnham; Trim Castle; the
medieval pleasure grounds at Leap Castle in Co Offaly; and Tara.

He hopes that the organisation will "draw attention to these outrages
and make An Bord Pleanála look very carefully at decisions that have
been made by local authorities".

He also called for the establishment of a public body which can oppose
planning decisions rather than just make recommendations. An Taisce and
Dúchas, which has now become the Heritage Service, have done "a lot of
good work" but a public body with "teeth" is needed, he stated.

Public attention needs to be alerted to this issue before it is "too
late", according to Mr Foster, who said that our historical, rural and
urban environment is being damaged by an "entirely profit-driven
approach to planning".

The layers of historical wealth that were once protected by Ireland's
poverty are now, ironically, being destroyed by our prosperity, he
added.

(c) Irish Times

I think some here may wish to respond to the following.

Stiof

#################

TaraWatch is urgently seeking an expert in prehistoric Irish
archaeology to inspect a newly discovered henge near the Hill of Tara,
in the path of the M3 motorway.  Funds are available to retain such an
expert if needed.

Vincent
087-132-3365

As a part of a piece of research I'm working on I have a need to get data on
ancient woodlands in Ireland and in adjacent lands - Britain, France, Germany,
Belgium, Holland, Scandinavia. Data from eg Poland, Finland, upland Iberia,
Alpine regions

What I'm after are reports or texts dealing with ancient woodlands from one or
more of the following angles:
- pollen records
- excavated trees/ stumps from waterlogged, submerged or bog lands
- ancient texts locating woodlands at specific identifiable locations

In particular, I'm interested in anything dealing with trees at altitude -
anything over c. 200m OD is of interest. The type of data I'm after includes
dating the presence of specific species at a given site (eg pollen, seed,
preserved stumps, logs) and measurement of growth rates (eg measurement of tree
rings, girth).

Species I'm interested in:
- Ash
- Sessile & Pedunculate Oak
- Rowan
- Alder
- Goat Willow
- Silver & Downy Birch
- Wild & Bird Cherry
- Whitebeam spp.
- Holly
- Wych Elm
- Yew
- Scots Pine

While texts in English or Irish are ideal, anything in French or German would be
welcome, and anything in Latin, Dutch, Portuguese, Spanish, Norse, Danish,
Polish or Swedish would also be of use if the data is an excellent match for my
requirements.

Sources, references, links to websites, hard copy, offers to help, photocopied
journal papers... any and all help would be most gratefully appreciated!

Thanks,

Stiof

Thought people would be interested in this.

NOTE: All lectures are FREE.

Stiof

###############################################

[Hi everyone, We'd really appreciate it if you would forward this
message or put up a poster. Poster vailable at
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/hilloftara/files/RSAI/ ]

TaraWatch is pleased to announce that the Tara Lecture Series at the
Royal Society of Antiquaries of Ireland (RSAI) will commence on
Saturday 28th October and continue up until Christmas, and perhaps
into the New year.

The proceedings of the lecture series will be collected into a
published volume, which will be co-edited by the Irish Pulitzer
Prize-winning poet, Dr. Paul Muldoon, of Priceton University.

Lectures will be held in the Helen Roe Lecture Theatre of RSAI, 63
Merrion Square, Dublin 2 at 12.00pm every Saturday. Admission is free.

Here are the first three lecturers:

28th October - Mr Charles Doherty, School of Early Irish History,
University College Dublin. "Christianity and Kingship: Tara"

4th November - Dr Joseph Flavin, Dept. of Old and Modern Irish,
University College Cork. Topic TBA

11th November - Dr. Tadh O hAnnrachain, School of History and
Archives, University College Dublin. "Tara and the rebellion of 1641"

For more information please email info@... or call Vincent
Salafia at 087-132-3365

http://www.tarawatch.org

poster available at
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/hilloftara/files/RSAI/

Due to the impact of holdays on contributors' ability to deliver final copies
for August, the release of issue 4 of Insight has been held over by one month
until the end of September. We had suspected that this might well happen, but
felt it was worth giving August a shot.

As a result, we are still open to new submissions until 15th September.

Articles, notes, news and reviews relating to Ireland's human and natural
heritage are acceptable; for issue 4 we are especially interested in discussions
of the relationship between communities and their local heritage.

Submissions and proposals should be addressed to myself via email.

Thanks,

Stiof MacAmhalghaidh
calraige@...

People,

We are now accepting FINAL submissions for INSIGHT Online Journal #4 which will
be released at the end of
August, and initial submissions for #5, due in December 2006.

Closing date for final submissions for #4 is Sunday 13 August.

Closing date for submissions for #5 is Sunday 3 December.


-------------------------------------------------------------------------


INSIGHT publishes articles, notes and reviews of any length (including
unpublished Masters theses) and we welcome work that takes advantage of the
opportunities afforded by online publication such as graphics, animations etc.

All submissions are subject to peer-review.

We welcome any work dealing with Ireland's heritage in the broadest sense,
including, but not limited to:

Archaeology
Architecture
Environment
Folklore
History
Language
Literature
Mythology
Natural History
Performance Arts
Visual Arts

If you are unsure whether your material is appropriate, we will be happy to
advise.

Of special interest for Issue #4 are discussions of the interrelationship
between community and heritage.


-------------------------------------------------------------------------


Initial submissions should be in the form of an abstract, though we will accept
completed papers at this stage also.

Submissions should be formatted as plain text, rich text, Word .doc or html.
Final submissions should be delivered in plain text or rich text only.

Please address initial enquiries or submissions to:

calraige@...

with the word INSIGHT included in the subject line


-------------------------------------------------------------------------


Many thanks,

Stiof MacAmhalghaidh
Editor, INSIGHT Journal
calraige@...
http://www.irishinsight.net
--

If you can make it to this event (and can afford the fee), you are in for a
serious treat.

If you don't already know what the fuss about Tara is all about, here's your
chance to learn more than most.

Stiof

################################

PRESS RELEASE - THE GABHRA VALLEY SEMINAR
Muireann Ni Bhrolchain SAVETARA
087-9249510

  “The Gabhra Valley through the Centuries to
2000 A.D.” will take place on Saturday 13 May 2006 in Lismullin Conference
Centre, Navan Co. Meath

Those who wondered why so many people objected to the decision of the
NRA to divert the route of the proposed M3 Motorway through the Gabhra
(Gowra) valley between the Hills of Tara and Skryne will be interested
in a seminar which looks at “The Gabhra Valley through the Centuries to
2000 AD”. This will be held in Lismullin Conference Centre on the N3 at
the foot of the Hill of Tara on Saturday 13 May beginning with
registration at 10.30 a.m. The venue is in the heart of the Valley and
this seminar will give people the opportunity to visit it and learn
about the national importance of the Valley in the history, heritage and
traditions of Ireland. The cut off at 2000 AD is chosen to exclude
discussion of the proposed route of the M3 motorway and to leave more
time to consider the rich heritage of the area.

In Session 1 on “Early Times” at 11.00 the Introduction will set the
scene and location. Stephen McCarron of NUI, Maynooth will deal with the
formation and natural geological features of the valley. Then Conor
Newman of NUI, Galway will consider the archaeological or man-made
features of the area and its relation to Tara. The importance of the
Gabhra valley in early Irish literature and legend will be described by
Muireann Ní Bhrolcháin of NUI, Maynooth

After lunch in Session 2 on “Historical Times” Edel Bhreathnach will
discuss the Gabhra Valley in early Irish history and the Tara of the
High Kings. The Gabhra Valley and the Anglo-Normans will be covered by
the Navan historian William Battersby from the foudation of the priory
at Lismullin down to recent times through the Cusack and Dillon
families. In session 3 on “Recent Times” some local historians will deal
with other stories and events in the Valley. Liam McCarthy of Garlow
cross will look at happenings in 1798 and items of interest in the lower
valley. Joan Gallagher of Rathfeigh will deal with the history and
features around Skryne and the upper valley.

The fee for the seminar, including lunch, refreshments and
documentation, is €50 and advanced booking is recommended to secure a place

Further information and booking places at the Lismullin Institute
Office. 44 Westland Row, Dublin 2 or on-line at Lismullin@... or
01 676 0731 or www.lismullin.org

The seminar is supported by the Heritage Council

--
Internal Virus Database is out-of-date.
Checked by AVG Free Edition.
Version: 7.1.385 / Virus Database: 268.5.1/326 - Release Date: 27/04/2006

   ----------

_______________________________________________
Press mailing list
Press@...
http://lapsedhippy.com/mailman/listinfo/press


[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

With apologies for cross-posting...

Issue #3 of Insight Journal, the free online Irish Heritage Studies publication
is now available:

www.irishinsight.net

This issues' contents include:

The Late Pat Radford on Medieval Mermaid Imagery
Shae Clancy on Sheela-na-Gigs
Stiof MacAmhalghaidh on Cath Maige Tuired
Jill Brady and Lawrence McCaffrey on the History of the Catholic Irish in the US
Ciaran Hughes on the Woodland League (this issues' sponsored link)
Gillies MacBain on Easter Alignments at Knowth
Kieran Jordan on Place Names at Kiltullagh, Co. Galway
Stiof MacAmhalghaidh on Lichens and Rock Art

...and of course the usual bits and bobs - events etc.

Next issue is due out at the end of August 2006, so please get submissions in
asap.

Closing date for submissions for Issue 4 is 1 August.
Closing date for submissions for Issue 5 is 10 November.

We like to keep each issue at around 8-12 articles and have seven with us
already for August. Don't sit on it!

Submissions to: calraige@...
Events to: chalresotoole@...
Web tech issues to: leydens@...

sin é,

Stiof MacAmhalghaidh
Editor, INSIGHT Journal
__________________
--
No virus found in this outgoing message.
Checked by AVG Free Edition.
Version: 7.1.385 / Virus Database: 268.5.1/326 - Release Date: 27/04/2006

Sorry for cross-posting, but this sort of affects about everyone.

Has anyone here been reading the nice long piece in Archaeology Ireland tying
bog bodies to territorial boundaries? No? Following from the bit of discussion
here when the initial newspaper reports appeared, I'd expected to see several
people jumping on this.

The essence of the case presented is that many of the bog bodies datable to the
iron age or immediately adjacent periods (eg late BA) can be shown to have been
recovered either on or very close to territorial boundaries which exist even
today, ie parish, barony, county and province boundaries. Most striking is the
number of bodies recovered at barony boundaries.

To give this a little background, there has been an argument that the basis for
the cantreds and baronies established in Ireland by the Anglo-Norman
administration were based mostly or wholly on existing territorial divisions, ie
the likes of baronies mirror the earlier Irish túatha. The basic structure of
these early cantreds and baronies changed a bit, but not really very much since
then... and we largely know what changes were made. What this says is that the
baronial divisions of Ireland today are not just a close facsimile of the
administrative divisions of 800-odd years ago, but also match quite well to the
divisions of land in place during the pre-Norman period. That presents an
atractive prospect, that we might be able, using this idea as a spur, to
partially reconstruct the political divisions of early medieval Ireland. Some
work of this sort has been carried out, assisted by the references to
territories and their boundaries from early and late medieval texts. There are
other ways in which this has been approached which I'll not go into here, but
suffice to say that they produce results that also show a striking parallel
between later baronial structures and the pattern of land use during the early
medieval.

What Eamonn Kelly's work here has presented us with is the prospect of
considering these territorial divisions as having even greater antiquity (in
some places at least) then even the early medieval. Because he has shown some
examples of similar (apparently) border-marking practices occurring from late BA
contexts, not only are we presented with the possibility that the modern
baronial structure is based on a 2000-year old iron age social structre... but
possibly (in places at least) on an even earlier Late bronze Age structure. It
should be evident to people here that this is a remarkable proposal, that some
of our modern boundaries are derived from those of 2500-3000 years ago.

Whatever about the exciting prospect for those of us involved in studying such
territorial boundaries, this presents us with a picture of Ireland in which the
basic division of space was quite stable over an extraordinarily long portion of
the late perhistoric and early historic. What does that say about the social
structures within which these territorial structures were maintained? What about
the culture that society supported?

The idea that tales such as the Táin Bó Cuailnge gave us a mirror on the iron
age has been pooh-poohed plenty of times. I think a lot of the basis for that
response has been a result of an analysis of such things as chariots and their
use, the design of weapons, etc which have been shown to reflect much later
ideas, non-Irish influences or plain fantasy. fair enough. Might it be, however,
that the division of Ireland into túatha during the early medieval is simply a
continuation of practice from the iron age... or even the late bronze age? Might
the early estate maps, topographical poems, and collections such as Edmund
Hogan's Onomasticum Goedelicum provide us with a farmore valid - if different -
mirror on the iron age?

To conclude, here is a short summary of some of the object types also found at
similar types of sites:
swords, scabbards, wooden swords, torcs, bracelet, pins, rings, bowl, sickle,
axe, y-shaped pendants, bridle bits, wooden yokes, several bowls, cups etc,
trumpets, cauldrons...

The types of locations where these have been recovered are generally barony
boundaries or very close to barony boundaries, notably interesting points such
as where three baronial boundaries meet, points where baronial and provincial
and county boundaries coincide, etc. An example from the article:
"A horse bit and Y-shaped leading piece were discovered on farmland at Clongill,
Co Meath, where six parishes and three baronies meet (Morgallion/Upper
Kells/Lower Kells)"

The article is full of such references. So many that I think it would be highly
instructive to look at the findplaces of all the artefacts that have *not* been
found at or near such boundaries... and see just how many there are.

It may be that the seemingly very large quantity of material recovered from near
such boundaries will be swamped by a far greater number scattered across land
undistinguished in this way... but I suspect not.

Stiof
--
No virus found in this outgoing message.
Checked by AVG Free Edition.
Version: 7.1.385 / Virus Database: 268.3.5/301 - Release Date: 04/04/2006

A new discussion group has been created (not one of mine, btw) dealing solely
with the hillforts of |Britain and Ireland.

Seems like a very promising idea all in all.

You can join by sending a mail to:
hill_forts-subscribe@yahoogroups.com

You are encouraged to say hi when you subscribe and comment on your interests
etc.

See you there.

Stiof
--
No virus found in this outgoing message.
Checked by AVG Free Edition.
Version: 7.1.385 / Virus Database: 268.3.5/301 - Release Date: 04/04/2006

People,

Issue #3 of INSIGHT Online Journal of Irish Heritage Studies is now being
readied for publication later this month.

We are now accepting submissions for #4 which will be released at the end of
August, and #5 due in December 2006.


-------------------------------------------------------------------------


INSIGHT publishes articles, notes and reviews of any length and we welcome work
that takes advantage of the opportunities afforded by online publication such as
graphics, animations etc.

We welcome any work dealing with Ireland's heritage in the broadest sense,
including:

Archaeology
Architecture
Environment
Folklore
History
Language
Literature
Mythology
Natural History
Performance Arts
Visual Arts

If you are unsure whether your material is appropriate, we will be happy to
advise.

Of special interest for Issue #4 are discussions of the interrelationship
between community and heritage.


-------------------------------------------------------------------------


Initial submissions should be in the form of an abstract, though we will accept
completed papers at this stage also.

Submissions should be formatted as plain text, rich text, Word .doc or html.
Final submissions should be delivered in plain text or rich text only.

Please address initial enquiries or submissions to:

calraige@...

with the word INSIGHT included in the subject line

Note that late submissions of completed articles or reviews for #3 are still
being accepted up to 15 April.


-------------------------------------------------------------------------


Many thanks,

Stiof MacAmhalghaidh
Editor, INSIGHT Journal
--
No virus found in this outgoing message.
Checked by AVG Free Edition.
Version: 7.1.385 / Virus Database: 268.3.5/301 - Release Date: 04/04/2006

Forwarded from EMI group.

Stiof

#############################

Academic Position just advertised in Irish Times and UCD website - please
forward to interested parties

University College Dublin
College of Arts and Celtic Studies
School of Archaeology
Lecturer/Senior Lecturer in Environmental Archaeology
Post Ref: 002313
See http://www.ucd.ie/personl/html/vacancies/2006/academic/002313.htm

Applications  are invited for the above postition in the College of Arts and
Celtic  Studies.
Salary Scales Lecturer:  €33,067 - €77,538 per annum; Senior Lecturer: €63,649 -
€89,886 per annum

Appointment on the scale will be made commensurate with qualifications and
experience. In order to meet the
grade of Senior Lecturer, the successful candidate  must meet the UCD benchmarks
for Senior  Lecturer.

Prior to application, further information (including application procedure)
should be obtained from UCD website
www.ucd.ie/vacancies or requests (quoting reference) on postcard to: UCD
Personnel, University College Dublin,
Belfield, Dublin 4 or by fax (01) 2692472.

Closing date for receipt of applications is no later than noon, 19th May 2006.
Please note that applications
received after this time will not be considered.

University College Dublin
With over 150 years of proud tradition UCD is the largest university in Ireland,
playing a central role in Ireland’s
advancement as a dynamic and highly successful independent European state.
Offering the broadest range of
top quality degrees, UCD attracts students from throughout Ireland as well as
international students from over
50 countries. Over 22,000 students and 1,000 academics study and research in the
beautiful, leafy campus 4
kilometres to the south of the centre of Dublin city.

UCD today is a research-intensive university which strives to advance knowledge
through cutting-edge
research and to communicate knowledge through excellence in teaching within a
creative and collegial
environment. Through innovative links in Ireland and abroad UCD has forged
exciting educational and research
partnerships and collaborations with other academic, industrial and
not-for-profit organisations.

Building on the ethos of its founding rector, the great 19th century
educationalist, Cardinal John Henry
Newman, UCD aims to foster ideas, cultivate learning, encourage discovery and
provide an enabling
environment for holistic development of students. Further information on UCD
Dublin is available at www.ucd.ie

UCD School of Archaeology
The UCD School of Archaeology (College of Arts and Celtic Studies) is a vibrant,
active academic unit with an
international research profile which was recognised in UCD’s restructuring
programme with designation as a
School of Archaeology. The School works within the strategic vision of the
university, is striving to consolidate
its position as the centre of excellence for graduate archaeological education
and research in Ireland and aims
to be in the top tier of university centres for archaeology in Europe.

The School is working to a comprehensive research strategy organised around key
research clusters. Staff
members operate within these research clusters and the undergraduate and
graduate programmes are aligned
to attract students to the research cluster of their choice. At graduate level,
the School offers taught (MA) and
research (MLitt and PhD) programmes that advance candidates’ research skills,
add transferable aptitudes and
develop professional expertise in archaeology.

The teaching and learning activities of the School are undergoing very
significant development and expansion.
At undergraduate level, the introduction of the modular Horizons programme has
enabled us to offer
Archaeology as a Single Major subject to degree level for the first time. The
School is also taking a number of
initiatives in adult, continuing and professional education.
Structure
Head of School: Dr Muiris O’Sullivan

Permanent staff consists of 2 professors, 3 senior lecturers, 4 lecturers, an
ICT and Archaeological Computing
Manager, a Laboratory and Field Officer, a part-time illustrator/designer and a
School Administrator. There is
also a 3-year post (Continuing and Professional Archaeological Education).

A number of researchers in contract positions are working on research projects
within the School and there is a
very vibrant postgraduate community.

The School has developed a postgraduate computing facility with a strong GIS
component and is developing a
digital imaging laboratory. There is also a research laboratory for
post-fieldwork analysis of material. This
laboratory contains a conservation facility. A specialised library/ seminar room
is used by academic staff and
students.

The School has 450 undergraduate students, primarily in the BA and BSocSc degree
programmes. There are also
students from abroad on the university JYA programme and the European Socrates
programme. At graduate
level the School provides taught MA programmes and  MLitt and PhD programmes.
There are currently 18
students enrolled for MAs and 22 for research degrees (19 PhD, 3 MLitt).

Job Description:
The appointment will be made at a level commensurate with the academic profile
of the successful candidate,
(Lecturer, Senior Lecturer).  The successful candidate will play a vital role in
the success of the School and will
display vision, energy and ambition in the development of its research and
teaching programmes. Specifically, it
is possible that the successful candidate could also be appointed Head of School
at some future date. Moreover,
the appointee will contribute to College and University development. The
appointee will:

• Enhance the reputation of the School through both personal contribution and
the mentoring and direction
of colleagues in advancing research and publication in peer-reviewed outlets of
international standing;
• Seek to maximise research and other funding opportunities to develop the
School’s programmes;
• Develop collaborative relationships with agencies, other universities and
institutes to enhance the School’s
programmes;
• Develop and maintain the highest standards in teaching and learning at
undergraduate and postgraduate
levels;
• Advocate and contribute to the development of the subject area within the
University and beyond,
representing the School to key audiences;

Person Specification:
The successful candidate must possess an appropriate combination of the
following achievements and
attributes:

• A doctoral degree awarded by a recognised University;
• post-doctoral experience in academia or similarly complex environments;
• An reputation for scholarship and outstanding research in the field;
• A record of peer-reviewed publications of international standing;
• A commitment to graduate research and teaching as evidenced by successful
supervision to completion of
doctoral students;
• A demonstrated commitment to excellence in teaching and learning at University
level;
• A successful record in securing funding for research;
• Excellent communications and inter-personal skills;

Environmental Archaeology
This new position in the UCD School of Archaeology (College of Arts and Celtic
Studies) is a priority in the
strategic plans of the School and the College as part of the overall research
vision of the university. It is
envisaged that the successful applicant for this exciting and challenging
position will be a well-established
research leader with one or more specialisms in an area of environmental
archaeology. The brief has been left
deliberately broad but it is anticipated that the specialist areas of research
will articulate with the research
clusters that underpin the School’s research strategy. The School will also take
cognisance of the value of
building an expertise in an area(areas) that complements existing skills in
environmental archaeology at a
national level. The successful candidate will contribute to teaching at
undergraduate and graduate level. The
particular remit of the post however will be, with the full support of the
School, to develop and lead a
programme of research and the appropriate facilities and integrated with this to
actively direct and promote
graduate research. The person must also be able to demonstrate a track record of
success in obtaining external
funding and in collaborative research.

For informal inquiries and further information please contact Dr Muiris O’
Sullivan, Head of School, Professor
Gabriel Cooney, Interim Director of the Graduate School, College of Arts and
Celtic Studies/School of
Archaeology or Professor Mary E. Daly, Principal, College of Arts and Celtic
Studies.


--
No virus found in this outgoing message.
Checked by AVG Free Edition.
Version: 7.1.385 / Virus Database: 268.3.1/292 - Release Date: 24/03/2006

Stuart,

> It was actually lying beside a trackway, not an integral part of it.

No indication of its intended pupose at all?

> There was a hollowed out log utilised as a /Fulacht fiadh /trough. It
> had been heavily truncated by a Bord na Mona drain-cutter to the extent
> that the hollowed-out bit was not as evident as it might have been, and
> when we got someone who knows about these things to look at it, he said
> it was not likely to be a canoe because he felt it did not have adequate
> capacity for buoyancy. But guess what? We got two or three days of heavy
> rain in October, and the darn thing was floating about in the cutting.

Don't you just love it when that happens? 8-)

> The water was too deep to attempt to get in and paddle about, and it may
> have sunk with a persons weight, but for a couple of days it tantalised
> us with its canoe-like ability. I have a photo of it if you're
> interested? Not floating though, sadly.

Sure, that'd be interesting.

> Back to the big log, yes it was bog oak (or at least it had become bog
> oak)

He gets me back for my 'exotic' comment... 8-)

> and it was like slicing Iron!

From my limited experience with carving bog oak, that sounds about right

  If I recall, the reason for slicing
> the end off was to recover the tool marks for later analysis, and also
> to get an age and date from it. I don't recall the angle of the cuts,
> but then I think it may have been trimmed once felled.

I had wondered about that. Might it have been intended, perhaps, to be used as a
trough also? Were the logs at all similar in size?

> I'll email the Director I worked for at the time and see if he has any
> better memory than I do, which I'm sure he does as I have Alzheimer's I
> think. Or do I? I forget. Never mind.

That'd be useful. Meanwhile, if anyone has access to a copy of the Lisheen
report itself, it'd be a help if they could take a peek. I'm kicking myself I
didn't plough through the whole thing when I had a copy here, but I was mainly
searching it for information on settlement evidence and datings...

Stiof
--
No virus found in this outgoing message.
Checked by AVG Free Edition.
Version: 7.1.385 / Virus Database: 268.2.5/284 - Release Date: 17/03/2006

Stiof MacAmhalghaidh wrote:
> Stuart,
>
> <SNIP>
>
> Was this oak from the bog? If so it was probably like cutting iron. I've
> re-ordered the book from the library so I should have hold of it again
> before
> the end of April. In the meantime, can you say how it was cut - in
> terms of the
> angle of the cuts. I'm assuming it was used for a bog trackway, so
> there was no
> need to trim the log ends and it should reveal a lot about how the
> tree was
> felled. If it was an oak, it should have been about 50-60 years old
> when felled,
> going by the diameter, so it was still relatively young. Were there
> any logs
> larger than this? I can't see that larger logs would have been of much use
> unless used for a dugout or for a pretty huge piece of construction,
> and I don't
> remember either being mentioned in the report.
>
> Stiof

Stiof,

It was actually lying beside a trackway, not an integral part of it.
There was a hollowed out log utilised as a /Fulacht fiadh /trough. It
had been heavily truncated by a Bord na Mona drain-cutter to the extent
that the hollowed-out bit was not as evident as it might have been, and
when we got someone who knows about these things to look at it, he said
it was not likely to be a canoe because he felt it did not have adequate
capacity for buoyancy. But guess what? We got two or three days of heavy
rain in October, and the darn thing was floating about in the cutting.
The water was too deep to attempt to get in and paddle about, and it may
have sunk with a persons weight, but for a couple of days it tantalised
us with its canoe-like ability. I have a photo of it if you're
interested? Not floating though, sadly.

Back to the big log, yes it was bog oak (or at least it had become bog
oak) and it was like slicing Iron! If I recall, the reason for slicing
the end off was to recover the tool marks for later analysis, and also
to get an age and date from it. I don't recall the angle of the cuts,
but then I think it may have been trimmed once felled.

I'll email the Director I worked for at the time and see if he has any
better memory than I do, which I'm sure he does as I have Alzheimer's I
think. Or do I? I forget. Never mind.

Stuart

====================
Stuart D. Elder, MIAI
Licensed Archaeologist
====================

Stuart,

> Silly me. When I said 'exotic' I meant 'not used very often for
> construction purposes etc'.

Thought so... A nerdy point, but worth making (spot the tree nerd!) as there is
a terrible lack of awareness even amongst 'environmentalists' here as to which
species are native.

> As for the cutting across the grain, I do recall one huge lump of trunk
> that was about 30cm in diameter that had obviously been brought down
> with a bronze axe, and was a bugger to cut a slice from with a hand-saw.
> I got hand-sore (groan).

Gawd, and I thought I was the one round here who made bad jokes. 8-/

Was this oak from the bog? If so it was probably like cutting iron. I've
re-ordered the book from the library so I should have hold of it again before
the end of April. In the meantime, can you say how it was cut - in terms of the
angle of the cuts. I'm assuming it was used for a bog trackway, so there was no
need to trim the log ends and it should reveal a lot about how the tree was
felled. If it was an oak, it should have been about 50-60 years old when felled,
going by the diameter, so it was still relatively young. Were there any logs
larger than this? I can't see that larger logs would have been of much use
unless used for a dugout or for a pretty huge piece of construction, and I don't
remember either being mentioned in the report.

Stiof
--
No virus found in this outgoing message.
Checked by AVG Free Edition.
Version: 7.1.375 / Virus Database: 268.2.1/279 - Release Date: 10/03/2006

Stiof,

Silly me. When I said 'exotic' I meant 'not used very often for
construction purposes etc'.

As for the cutting across the grain, I do recall one huge lump of trunk
that was about 30cm in diameter that had obviously been brought down
with a bronze axe, and was a bugger to cut a slice from with a hand-saw.
I got hand-sore (groan).

Stuart

====================
Stuart D. Elder, MIAI
Licensed Archaeologist
====================