US anger about M3 proposal

Letter to the Editor, Meath Chronicle from 16 year old Samantha Gillogly.

Dear Sir - I am angered and greatly aggrieved at the proposition of the M3 transportation route and its accompanying developments through the Tara Hill/Skryne Valley region.

As an American of Irish heritage, it makes my blood boil to think that the land my ancestors fought so hard to protect is now made subject to the armies of modern development. The current route violates Ireland's laws to protect national monuments. The proposed M3 route cuts through the Zone of Archaeological Protection designated around the Skryne Valley region.

28 sites and monuments yet to be excavated lie within the corridor of the proposed road. In addition, there are 48 archaeological zones within 500 meters of the road corridor and approximately one site every 300 meters along the road. The M3 construction plan would prevent many areas of Irish history from ever being explored.

This does a grave disservice to the archaeologists and historians of your country, to future generations of Irish people and to all those connected with the Celtic Diaspora. To mar the landscape of a sacred site is to rob Ireland's children of the chance to view Tara as it was millennia ago.
The decision to construct the M3 may also be a detriment to tourism, Ireland's primary economic lifeline. Many foreigners travel to Ireland seeking its sense of freedom and wildness, a feeling that lingers in its open, unspoiled landscapes.

It is sickening to imagine that the hallowed tombs of ancient Celts will be surrounded by car dealerships; that the Hill of Kingship will overlook petrol stations and strip malls; that the vast open sky above the Skryne valley will be pierced by high-intensity lights and polluted by clouds of exhaust wafting from a new four-lane highway.

I strongly suggest that an alternate plan be devised to alleviate the Meath-to-Dublin traffic congestion problem. By diverting the new route away from Tara and Skryne, the Irish government will preserve one of the world's most beloved ancient sites for generations to come.
But if it does not, then Tara will surely join planet Earth's countless acres of once-virgin soil now raped, shredded and cemented over, all in the name of ‘progress'.
If a better plan is not implemented, the heart of Ireland's history will be befouled and all its sacredness bleached away.

Mise le meas,

SAMANTHA GILLOGLY, (age 16),

West Brookfield, Massachusetts, USA.