Tara Skryne Valley 8.9.08
international |
history and heritage |
news report 
Monday September 08, 2008 17:36
by Tara Tara Tara
Photo Tour
Here is how the Valley looks now, her Sacred Sites razed and desecrated , replaced by concrete and tar.
Some photographs to update you on the advancement of the M3 Double Tolled Motorway. It is still not too late to implement the Meath Master Plan and I hope these photographs will spur you into letter writing and other forms of raising awareness. Noel Dempsey, minister for Transport continues to turn a deaf ear but in an economic decline he can no longer offer any defence.
View Barronstown to Collierstown
Comments (22 of 22)
Jump To Comment: 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22In the sequence above the picture entitled Lismullin to Soldier's Hill is actually Collierstown so I have reposted them in the correct order.
Lismullin to Soldier's Hill
Cars drive over Sacred burial Ground at Collierstown
Other contractors seen in the Valley yesterday, in addition to Navan Hire and Willis Bros:
Even Cromwell and the English occupiers did not stoop so low as our own government in its ongoing deliberate orgy of state sponsored cultural and environmental vandelism. Gormley and co. are still living in a fools paradise if they think the Green party can survive this and so many other sell-outs of core Green principles!!
look at article 40.6.1.i of Bunreacht na hÉireann before its made invalid :p i've already contacted a few groups with this info and contacted solicitors who said they'd take the case :p
An anonymous source has confirmed that Willis Bros have pulled out of Section 4 on the M3 construction project. Unfortunately they are still working in the Valley. Willis Bros have been replaced by Brefni which is a small contractor unable to match Willis Bros machine for machine so they are concentrating only on the bridges and flyovers for now. Our anonymous source also adds that Mc Carthy has obtained planning permission for a shopping centre at an old race track on the Trim Rd outside Navan. The integrity of planning permission is still in question since he built a Multi Storey Car Park in Navan town without permission at all!!!
Yesterday work was held up for 3 hour at Kells and a further 2 hours at Fairyhouse. Tara Warriors faced down the machines and closed all operations until Gardai arrived to negotiate. Tara Protesters are no longer a priority call out for Gardai, hence the long delay in their arrival at Kells while at fairyhouse Garda cars drove by without stopping- possibly en route to more urgent matters.
For the Warriors it was a very successful day of Operations as all work stoppages cost huge amounts of money to the corrupt destroyers of our Heritage. On the road holding banners, we were beeped and waved to by the vast majority of passing motorists showing their support. What dos that tell you about the opinions of motorists on the road? There was obvious delight at our presence once again in the Valley, and we will be back! Beep beeeeeeeeeeep!
Kells
Kells
Kells
Fairyhouse
Fairyhouse
Tara support for Shell to Sea. All of the above took place yesterday, Monday 15-9-08.
Fairyhouse Demo
Heartening to see the Pixies still Pixieing.
Beep beep!
Danu and Goliath
calling all pixies... well done ...now lets bring our skills to Mayo.
Solidarity to Maura and the people of Erris!
keep it up lads and lassies , the establishment is failing..we will be out there with the grass seed yet!
solidarity country wide ... act now...keep the pressure on in whatever way you can....
All this sickening destruction is going on as part of a Pork Barrel Project that the Dempsey family are up to their greedy snouts in.
PRESS RELEASE 17-9-08
Save Tara Campaigners stopped work on the M3 Motorway yesterday in
Solidarity with Shell-to-Sea.
Campaigners and Activists from the Save Tara Campaign brought their
peaceful protests out of the Gabhra Valley Monday 15th of
September and stopped construction work on other sections of the
illegal M3 Motorway for over 5 hrs. Wanting to bring attention to
local gombeen man Minister Noel Dempsey's involvement in both the
Corrib Gasline as Minister for Marine and Natural Resources at the
time of its planning, and to his ivolvement in the illegal M3
Motorway in his present capacity as Minister for Transport,
Campaigners explained to idle construction workers and Gardai that
the peaceful action was in solidarity with Shell to Sea and Maura
Harringhton's Hunger Strike. In complete contrast to the shenanigans
in Mayo and Tara, Gardai were civil, professional and impartial. When
the SuperIntendant was asked what he thought of the Garda involvement
in Mayo he replied, "thats not the force I joined 20 yrs ago".
At 9.30am 13 Pixies entered the construction site of the illegal M3
north of Kells stopping approximately 10 machines in their tracks.
Negotiations commenced with Paddy Clarke, a subcontractor, via phone
from the top of his machine where he explained that if the tarmac was
allowed to harden for even 10 mins longer it would cost him e250,000
personally to fix it. Campaigners agreed to allow the machine unload
in the middle of the site on condition that no more work would be
done in that section until mid-day. This was agreed on by all, Mr
Clarke, the Campaigners and the SuperIntendant and at mid-day the
Campaigners walked off site leaving the workers chiselling away.
It has become common knowledge that none of the sub-contractors on
the M3 have been paid properly by SIAC/FERROVIAL. Some of them are
now owed for over 16 months work. Howley Construction, one of the
main contractors on the Motorway went into liquidation last month but
yesterday one of the workers explained that SIAC had bought all of
Howleys machines, hired Howleys drivers and put them back on the
road.
Several of the other sub-contractors have pulled out of the
project since they were told that SIAC /FERROVIAL are not legally
obliged to pay them for 5 yrs! Rumours of Willis Bros selling
machines at half price for cash in order to pay workers and the
threat of men being let go without redundancy or notice are flooding
the county. Yet again its the ordinary decent folk who suffer.
At 2.00pm 13 Pixies entered the construction site of the illegal M3
proposed Double Tolled Motorway south of Dunshaughlin at Fairyhouse
stopping approximately 17 machines in their tracks. One Digger Driver
explained that it was his first day back to work after 9 wks while
having been unpaid due to bad weather and flooding . The flooding
didn't surprise him and he said, "sure they are trying to build this
damned road through every bog in the county", a fact that residents
of Trevet and the Red Bog know only too well. Since construction
started the water-table is completely polluted and undrinkable.
Some quite comical and pathetic attempts by one of the workers to
spray The Pixies with muddy water from a tanker pulled by a tractor
on Marcus Hargreave's order's (Project Manager) kept the dormant
construction workers entertained. By 4.30pm , neither Gardai nor
private security - MD Security, had showed up and The Pixies ended
their demonstration of passive resistance and left the site
disappearing into the hedges yet again.
Nil neart go cur le Cheile - Erin Abu
www.tarapixie.net
www.savetara.com
www.corribsos.com
Pics at Lismullin 21-9-08- the date on the Application is illegible.
Lismullin
Close Up
22-9-08
This pic is of the bridge over the proposed M3 at Lismullin giving Farm access from the Skryne side of the Valley. The bridge at Barronstown is now open but there are several rumours among workers about further impending delays to the Motorway which have yet to be confirmed . We hope to have news on that front soon :)
Bridge at Lismullin
Aerial photographs taken 12th September 2008 from a drone plane. This is the huge interchange at Blundelstown. The circle two fields away from it is Rathmiles, one of Tara's outposts.
Blundelstown 12 09 08
There are more photographs here - mostly Rath Lugh and Blundelstown.
http://s168.photobucket.com/albums/u167/muireanntemair/...2008/
Update of pics taken by me yesterday 16-11-08 attached :
The following article appeared in the Meath Chronicle: Published: Wednesday, 12th November, 2008
Local motorists see gradual unveiling of new motorway
By John Donohoe
The route of the M3 motorway at Lismullin, passing the controversial Rath Lugh site, now visible from the new bridge.
Over the past week, motorists using the N3 and the roads that lead off it have been witnessing what could be described as an 'unveiling’ of what the new M3 motorway route will look like when completed.
At one of the most controversial sites on the route, at Blundelstown, close to Garlow Cross, the traffic was last week directed onto one of the new slip roads of the motorway, leaving the construction workers free to remove the old stretch of the N3 at Soldiers’ Hill, which stands in the way of the route.
As well as Soldiers’ Hill, the new motorway will cross the site of where Dillonsbridge National School once stood, as well as a forge on the side of the N3 operated by Johnny Gartland. The river Gabhra, from which the valley takes its name, has been diverted at this location.
..........
The newly-opened stretch of motorway now allows motorists a clear view of the controversial route crossing the Tara-Skryne valley across the archaeologically excavated sites at Lismullin, declared a National Monument by former Environment Minister Dick Roche, before being excavated, and past Rath Lugh, where last year’s tense dig-in by protesters took place.
The movement of the traffic onto the new stretch of roadway will allow the road-builders to take out the 'plug’ blocking the route, and work on the rest of it. It is around this section that the Government has asked that special zoning be implemented to ban commercial and industrial building, while the current Environment Minister, John Gormley, has indicated that there will be other planning restrictions imposed on the area.
At Dunshaughlin, traffic diversions have been in place for night-time work on lifting the beams onto the bridge at Roestown, which will continue over the next couple of weekends.
According to Enda Tyrrell of the Eurolink M3 company building the motorway, this is a fairly unique element of the project as the motorway does not cross over the existing N3 in many places.
Two weeks ago, the slip road onto the Trim road at the Black Bull (Fairyhouse Cross) was opened, and it is possible that the stretch at the Athboy Road, Navan, will be open before Christmas.
All is going well and on schedule for the project’s planned opening in July 2010, Mr Tyrrell added.
Roestown. Welcome to the Valley
View from bridge at Barronstown to Rath Lugh
Soldier's Hill looking towards Dunsaughlin
Roundabout Soldier's Hill
View of Rath Lugh from Roundabout at Soldier's Hill
These pictures are shocking. And it must be quite clear that they are totally ignoring legitimate protests from around the world.
The government are just 'going ahead'. And it must be assumed they have a 'reason'. It really is time now to expose publicly the utter scandal of members and associates of the FF party [NAMED in the interim planning inquiry report [Flood interim report] who have engaged in extensive land speculation in the area.The chips now have to be put down.
There have been reports all year that car sales were dropping with each month the figures been worse. The figures just released for Oct 08 show that they are now plunging as they dropped 50% compared to the same month last year, and already they are 18% down year on year. The figures for Nov and Dec will probably decrease further.
It has long been predicted that as we hit Peak Oil, the world economy will be thrown into financial crisis. Well it is here now, although the actual direct trigger was probably the large swindle going on in the mortgage markets. We all know about the massive fraud in the US, but our own Irish banks have been totally reckless as have both the media and government who egged on the whole fiasco. It is reckoned (by Prof Morgan Kelly) that Irish banks lent out close to 100 billion euro to property developers. They are now totally over exposed.
However the entire continuing lending and sprawl was predicated on the continuation of cheap oil. That period is now over and the spike to $147 per barrel of oil may have been another one of the triggers. The price has dropped because of the crisis, but should any recovery happen, we can expect the price to soar back on. Even the IEA who long refuted Peak Oil now officially say we are facing decline rates of 6-8% per year. This is massive! Yet they still refuse to say the magic words 'Peak Oil'.
And what does this have to do with Tara Valley and the M3? It has a lot, because such a motorway made the assumption of cheap oil lasting indefinitely and traffic levels of the order of 50,000 to 80,000 cars a day heading to Navan and Cavan. This is never going to happen. The whole project is and was and complete waste of money. It has destroyed central parts of our heritage and all for nothing except to line a few peoples pockets.
Given that this "recession" is rapidly looking more like a L shaped depression from which we may not recover for a very long time and projects are now being slowed down and cancelled, we now face the possibility that this monstrosity will never be completed which is probably a good thing, except all the damage has already been done.
People might find it instructive to click on the link below to an Indy article which overlaid projected growth (from NRA) in the number of cars in Ireland with the global production of oil (from ASPO). Also added to the graph were the predicted number of cars based on following what happened in the first half of the oil age. In the article is was suggested car numbers would be falling before the road is completed due to peak oil. It looks like we are on schedule.
Regardless of the pro's and cons:This new road is a magnificent piece of civil engineering and one that I look forward in driving on.
The politicos of this country of ours are true to their inherent nature, a vein of which runs through us all. In being it is not so much as what you know, as who you know and of how you can assist them in making a few bob and by doing so massaging the comfort zone of all.
There is little point in rocking the boat. Because regardless of how many tribunals or enquiries are held, association of like minded individuals will always continue.... And that my friends is human nature!
Well its a wonder of the world alright. Wonder how no one has gotten Life Imprisonment for this monstrosity . First to the scaffold should be Dempsey. Why has he not implemented the Meath Master Plan???? He had the ideal opportunity to do just that with the Budget and save the tax payer billions while boosting Tourism etc but NO this DESPOT decides to go right on ahead with this black hole Motorway - makes no sense!!! The world is wondering alright...what the hell is going on in Ireland????
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