Destruction of Tara a "ruthless desecration", says Heaney
The construction of a motorway by the Irish Government through one of Ireland's most historic areas has been condemned by Nobel Laureate Seamus Heaney as "a ruthless desecration".
Criticising the M3 motorway project which is now well under construction through the lush green and historical countryside of Tara, County Meath, Mr Heaney said: "I think it literally desecrates an area - I mean the word means to de-sacralise and for centuries the Tara landscape and the Tara sites have been regarded as part of the sacred ground."
The motorway will take traffic north of Dublin, serving towns such as Kells and Navan in County Meath, and counties Cavan, Fermanagh and Donegal.
The area has been described by archaeologists internationally as the most important in Ireland and of world significance.
The Tara complex is bounded by the Hill of Tara, seat of the ancient High Kings of Ireland, and was a place of sacred worship in both pagan and Christian times.
"It’s a word that conjures an aura - it conjures up what they call in Irish dchas, a sense of belonging, a sense of patrimony, a sense of an ideal, an ideal of the spirit if you like, that belongs in the place and if anywhere in Ireland conjures that up - it's Tara - it's a mythical site,” said Mr. Heaney.
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Weather for Derry
Thursday 09 February 2012
Today
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