[Article] Save Tara campaign criticises felling of trees

Victor

http://home.eircom.net/content/irelandcom/topstories/9621585?view=Eircomnet

Save Tara campaign criticises felling of trees
From:ireland.com
Wednesday, 3rd January, 2007

The Save Tara campaign is planning to protest against preparatory tree-felling along the route of the M3 motorway in Co Meath.

It said yesterday work is taking place at several sites on the route, including Rath Lugh, the site of a promontory fort in the Tara-Skryne valley, which is a national monument. Mature trees have been cleared from the bottom of Rath Lugh on the northern slope of the Hill of Skryne, opposite the Hill of Tara.

The Save Tara campaign said it feared that tree-felling work would resume today after the holidays.

A construction machinery depot has been set up south of Dunshaughlin, although a public-private partnership (PPP) contract for the motorway has not yet been signed. The site at Race Track Road is licensed to Siac-Ferrovial Agroman, which trades as the Eurolink consortium. It includes diggers, lorries and earth-moving equipment.

A site safety notice identifies the purpose of the depot as: "Construction work associated with the transfer of material from the M50 project Contract 1 to the M3 Area 10."

A spokesman for the National Roads Authority (NRA) confirmed the Dunshaughlin site had been set up on foot of a transfer agreement for materials from work on the M50.

He said these materials were being stockpiled on the site and would eventually be used for construction of the M3, for which the Eurolink consortium is the "preferred tenderer".

The NRA spokesman said the agency was aware "staging areas are being prepared" along the route of the M3, but this was preparatory work and did not form part of the main contract which was in the process of being finalised with Eurolink. The NRA expects construction will begin in April or May.

Chris_533976

Although Im not a fan of tree felling either, these people need to learn that tree felling has to take place to fit a ROAD through the COUNTRYSIDE. And if they dont want to pollute the environment with a roadful of cars chugging out exhaust cos theyre stuck in a traffic jam, then they're gonna have to get used to it.

Navan Junction

2 things about the trees:

They probably should not have been planted there in the first place as Rath Lugh is a national monument, and planting trees on it wasn't a great idea.

Secondly, Rath Lugh is beside the M3, not in it's path so the felling is probably to avoid a camp, occupation or whatever you might call it on State-owned (Coilte) land right on the verge M3 itself.

All of the trees were cut down last year or the year before for that purpose.

Rath Lugh itself is very interesting, touted as (legendary) burial place of Na Fianna after they were wiped out in their final battle..

I'm not sure how far Rath Lugh will be from the M3 but I've heard feet from some, and a 100 metres from others.

It is one of the contentious sites as it was a defensive outpost of Tara, but will be on the other side of the M3 from Tara when the road is built.

Either way clearing the trees from it is probably not bad per se... Though tree damage to the Rath was obviously was not the motivation... I don't know if they bothered clearing the entire Rath..

Ste.phen

I was at Rath Lugh a few months ago and preperatory works were fast approaching the site (i.e the adjoining field had been partially cleared and had excavation equipment), the rath itself was extensively covered in trees, and clearing them all would be no small task, I'd be interested to see what they've done actually.