Sign up to The Irish Times Archive (1859 - 2008)My Account »

Mon 07 Jul 2007Head2Head: Should the M3 motorway be re-routed away from Tara?YES: Julitta Clancysays the current route is neither morally nor economically sustainable. NO: Minority opposition must not be allowed to impede a carefully planned and much needed route, argues Michael Cassidy.'If Tara is a symbol of our national and cultural identity," wrote Conor Newman, Edel Bhreathnach and Joe Fenwick in History Ireland in 2004, "this roadway will stand as a permanent monument to a loss of direction, meaning and identity." The Tara/M3 issue is not about heritage versus progress, or about individual monuments. The national issue which has dogged the process from the beginning is why a landscape of such importance in Irish history, culture and identity was included in a motorway and a local planning process. What is the compelling reason for routing this lengthy motorway through the Tara-Skryne valley, a vandalism akin to driving a motorway through Newgrange and Knowth?