Motorway protesters to gather at Hill of Tara

A "Tara Gathering" at the Hill of Tara near Navan, Co Meath, is to be h this weekend to focus protest against a planned motorway in the area.

Permission for the €680 million Clonee to Kells motorway, the M3, was granted recently by Bord Pleanála, but has been compared by archaeologists and conservationists to "putting a motorway through the pyramids".

Archaeologists estimate the construction of the Mound of the Hostages (Duma na nGiall) passage tomb to date from between 2500 BC and 3000 BC. Conservationists and anti-roads activists maintain Tara should be considered as part of an archaeological complex which takes in Dunsany and the Hill of Skreen.

This weekend's gathering will be facilitated by the Carrickminders - a group of activists concerned at the building of the M50 motorway through Carrickmines in south Co Dublin - and the Columban Mission, through whose Dalgan Park land the M3 is to pass.

The gathering will begin tomorrow - the first anniversary of the beginning of the Carrickmines occupation - and interested parties have been invited to attend meetings and express their views. An information kiosk is to be set up beside the Tara Bookshop and will be manned all weekend.

According to Mr Vincent Salafia, one of the co-ordinators of the gathering, the protest over the Meath motorway will be many times stronger than the Carrickmines protest.

Maintaining that the Hill of Tara is "the archaeological site in Ireland", Mr Salafia said the public reaction both here and abroad would be "massive".

Legal advice has already been sought to determine if the proposed route violates the National Monuments Act (1994), by passing close to the Hill of Tara.

"It is destroying at least 141 associated sites," said Mr Salafia. "Using our experience at Carrickmines, we hope to facilitate and refocus the efforts of the many diverse groups and individuals who are concerned with the situation at Tara, such as the hundreds who made submissions as part of the Environmental Impact Study (EIS) for the motorway."

He also maintained the validity of the EIS must be questioned "as it does not properly address the impact on archaeology".

"The Tara Gathering will be a fun and inspiring way to build the campaign the save the Hill of Tara from unnecessary disruption. We hope all interested groups and individuals can join to effectively discuss the best way forward."

There will be a public meeting on Friday at 7 p.m, which will be addressed by Father Sean McDonagh SSC, of the Columban Mission, Mr Salafia and spokespeople from local residents groups and others.

A press conference will be held on Sunday at 3 p.m to present campaign plans and announce any resolutions passed.

Meanwhile Dún Laoghaire Rathdown County Council has said the construction of the Carrickmines leg of the M50 motorway by September 2005 is dependent on the courts ruling in the council's favour and against the Carrickminders. The motorway without the Carrickmines section is scheduled to open in August of that year.