Madam, - Mr Shane Cassells, quoted in your edition of February 21st, resents the intrusion of protesters "into my area". It is perhaps not surprising that a candidate of Fianna Fáil (the Builder's Party) has the effrontery to appropriate a constituency for which he has yet to be given a mandate.
Moreover, he is wrong. The selection of a route for the proposed M3 is not simply a local matter to be decided by local representatives from Navan and Meath.
Tara is a major constituent of a common European heritage, on a par with, for instance, Stonehenge, the Parthenon, the Coliseum and the Eiffel Tower. The whole site deserves as much respect and protection as do these other monuments.
The view from Tara to Skryne is an integral element of the site, recalling an event of critical importance in the history of the continent. The conversion of the Kings of Tara by Patrick symbolises the extension of Christianity beyond the confines of the Roman Empire, and gave birth to a monastic and missionary movement that ultimately integrated the north of our continent into a pan-European Christian tradition. As such, the protection of this landscape, including preventing the intrusion of unnecessary light pollution, is important for all Europeans, be they Christians or not.
The inhabitants of Navan and Co Meath are already the victims of bad, if not corrupt, planning. They deserve good infrastructure, including a modern transport system. The callous routing of an ill-thought-out motorway through one of the most symbolically charged and history-laden landscapes in Europe will only delay delivery of that infrastructure.
I will not tolerate Mr Cassell's attempt to stifle a debate about this State's capacity to honour and respect the heritage of Europe. His parochialism should not be allowed to stand in the way of progress.
St Patrick went to Tara to convert Ireland; Daniel O'Connell went there to liberate this island. Are the ambitions of Mr Cassells and his party so limited that he now aspires to travelling to Tara to attend the inauguration of a roundabout? - Yours, etc.,
GORDON DAVIES, Briar Wood, Bray, Co Wicklow.