"The harp that once thro' Tara's Hall the soul of music shedNow hangs as mute on Tara's wall as if that soul were fled ..."
Tragically, it would appear that the die is cast for Tara's mystical landscape following yesterday's confirmation by the Minister for the Environment, Dick Roche, that he is to issue licences for archaeological excavations along the chosen route for the M3 motorway.
As three of the leading scholars of the archaeology, history and literature of Tara - Edel Bhreathnach, Joe Fenwick and Conor Newman - sadly noted, the Minister's announcement marked "not only a dark day for Tara, but a dark day for Irish culture". Their considered view that an "act of vandalism" is about to be perpetrated "in the name of progress" will be shared by many others at home and abroad; certainly, to judge by the growing chorus of opposition nationally and internationally, few environmental issues in Ireland over recent years have struck such a chord.
The decision to proceed with the M3 as planned must be seen for what it is - a political decision, taken by Mr Roche with the backing of the Taoiseach himself. No doubt they will win kudos from the many Meath commuters stuck in traffic jams every day on their way to and from work in Dublin. But the answer to the prayers of those sitting behind the wheel of their cars must not involve sacrificing the very setting of the ancient seat of Ireland's high kings.
Alternatives are available. As long ago as 1998, the National Roads Authority proposed bypasses for Kells, Navan and Dunshaughlin, together with upgrading the existing N3. Had that plan been pursued, the relief now being promised would already have been delivered. But in 1999, at the height of the Celtic Tiger boom, the Coalition Government scrapped that relatively modest plan and opted instead for a series of greenfield motorways, radiating outwards from the M50. That, too, was a political decision - based on the flimsiest of evidence to back it up.
What Meath commuters must ask themselves is whether this is the only way that they can be funnelled somewhat faster into the motorway ring around Dublin. Because even after investing €800 million in widening the M50 to six lanes and upgrading its badly-designed interchanges, traffic congestion on this route will be as chronic as it is today; the only difference is that more vehicles will be involved.
Neither can the Government promise that relief from congestion on the existing N3 will be delivered any time soon. Such is the intensity of opposition to the stretch of motorway between Dunshaughlin and Navan that a legal challenge to the Minister's decision is now inevitable. It is also not beyond the bounds of possibility that a High Court judge would find that Mr Roche had been derelict in his duty to protect the wider Tara landscape.