Our Irish language columnist Gearóid Ó Colmáin considers the history that lies beneath the earth at Tara
If you were to talk a walk westward from the Liffey through the road known today as Stoneybatter (from the Irish ‘bothar na gCloch’ – ‘the stony road’), you would be treading upon an ancient Celtic route. If you were to continue in this general direction, no doubt, through many different routes, you would arrive at a place which historians, poets and archaeologists know to be the heart and soul of Ireland: Cnoc Teamhair, or The Hill of Tara, ancient seat of the Ard Rí na hÉireann, the High King of Ireland, and centre of Ireland’s cultural and political past.
The hill itself does not impress so much by its altitude as by its significance. That is to say, if one were ignorant of the history associated with this place, one could easily pass by without noticing anything particularly impressive. In other words, if you were looking for a good site for a new road, you would probably be impressed by the level terrain of the Boyne Valley adjacent to the historical hill.
The problem, however, is that the Boyne Valley and the Hill of Tara are among the most ancient historical sites in the world. It is worth repeating that last phrase ‘ the most ancient historical sites in the world’. What if the Egyptian government were to implement proposals for a highway through the ancient Valley of the Kings? We know this would be impossible and the very suggestion smacks of utter absurdity. The Egyptian government would have to be a pack of criminally insane lunatics to even consider such atrocious vandalism.
But what if there was a government content to construct a major highway adjacent to a site even more ancient than that of Egyptian Pyramids? Well, that is precisely what our Fianna Fáil, our ‘soldiers of destiny’, decided to do what they gave the go-ahead for the construction of the M3 motorway which is to intersect this ancient site.
At the time, the few learned people who cared about what was happening to our ancient heritage, protested indefatigably to have the road re-routed. Professor Denis Hardiman of Glasgow University described the Government’s proposal as “an act of cultural vandalism comparable to taking a knife to a Rembrandt painting”. But Tara is much more than a single work of art. It is the imprint of a lost civilisation, and the Government’s decision to give the all clear for the M3 motorway is an act of unmitigated and unprecedented barbarism. That such a project could be sanctioned is indicative of just how incompetent, decadent and ruthlessly materialistic this Government has become.
But there has been an unwelcome surprise. An ancient site the size of 50 football pitches has been unearthed, even though Fianna Fáil claims it spent over 50 million euro paying ‘experts’ to assess the land! When one attempts to talk about the present situation in Tara, the irony is clear: in the 19th century a group of people called the British Israelites were under the impression that the Ark of the Covenant was buried in Tara. However, with the intervention of The Royal Irish Academy of Antiquaries, their vandalism was put to a stop. All of this under a British government!
The hill itself does not impress so much by its altitude as by its significance. That is to say, if one were ignorant of the history associated with this place, one could easily pass by without noticing anything particularly impressive. In other words, if you were looking for a good site for a new road, you would probably be impressed by the level terrain of the Boyne Valley adjacent to the historical hill.
The problem, however, is that the Boyne Valley and the Hill of Tara are among the most ancient historical sites in the world. It is worth repeating that last phrase ‘ the most ancient historical sites in the world’. What if the Egyptian government were to implement proposals for a highway through the ancient Valley of the Kings? We know this would be impossible and the very suggestion smacks of utter absurdity. The Egyptian government would have to be a pack of criminally insane lunatics to even consider such atrocious vandalism.
But what if there was a government content to construct a major highway adjacent to a site even more ancient than that of Egyptian Pyramids? Well, that is precisely what our Fianna Fáil, our ‘soldiers of destiny’, decided to do what they gave the go-ahead for the construction of the M3 motorway which is to intersect this ancient site.
At the time, the few learned people who cared about what was happening to our ancient heritage, protested indefatigably to have the road re-routed. Professor Denis Hardiman of Glasgow University described the Government’s proposal as “an act of cultural vandalism comparable to taking a knife to a Rembrandt painting”. But Tara is much more than a single work of art. It is the imprint of a lost civilisation, and the Government’s decision to give the all clear for the M3 motorway is an act of unmitigated and unprecedented barbarism. That such a project could be sanctioned is indicative of just how incompetent, decadent and ruthlessly materialistic this Government has become.
But there has been an unwelcome surprise. An ancient site the size of 50 football pitches has been unearthed, even though Fianna Fáil claims it spent over 50 million euro paying ‘experts’ to assess the land! When one attempts to talk about the present situation in Tara, the irony is clear: in the 19th century a group of people called the British Israelites were under the impression that the Ark of the Covenant was buried in Tara. However, with the intervention of The Royal Irish Academy of Antiquaries, their vandalism was put to a stop. All of this under a British government!
Of course, critics of us heritage people will point out the abysmal road infrastructure in this area, and the gridlock and daily hardship that result from this. But who said those of us who care about heritage are against progress? In fact, we care very much about progress. Our only question is this: is it progressive to construct a massive motorway through one of the world’s most ancient historical sites? Should we knock down our castles as well and build apartments blocks instead?
The Greeks had a word for the kind of arrogance – hubris. Hubris is a kind of moral arrogance. One is guilty of hubris when one flouts fate; in other words, when one is so convinced of one’s infallibility that one does not fear the power of fate. What a delicious irony, then, that the ‘soldiers of destiny’ should be guilty of such hubris! The word ‘Tara’ – or ‘Teamhair’ in Irish – comes from the ancient Celtic ‘temoria’, meaning ‘spectacle’. The question is, what kind of spectacle does the future hold for Tara?
So here among the myriad problems that plague our supposedly affluent society is another scandal, and another good reason to oust these barbarians from Government before they do irreparable damage to our country. Why didn’t they propose to re-open the Navan railway? Wouldn’t it be nice to jump into a train in the morning knowing when you were going to arrive? You could spend your precious half hour perusing the daily newspaper, where you might read about ‘Another magnificent historical site uncovered In Tara’. You could sip your carton of coffee and smile to yourself in the assurance that there was a Government in power worthy of its ancestors.
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