TARA RESOLUTION
CITY OF
CHICAGO RESOLUTION NUMBER _________
A resolution of the Mayor of Chicago and the City
Council of Chicago, Illinois USA, beseech the
Government of Ireland, and Taoiseach Bertie Ahern, to reconsider and reverse
past decisions and halt the M3 motorway in favor of upgrading the existing N3
into a reverse peak traffic flow, in conjunction with upgrading
the existing rail line for expanded mass transit.
This resolution also advocates the restoration of the National Monuments
Act (1930-1994) which guaranteed by law, the protection of all the national
monuments and would have prevented the current destruction ofIreland’s most sacred and ancient monuments at
Tara Valley, and beyond.
Whereas, Tara is over 7000 years old;
older than Newgrange; older than Stonehenge; and older than
Egypt’s Pyramids; and contains some of the oldest
surviving buildings on earth. Tara was the seat of the
High Kings where 142 kings once reigned,
Whereas, the irreversible destruction of
44 National Monuments along the proposed M3 motorway has been compared to the
destruction of the 1000 year old giant Buddha’s in Afghanistan in the hands of
the Taliban,
Whereas, Ireland must, by order of the EU, reduce its
CO2 emissions by one-fifth and ensure that 16% of all energy comes from
renewable resources by 2020.
Whereas, the EU introduced new Legislation
for the Protection of the Archaeological record acknowledging that
archaeological heritage is a non-renewable resource that must be conserved for
future generations, which the Government of Ireland ratified in 1997,
Whereas, the EU Commission have called on
the Irish Government to halt work on M3 motorway over concern about the impact
on archaeological sites along the route of the M3,
Whereas, the EU Commission has warned the
Government thatIreland is in serious breach of EU law
after recent discoveries along the route of the M3,
Whereas, the Archaeological Institute of
America listed the 2,000 year-oldLismullen National
Monument, discovered in the path of the M3 motorway,
as one of the 10 most important archaeological discoveries of 2007,
Whereas, in 2007 Tara was named one of the
world's 100 most endangered heritage sites, by the New York-based World Monument
Fund,
Whereas, 350 archaeologists, professors
and academics world wide, submitted a letter of petition to the EU, voicing
their concerns about the historical significance ofTara, with a plea
to halt the M3, and instead upgrade the N3 and rebuild the existing rail
line. This is before the EU Commission for breach of EU
Environmental law,
Whereas, application is pending with UNESCO to makeTara the center of
a World Heritage
site,
Whereas, the National Monuments Act
(1930-1994) historically protected the archaeological sites in Ireland, but in
2004, was rewritten to permit the photographing, measuring and
destruction of any monument the Minister of Environment deemed expedient,
thereby putting the fate of Ireland’s Heritage into the hands of a few
Ministers,
Whereas, a lawsuit in the High Court, is
challenging the M3 motorway, being built over historic sites.
Plaintiff is seeking an injunction and a declaration that the
National Monuments Act 2004 is in breach of EU law,
Whereas, the Irish Times POLL on
Tara resulted in 82% voted YES to the question: “Do you think
the Hill of Tara should be added to UNESCO's list of World Heritage
Sites?” Furthermore, a recent “Red C Survey”,
conducted by “Sacred Ireland”, found 62% of the adult population think the road
is wrong, 58% want an alternative instead of the M3 and a bare 30% actually want
the M3. The most recent Irish Post Poll of February 14, 2008, resulted in 89.93% being
apposed to the building of the M3 through theTara
Valley,
Whereas, The Heritage Protection Alliance
of Ireland seeks the repeal of the National Monument Act of 2004,
Whereas, The M3 route through the
Tara Valley, has been proven to be the most
destructive and environmentally unfriendly, as well as the
costliest of the two options, and that the M3 needlessly destroys over 44
National Monuments,
Whereas, the alternative to the M3, a mass
transit scheme to upgrade the existing N3 motorway by adding a single reversible
lane, combined with the refurbishing of the existing rail line for commuter
transportation, would accomplish the same ends,
Whereas, MINISTER for Transport declared
that he was "100 per cent" behind reopening the Navan-Dublin rail line, which
would eliminate the need for the Northern section of the M3, which is the
contentious section through theTara valley,
Whereas, the heritage of Ireland belongs
not only to Ireland, and the world in general, but to the Irish Diaspora all
over the world, who outnumber the population of Ireland by a factor of 20, and
inasmuch as Chicago is home to a large population of Irish decent, who wish to
see the sacred lands of Tara Valley kept out of danger,
NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT
RESOLVED that the Mayor and the City Council of the City of Chicago
recognize the irreversibility of the destruction of the ancient monuments of the
Tara Valley, and the necessity to preserve and protect the natural
and man made treasures of ancient civilizations for the benefit of all of
mankind, and,
Further Resolved,
the effects of global warming and the need to plan for a future with less
dependency on oil products for transportation needs, the City of Chicago being
an example of the viability of rail and bus lines for mass transportation, and,
Further Resolved,
appeal to the Irish
Government, to halt the destruction of the ancient monuments in the Tara Valley,
and to revisit the available alternatives offered by the existing N3 roadway, as
a 3 lane reverse-peak-traffic flow system in coordination with the
restoration of the Dublin-Navan rail link, which will
preserve for posterity the Tara Valley and the monuments of Ireland's oldest
civilization and some of the oldest buildings on earth. We also urge that the
National Monuments Act (1930 1994) be restored to its original intention, that
is, the protection under law ofIreland’s Heritage and
National Monuments for all of mankind.
