Navan Forum: Tara & that highway?

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Hi Timmycat

Yes you can visit Hill of Tara is all I am going to say. It's an emotive issue that I darent air my opinion on in an open forum. My dad always reckoned it was safer never to discuss religion or politics in public!!

Something else which may be of interest to you is the proposed construction of a (badly needed) bypass of Slane village. However the powers that be, in their wisdom, have plans that the new bypass will be constructed about 500m from Newgrange http://www.rte.ie/news/2010/0121/slane.html

Another contentious issue in the area is the plans for the relocation of the Drogheda Port to a new deepwater port at Bremore. Bremore straddles the Meath/Fingal (Dublin) border - from the Delvin River in Gormanston to Balbriggan. The area has huge historical significance with extensive megalithic tombs in the vicinity. Local legend tells that St Patrick arrived in Ireland in the area just north of Gormanston. My dad is a keen local historian and I have great memories of tramping through fields/bushes/hedgrows for a bottle of water from St Patrick's Well for someone with with conjunctivitis/sore eyes or warts (what a combination!!). We'd be 'made' wash our faces with water from the well and drink a sup of it too! (wouldnt do it these days!). Never did us any harm and the older locals swore by it. My dad is a sprightly 70something year old who will still trapse to the now overgrown well for a drop of his 'water of life'. Interestingly neither I or my siblings ever had warts and we all have perfect eyesight! I digress now, but thank you for reminding me of wonderful memories and I really must make another trip with him to the well one of these days!

After that anecdote - have a look at http://www.nationalmonuments.info/ and click into the links on the left hand side which gives a good overview of all that is changing in my little corner of the world. Not all good I'm afraid. Entering Co Meath, visitors are met with signs "Welcome to Meath - Ireland's Heritage Capital" - wont be for much longer if those in power have their way.

I don't want get embroiled in the controversy either, but as far as Hill of Tara itself is concerened, the new road is further away form the site than the existing road

Re the Slane bypass, I don't think it's accurate to say that its going to be 500m from Newgrange - its my understanding that it is going to be 500m from the buffer zone around Newgrange and not Newgrange itself.

and thats why my wise old dad says not to discuss religion or politics!!!

http://www.newgrange.com/news35.htm

Wont be saying no more on the matter!

We are replacing one of the busiest and most dangerous roads in the country with a high quality road that is in fact further away from Newgrange than the existing N3 road. Some people are never happy

Timmycat,

Here is information on 'that highway'..

http://www.eurolink-m3.ie/

I have to travel the N3 every day and truly doubt it will ever be as much of a mess as what we have done to the highways in some parts of the USA.

i think you should take your dad's advice then and quit while your ahead :-)))

yes the proposed slane bypass is the distance from buffer zone of the heritage park not the monument and it will be surrounded by trees, the most you wil see from newgrange is a possible glimpse of a bridge. im not for m3 but tara is still as beautiful as ever and thankfully from up there you are unaware of the m3 construction.