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From: "Jo Makepeace" (webmaster@schnews.org.uk)
Subject: SchNEWS 600, Friday 24th August 2007
Date: Fri, 24 Aug 2007 15:50:40 +0100

Hill of Tara protests - August 2007 updates

TOTALLY UN-HENGED

The battle to save the Hill Of Tara from a motorway continues. Carving a path of destruction through one of the most important archaeological areas in Europe, several ancient buildings and burial grounds have been already been destroyed despite the discovery of more relics during excavations (see SchNEWS 597, 585). The 8,000 year old henge discovered recently at Lismullen was trashed after a rushed archaeological effort to catalogue it. There is protest camp at the site, and direct action continues to fight it every step of the way.

Last Thursday a group of twelve took a walk along the route, and managed to play hide and seek with security and do some digger diving. After blockading a gate at Collierstown, they moved onto a digger preventing it from moving. With three on the roof, they sung and banged on the roof until the driver got out. After half an hour they were gone, avoiding the Gardai (police), when they returned to the first gate and rushed onto a site with four diggers and other trucks working. Although Health & Safety laws require the machines to be turned off in this situation, some carried on, while other drivers were amicable. Many workers and Gardai themselves have said they don't want the road to go through either.

Later that day there were more hi-jinks as protesters moved around several work sites, evading security and interrupting digging work. At one point a woman separated from the group was surrounded by thirteen security intent on holding her until the cops arrived - but when informed them said that she wouldn't move, that the road was illegal under EU laws and that she was protecting land and ancestors, the security just let her go.

On Friday there was more digger diving when the Roestown site was hit with 25 protesters spreading out over the site occupying eight diggers and over fifteen other machines for an hour and a half; again without arrests. This followed a blockade of the gates at the Lismullen Henge as National Road Authority-sponsored lackey archaeologists arrived at the site. Police seem reluctant to arrest to avoid media coverage of the protests.

What sites are remaining are under imminent threat and the protest camps are urging more people to get down there. The camps also need to usual tat - tents, tarps, food, CB radios, climbing harnesses, technical support, donations etc.

* To get to the camp take a bus from Dublin to Tara Cross, 20-25 minute walk from the Tara Vigil Camp. For more call

Vigil Camp 00353(0) 861758557
Rath Lugh Action camp 00353( 0) 867372983
http://www.tarapixie.net
http://www.savetara.com

http://www.tarawatch.org


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