100 Most Endangered Sites 2009

Tara Hill

Meath, Ireland -  3rd Millenium B.C.-12th Century A.D.

Located about 50 kilometers from Dublin, Tara Hill is considered the ceremonial and mythical capital of Ireland, and is the centerpiece of a large archaeological landscape with hundreds of significant sites. Celtic in origin, Tara is said to be the location of St. Patrick’s conversion of the Irish to Christianity in the early fifth century, and was the coronation site of Irish kings between the sixth and twelfth centuries. In 1641, it was at Tara that the Catholic English allied themselves with the native Irish against the Protestant English. Due to this and subsequent events, Tara has developed into a focal point of the modern national landscape.

Over the past decade, the Irish economy has undergone an extraordinary period of growth, which has led to increasing development and investment in infrastructure, particularly transportation. One new project is the proposed construction of a new M3 motorway that would serve Dublin commuters. The motorway, which is to run within 1.5 kilometers of Tara Hill and bisect the Tara-Skryne valley, threatens not only the Tara cultural landscape, but also the yet-to-be-uncovered archaeological sites that are thought to surround it. In addition to the destruction of historic material, the combination of tree-felling, major earthworks, and road construction—as well as ongoing noise and visual pollution that accompany them—will forever change this iconic landscape. The motorway development will also likely result in changes of local land use from agrarian to suburban, which may encourage further rapid and inappropriate development. At the moment, only the “Hill of Tara” itself is protected, while the surrounding natural and archaeological landscape, about which we still have much to learn, is vulnerable. It is hoped that Watch listing will compel authorities to rethink the radical alteration of this important site.

This site is on the 2008 World Monuments Watch List of 100 Most Endangered Sites.

Hill of Tara

World Monuments Fund Calls for Halt to Demolition of Lismullin National Monument

Statement on 22nd September 2007

The World Monuments Fund is concerned that the excavation at Lismullin has reached a critical point, and is now entering a destructive phase.

“Tara Hill, which is the centerpiece of a large archaeological landscape with hundreds of significant sites, is the ceremonial and mythical capital of Ireland,” said Bonnie Burnham, president of the World Monuments Fund.

“It would be a huge loss to the world if Tara ’s surrounding landscape, about which we have much to learn, is destroyed for a highway development that will only encourage more rapid and inappropriate development.  We are horrified at the prospect of a radical alteration of such an important site and call upon the authorities to reconsider their decision.”

Dr Jonathan Foyle, Chief Executive of WMF Britain, said:

“The Tara Valley is the ancient homeland of those who forged Irish culture. As the personalities of these remarkable people are muted by a lack of recorded literature, archaeology becomes the sole resource for understanding them. Therefore, the destruction in Tara Valley of what is a two thousand-year old time casket is an injury to the people of Ireland, and a last resort. WMF Britain deeply regrets that sound academic advice on the unique importance of Lismullin, which recommends its preservation, is regarded as an inconvenience to be rejected in favour of this destructive and culturally insignificant road building scheme.”

WMF Britain is writing to the European Commission and the Irish authorities and asking them to seek interim measures at the European Court of Justice, to halt the works at Lismullin national monument resulting from the proposed M3 motorway route. WMF Britain also adopts the statement from this summer’s XIII Celtic Conference, hosted by Permanent Bureau for the International Congress of Celtic Studies, which recognised the significance of the site.

WMF placed the 2,000 year-old archaeological complex of Tara Hill in Ireland on its 2008/9 World Monuments Watch List OF 100 Most Endangered Sites, in recognition of its international significance. The panel who voted to include Tara Hill included heritage experts from Europe, Iraq, Kenya and Guatemala and was chaired by Tim Whalen, the Director of the Getty Conservation Institute in Los Angeles, California. This decision was taken before the discovery of an amphitheatre at Lismullin, whose significance was confirmed in a report by Dr Ronald Hicks, Department of Anthropology, Ball State University, USA.

The World Monuments Fund calls on the European Commission and Irish authorities to urgently reassess the legal and ethical basis for this irreversible action before it is too late.