Photograph by David Sleator, The Irish Times

Dr. George Eogan (Ph.D., Trinity College, Dublin) is Professor Emeritus of Archaeology, University College Dublin and is a member of Minister Gormley’s Expert Advisory Panel, to review Ireland’s Tentative List. As Ireland’s greatest archaeologist, he did extensive excavations at the Bru na Boinne World Heritage Site.

Director of Knowth Research Project George Eogan  is a leading expert in the archaeology of Ireland, with particular interest in the Neolithic and Late Bronze Ages.  He  has been excavating at Knowth for more than 40 years as part of his investigation of the Passage Tomb builders in Ireland and Western Europe. Professor Eogan is a native of Ireland and has taught and lectured extensively on the country’s archaeology. Now Professor Emeritus of Archaeology, University College, Dublin, his archaeological research has led to approximately 90 papers and nine books, including The Accomplished Art: Gold and Gold-working in Britain and Ireland During the Bronze Age (Oxbow Books, 1994), Knowth and the Passage Tombs of Ireland (Thames and Hudson, 1986), and (with M. Herity) Ireland in Prehistory (Routledge & Kegan Paul, 1977).

He has consistently opposed the M3 motorway works at Tara, and gave an affidavit in the case of Vincent Salafia v. Minister for the Environment, in which he alleged that the 28 sites discovered in the Tara valley were part of a single complex .

AFFIDAVIT OF GEORGE EOGAN

I, George Eogan, Profession Emiritus in Archaeology of Brighton Road, Rathgar, Dublin 6, aged 18 years and upwards make oath to say as follows: -

1. I have enjoyed a long career; much of it spent researching the archaeology of Co. Meath Some of my first experience of archaeological work, at the beginning of the 1950s, brought me to Fourknocks passage tomb where I worked as an assistant to excavations carried out under the direction of Mr P.J. Hartnett, Irish Antiquities Division, National Museum of Ireland. Shortly afterwards I was involved in the excavations on Tara, initially on the Rath of the Synods and later at the Mound of the Hostages, directed by Professor Seán P. Ó Ríordáin, Professor of Archaeology, University College Dublin. After his untimely death, I was, some time later, again excavating at the Mound of the Hostages this time under the direction of Professor Ruaidhrí de Valera, University College Dublin. Around the same time I took part in the excavation of an earthen barrow in the Tara-Skryne (Gabhra) valley, to the east of the Hill. Since then, and as Professor of Archaeology at University College Dublin, I have directed numerous research initiatives and excavations, most notably at Knowth Passage Tomb cemetery at Brugh na Boinne, Co. Meath.

2. With the establishment in 1991 of the Discovery Programme, a State-sponsored archaeological research body, I was appointed as its Chairman. Tara was expressly prioritised by the State for a comprehensive programme of research and excavation. After consideration by the Directorate a major research programme was initiated in 1992. This work was not only confined to the hilltop but was designed specifically to include a study of a wider surrounding area. The results of this, and ongoing work, have proved to be of the utmost importance as is apparent from the resulting publications.

3. I have continuously researched in the Boyne area of Co. Meath since 1950 and it is not an exaggeration to say, therefore, that I know Tara, its environment and cultural context intimately. In view of my long association with Tara and its archaeology I can state that Tara consists of an archaeological area, about the same extent in size as the Brugh na Boinne World Heritage Site. The summit of the Hill of Tara is only a part of the Tara complex in just the same way as Newgrange is only part of the Brugh na Boinne complex. Accordingly, I have no hesitation in saying that the archaeology of Tara is more than the summit of the hill, but is a complex of inter-related monuments that embrace a wider area, which collectively form part of what is understood to be Tara and therefore that everything found in test trenching is/are national monuments.

His position on the Tara complex is well illustrated in the letter, affidavit and video interview below. The letter was written after an ancient ritual henge was discovered at Lismullin, in the Tara Valley, and in the pathway of the motorway, in 2007. Lismullin was voted one of the Top Ten Most Important Archaeological Disoveries in the World in 2007 by Archaeology Magazine, published by the Archaeological Institute of America.

Independent advice now needed on Tara

The Irish Independent – Letter to the Editor
Sunday May 13 2007

Sir – Regarding the ongoing discoveries at Tara I wish to emphasise that the portion of the Tara archaeological and historical complex, between Ross Cross and Garlow Cross (the Gabhra Valley), consists not just of one site but of a series of monuments. These constitute an integral part of the Tara landscape and amongst other things provide positive evidence for the earliest settlement in Co Meath, going back to close to 10,000 BC, with the presence of settlement continuing (with some gaps) down to recent times. This provides an extraordinary record of human activity. Contrary to some descriptions these are not fragile features but the remains of a variety of structures and finds, the normal evidence that is found on archaeological sites.

Furthermore, these monuments should not be looked at in isolation but as an integral part of a rich cultural landscape. As a result, such discoveries confirm what many archaeologists had anticipated, but their presence exceeds all expectations and strengthens the case for rerouting the M3 away from the Tara area.

I note from media reports that the relevant minister is seeking advice regarding the issue, but from the names mentioned these are state bodies that may not be in a position to put forward independent views. The Tara discoveries are an integral part of our common heritage, of which we are all stakeholders, therefore they belong to all of us. In order to critically evaluate the issue I recommend that a non-state body be established to review and consider the archaeological and historical issues emanating from the work already carried out.

Such a body should be broadly-based and include personnel from Government departments but also individuals and representatives of non-governmental agencies. A critical component has to consist of distinguished and experienced scholars from outside the country. I therefore trust that some organisation or group, such as An Taisce, would initiate such a body as a matter of urgency.

George Eogan,
Brighton Rd,
Rathgar,
Dublin 6

Professor Eogan wrote a letter to The Irish Times, concerning the  Rath Lugh National Monument, a hillfort and historical defensive feature to Tara, which is being directly impacted by the M3, after a visit to the site, recorded on video below.

MOTORWAY WORKS AT TARA

Letter to the Editor – The Irish Times
Wednesday, March 26, 2008

Madam, – I was very disappointed to read in last Friday’s Irish Times that the Minister for the Environment, Heritage and Local Government, John Gormley, declared himself satisfied that the National Roads Authority proposals, if implemented, would result in the protection of the monument at Rath Lugh.
This is not so as the monument and its environment have already been mutilated by work carried out on the proposed route of the motorway.

Rath Lugh and its environment is an integral part of the Tara archaeological and cultural complex. Its environment includes the significant Gabhra Valley to the west towards the Hill of Tara. The latter area is now reduced to a strip of rubble as a result of work carried out by and with the authority of the present Government of which Mr Gormley is a member. Furthermore, Rath Lugh is now divorced from the archaeological complex of which it formed a part from its construction many centuries ago. As a result of the destruction, which I witnessed a couple of days ago, a “new” environment has now emerged, the personality of the area is being destroyed.

Standing on Rath Lugh and looking across the Gabhra Valley the main feature of that area is now the equivalent of a “race track” with heavy machinery driving up and down at considerable speed and creating vibrations which can be felt on Rath Lugh.

In the area that I visited three lines of defence were in place. The outermost is a spiked iron fence up to eight feet in height and secured in concrete, next came security personnel and further inwards were members of the Garda Síochána. For me, this was an intimidating experience and one that I never expected to see in order to facilitate the destruction, by our own Government, of a key portion of our own great archaeological inheritance.

- Yours, etc,

GEORGE EOGAN,
Brighton Road,
Rathgar,
Dublin.

The following interview was recorded on 21 March 2008. The side of the hill holding the national monument being directly impacted by the M3, and there were many clashes between demonstrators, Gardai and Ferrovial security at the site.