Sign the Petition

To: Irish Government

 

PETITION

We the undersigned, strongly oppose the destruction of the Ancient Graveyards at Ardsallagh, and Collierstown and the digging up of individual graves along the proposed M3 Motorway Co. Meath.

We demand that the remains of our Ancestors be buried in a dignified manner and as much as possible in the ceremonial layout of the original graveyards. This has also been called for in the recent Press Release by the World Archaeological Congress in Dublin.

Quote:

“Recognising that the reburial of ancient remains in Ireland is subject to the provisions of the National Monuments Act and the agreement of the National Museum of Ireland, the World Archaeological Congress also draws attention to the Vermillion Accord on human remains and suggests that any human remains excavated from the cultural landscape of Tara should be re-interred with due respect as close as possible to their original locations, as this is where these people would have wished to be buried”

WAC 11-July-08

We oppose the undignified dumping of cremated and skeletal remains in plastic containers at warehouses, for purposes unknown.
The destruction of these graves goes against the living customs of the Irish people and is an infringement on the Religious and Cultural beliefs of our Ancestors.

Yours sincerely,

Sincerely,

 

 

Please re-inter the bodies - press release

Monday July 21, 2008 15:14 by Muireann Ni Bhrolchain
Tara campaigners support a petition
Tara Campaigners worldwide are supporting a petition to the Irish Government calling on them to re-inter the remains of individuals whose graves have been desecrated by the ongoing construction of the M3 Motorway in the Gabhra Valley near the historic Hill of Tara in Co. Meath. The petition went live on Saturday 19th July.

Campaigners demand that the ancient remains be reburied in a dignified manner and as closely as possible to the ceremonial layout of the original graveyards. It is estimated that over 60 bodies were disturbed and removed from the Collierstown site and over 27 from Ardsallagh to make way for the double-tolled M3 Motorway. Over the last 15 years of the Celtic Tiger, thousands of bodies have been removed from the earth and stored in warehouses.

The Gabhra Valley is the putative site of the last battle of the Fianna in 284 A.D. and they were said to be buried where they fell along with Cairpre Lifechair king of Tara son of Cormac mac Airt.

The current campaign to have the bodies reburied has been given added impetus by the backing received from the recent World Archaeological Congress held
in Dublin who said as part of their press release (July 11th 08):

" Recognising that the reburial of ancient remains in Ireland is subject to the provisions of the National Monuments Act and the agreement of the National Museum of Ireland, the World Archaeological Congress also draws attention to the Vermillion Accord on human remains and suggests that any human remains excavated from the cultural landscape of Tara should be re-interred with due respect as close as possible to their original locations, as this is where these people would have wished to be buried".

This was the first World Archaeological Congress to be held in Ireland. It was attended by over 1,800 archaeologists, native peoples and international scholars from 74 nations.

The organisers of the petition, Tomás Mac Cormaic and Carmel Diviney said:
‘We hope that this petition is the beginning of a debate on the ethics of this archaeological ‘resolution’ of our ancestors, the indigenous people of Ireland. This debate and respect for our own indigenous people, ourselves, is long overdue and that this puts added pressure on the Irish Govt to re-inter the Bodies’.
Related Link: http://www.savetara.com/

 

 

On behalf of the Organising Committee of the Sixth World Archaeological Congress it is a great pleasure to invite colleagues from across the globe to come to Dublin, Ireland from 29th June to 4th July 2008. This is the first time that the World Archaeological Congress has been held in Ireland and we look forward to making it a truly successful and memorable congress. The spacious campus of University College Dublin close to the city centre will be the main venue for WAC-6. We are planning a varied and engaging thematic programme complemented by a wide range of social events. You will also have the opportunity to see the rich cultural and social life of Dublin as well as to sample Ireland's outstanding archaeological heritage. Céad míle fáilte (a hundred thousand welcomes!) to you all.

VIEW AND EXPLORE THE WAC-6 PROGRAMME >>
Dublin and WAC-6 venue plans >>

Link: http://www.ucd.ie/wac-6/