TARA VALLEY, MEATH-December 14-2007- December 21st marks the
release of 'The Mighty Gather in', a double-cd fund raising album in support of
those campaigning to protect and defend Ireland's premier National Monument, the
Tara Valley complex, from the proposed route of the M3 motorway in
Co.Meath
. Profits made from the sale of the album will fund a
nationwide campaign to highlight this travesty currently being perpetrated ‘in
the name of progress’, and combat and clarify the confusion and disinformation
which has been a feature of the debate to date.
The album includes the song
'Taras Eye: (Money Mad Mile)' sung by Liam O Maonlai and written by Steve Cooney
as well as contributions from Kila, Mercury Music Prize nominee Lou Rhodes,
renowned harpist Laoise Kelly, Martha Tilston, Seize the Day, Carrie Tree,
Kan'Nal, Nigel Mazlyn Jones, Pink Punk, Dragonsfly, Jamie Woon, Alan O'Rourke,
Skylark and many others.
The album consists of 45 songs in total,
28 on two cds plus another bonus seventeen track mp3 selection accessible when
you play the album on a PC or laptop.
Included with every album is an
information leaflet with contributions from Nobel Laureate Seamus Heaney, actor
Stuart Townsend and environmentalist and television presenter Duncan Stewart.
The M3 motorway controversy is more than just a heritage issue. It is about how
we as an island respond to the challenges and dangers posed by unsustainable
development, carbon emissions and global warming caused by the underfunding of
public transport and over reliance on the motor car.
A pervasive theme
throughout the songs on the album is that as a society we are living out of
balance, imprisoned within economic models and modes of living that disconnect
us from nature and put profit at the expense of environmental concerns and
the democratic will of the people.
Such themes are being played out in early
21st century Ireland as the government plans to toll commuters thousands each
year to use the M3 and continues to ignore the 75% of Irish people surveyed
by Red C Market Research who want the motorway to stay clear of Tara. In this
light, the album aims to raise awareness about a viable solution to the M3
debacle that guarantees both heritage protection and sustainable transport
infrastructure creation.
Included in the leaflet is information on what is
known as the Meath MASTER(Model Archaeological and Sustainable Economic Region)
plan. The plan, created by transport expert Brain Guckian and
environmentalist Tadgh Crowley, envisions land bought by the state for the
motorway in the valley being used instead to create a Tara Heritage Park.
Consisting of heritage and nature walks this public amenity will bring an estimated 400,000 more
visitors a year to Tara, generating upwards of 75 million Euro's per annum in
revenue to Meath.
The plan also calls for the re-opening of the Navan railway
line, expanded bus services, an upgrade of the N3 in the Tara Valley to a three
lane road(known as a 2+1 road system) and the modification of the
existing motorway route outside the valley to the cheaper and safer 2+1 road
system. The new road would be toll-free as the modifications to the motorway
would save very significantly on capital costs, which would then be used to buy
out the toll contract.
Significantly the provision of coach and rail services
will cut C02 emissions and traffic volumes by at least one third, with up to two
thirds reductions possible. The plan including road and rail construction and
buy-out of the toll contract comes to an estimated 1.2 billion Euro, cheaper
than the estimated 1.5 billion Euro construction cost of the M3. No re-routing
of the M3 will be required nor new planning process, protecting future
generations from climate change and loss of their history and heritage.
' The
Mighty Gather in' is a rallying call for the Irish people to work together to
protect Tara in her hour of need. Included with the album is a list of 10
things you can do to protect Tara and details of how to sign up for the mailing
list tara-action@googlegroups.com where people can keep updated on the issue,
share ideas and work together to protect our heritage, history and environment.
