OPW removes protestors from Hill of Tara

The Office of Public Works (OPW) says it has asked objectors to the M3 motorway camped on the Hill of Tara to remove the final tent on the slopes of the national monument, in which those camped there, the Tara Solidarity Vigil, are maintaining a 'sacred fire'.

Last Thursday, OPW personnel, supported by security and observed by Gardai, removed a large camp from the Hill of Tara, which had been in place for the past two years, as well as a structure which had been built on the side of the Hill, described as a 'temple'.

The national monument was being damaged by those encamped on it, the OPW said. Twenty personnel, backed up by half a dozen security men and watched by 12 Gardai, removed four lorryloads of material from the field, and a further six trailer-loads, to the OPW depot in Trim where they could be collected by the campers if desired.

One remaining tepee-style tent was left, which the campers refused to allow be moved. It contains what they call a sacred flame but the OPW has asked them to remove it, allowing them time to have a ceremony prior to its removal.

The vigil fire has been kept burning continuously on the Hill of Tara since the summer solstice, 21st June 2006, according to Debbie O'Reilly of the Tara Solidarity Vigil, and has been visited and tended by thousands of people. People have travelled from all over the world and Ireland to observe the vigil and partake in this ancient celebration and ritual, she said.

She added that the fire represented the timelessness of Tara and all sacred spaces.

“The procession of local, national and international people who have visited the fire and the array of multi-denominational ceremonies and rituals which have been performed around the fire or using a flame from the fire is the purest example of the sovereign importance of Tara as the spiritual home of Ireland,” she said.

“Ash from other sacred fires has been merged with the vigil fire, including ash from the Nagasaki Peace Flame, Chernobyl Flame, Hiroshima Peace Flame, Dali Lama Peace Flame, Sarajevo Peace Flame, a 5,000 year-old Mayan fire, the Sheeva Temple Fire, Amnesty International Flame and collections of ashes from sacred fires from all over the world,” Ms O'Reilly went on.

“People even send wood to the vigil in the post to burn on the fire,” she added, recalling that some visitors light a candle or lantern from the fire to bring it home and hold a vigil with their family.