Campaign to Save Tara disbanded

by Mick Egan Sun Dec 09, 2007 12:57

We have the current National Monuments Act thanks to the actions of Vincent Salafia. It was amended as a direct consequence of his actions on Carrickmines.

The EU are bringing Ireland to the ECJ on this very Act - they believe it to be in direct conflict with EU Law - and this action is being taken thanks to the efforts of CST not as a result of any action by Tarawatch or Vincent Salafia.

Since the collapse of his court case Vincent Salafia and Tarawatch have actually done nothing to further the cause of Tara and have only piggy backed on CST events/efforts and constantly snipped at them.

If anyone now wants to do something constructive for Tara may I suggest they lobby their MEP to have the EU case heard as a matter of urgency or if this is not possible that they, the EU, take out an injunction against Ireland against further works until the case is heard at the ECJ.

by T Sun Dec 09, 2007 13:20

Lets hope that this thread ends and something better will be created. Out of the caterpillar came the butterfly. Now back to whats important. Lets keep our focus on what we can do to save Tara and away from the fray. We need to get past this and win the war.

by indyreporter Sun Dec 09, 2007 13:50

This thread has been led way off course. This thread has nothing to do with TaraWatch, the Vigil, the camp or any other Tara organisation. The original report is about how one group, supposedly the 'officicial' or 'real' Tara group, that formed an umbrella over all other groups, is no more. It asks the question what has been put in its place, ie what is Save Tara Campaign? This is a legitimate question because the group, by its name, claims to be even more that the former group. It claims to 'own' the campaign, and all its disparate parts. Yet, we see no name attached to the press release that was put on this very site, making these very claims. And instead of answers now we see what are obvious attempts to deflect attention away from these issues, by making desperate accusations against people and organisations that have nothing to do with this issue. Unless, of course, TW and these others have now joined STC. Until we have some responsible and clear statements from those behind STC, everything else is just specualtion, or smokesreen.

by Michael Canney - former spokesperson Campaign to Save Tara Sun Dec 09, 2007 15:48

A statement on behalf of the Campaign to Save Tara is being prepared. The above post purporting to report on Thursday's meeting is inaccurate and misleading. It would be helpful if the author identified themselves and we could all then establish their motivation.
It is unacceptable to use the byline 'indyreporter' which gives the false impression of honesty, professionalism and objectivity. It is clear from vocabularly and style that a number of well know trolls are behind many of the posts on this thread.
People coming to this issue for the first time should familiarise themselves with the lies, spite and venon so beloved of some of the Tara groups and individuals. It did untold damage to the campaign and nobody should forget this going forward to future struggles.
Statement to follow as soon as verification and approval is completed. With the permission of Indymedia it will be posted as a new thread.

by tara faction fighter - Islam Inc. (c) Sun Dec 09, 2007 18:31

start a new thread for this keep it here and let it play out as their is important linked info on this page. I can not understand why the cop operation "bedrock" was kept secret by STC. That is important info for all us real activists.!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

good riddance.......etc

all this is the reason tara will be bulldozed through.

by Real Campaigner Sun Dec 09, 2007 18:53

Yes, the covert way in which CST chose to operate has probably been the most damaging aspect of the entire Tara campaign. Roestown and Baronstown are both casualties of this. Lismullin would have gone the same way were it not for the fact that TW made the discovery public. God only knows what else is being withheld.

Why does the good doctor object to Operation Bedrock being made public? See-

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/savetara/message/3348
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/savetara/message/3353

It is vital that ALL campaigners are aware of what is going on regarding Tara. That is the only way we can work to stop it. The Gabhra Valley is being ripped up, it is likely that campaigners are being monitored-it is therefore dangerous for the campaign to keep quiet about these things.

Why did CST act like this? Will STC, in their promised statement, give us the transparency desired?
I sometimes wonder what is the agenda of Muireann, Canney and co. The NRA couldn't do as good a job as they have when it comes to screwing Tara.

by Indymedia Sun Dec 09, 2007 19:37

Your statement that TW discovered Lismullin is completely inaccurate. The site was in fact uncovered by STC. They organised and paid for an Indymedia Photographer to fly over the valley and photograph what was going on. This was the first photo (aerial) ever released to the media. Sunday World subsequently did similar.

Re the reluctance to discuss/disclose details of "Operation Bedrock". Most people know that it is unsafe to discuss matters which are the subject of legal proceedings in the public domain until such matters are completely resolved.

by Real Campaigner Sun Dec 09, 2007 19:54

You did not read my post correctly. I never said that TaraWatch discovered Lismullin, just that they made it public knowledge while CST were still sitting on the discovery, debating and voting on what to do about it.

Regarding Operation Bedrock-this is something that affects all Tara campaigners. We therefore deserve to know what is going on

by CST - Campaign to Save Tara Sun Dec 09, 2007 20:08

The Campaign to Save Tara, an umbrella group of individuals and some pre-existing groups campaigning on the Tara/M3 issue officially disbanded at an EGM held at the Country Club in Dunshaughlan on Wednesday 5th December. The group was formed in January 2007. Those present, which included most of the original founding members, voted by a margin of 4 to 1 to disband the group.

After a successful nine months in existence in which a great amount of positive work was done it was felt by the majority that it was no longer a progressive and work-orientated organisational structure, and that the changing challenges of the situation needed a different approach.

The meeting ended without acrimony and in a spirit of positivity. Individual members of the CST continue to work in different capacities with the Vigil/Direct Action camps, Save Tara.com, Heritage Alliance and as individuals, with no allegiance except to the ongoing fight against environmental vandalism in this country.

CST brought together a diverse and resourceful group of people who managed to push the ‘dead’ issue of Tara and the M3 to the top of the political agenda during the run up to the General Election, and its aftermath. The failure of the Greens to secure any compromises on the issue during the negotiations to go into Government led the CST to actively encourage a ‘no’ vote at the Green convention. We, as a group, are very proud also that our primary concern was with persuading the public of our position, and claim credit for winning the financial, political, environmental and moral argument in the public sphere.

The CST supported the lodging of plenary summons proceedings by its former spokesperson Michael Canney in September of this year, these proceedings are still in train. Last week’s Supreme Court judgement relating to the awarding of costs in a Carrickmines case is an important consideration in any decision relating to the furtherance of this action. Mr. Dunne is to be applauded for his courage and for not doing any secret deals on costs.

Muireann Ni Bhrolchain continues to run the Save Tara website as she has done for the last four years. This site is not, and does not claim to be, democratically representative – it is a portal for all Tara-related activity and hosts material from a diverse range of sources and organisations. The site had been used by the CST for the dissemination of material over the course of its existence.

Former members of CST continue to form the backbone of the Direct Action campaign and while the EGM decided that active fundraising will cease, any funds generated subsequent to the dissolution of the organisation will be directed to sustaining the direct action camps. Three trustees were elected by the meeting to manage and ultimately wind down all financial activities of the organisation.

Other members have recently been the principal activists behind the publicizing of the recent carvings found at the Lismullen souterrain, the Gore demonstration and a number of other events. Others are involved in a legal action which may have important implications for civil liberties cases in the future. This will continue and it is to facilitate this diverse activity that the group disbanded.

The CST will be making a return to the Standards in Public Office Commission as it is legally obliged to do because of its active involvement in the election campaign this Summer. Its total expenditure on election related materials was c.€8k. It’s total income generated over the last nine months comes to in the region of €13k and all accounts have been updated and are in credit. At the end of the campaign we hope that all groups will be in a position to account for all of their income and expenditure in the same way.

In conclusion, we are proud of what we achieved over the last nine months and in no way embarrassed or downbeat about having wound up the CST organisation. The good energy and commitment of its former members remains steadfast. This is not the time or place for a post-mortem on the general campaign and we prefer, as we always have, not to become embroiled in internecine squabbles with peripheral groups and individuals. There will be no further official statements from the organisation.

We would like to thank all of our supporters and Indymedia for their continued support and can assure you all that the fight to save Tara is far from over.

by indyreporter Sun Dec 09, 2007 20:17

"Indymedia", if you read the above statement again you will see that it says:

"Lismullin would have gone the same way were it not for the fact that TW made the discovery public."

The Lismullin henge was discovered by the NRA, in March or so of this year, so nobody can claim responsibility for that.

CST (not STC, because they didn't exist then) did have knowledge of a discovery at Lismullin, and did give the information to one media outlet, the Sunday World. The story ran on April Fools day, as an April Fools joke, as you can read: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/savetara/message/1619

From my research I see that TaraWatch are clearly the group who brought this to the media, thereby forcing the works to stop, and full month after CST had knowledge of the site:

http://www.rte.ie/news/2007/0502/meath.html

Again, we can bogged down the constant sidelining of the premise of this story, which is that CST was shut down by its own members and does not exist any longer, and that STC are apparently trying to pass themselves off as the original group, and pretend nothing has happened.

by former CST member Sun Dec 09, 2007 20:59

The Lismullin Henge was discovered last March by NRA archaeologists working on the site. The CST leadership received information (seemingly from one of their NRA contacts) straight away. But for reasons of their own they decided to withhold the information from the vast majority of their own members and all non-CST affiliated campaigners. Instead they passed on the details to a friendly Sunday World columnist who run it, but disguised as an April fool's joke. It was then that one CST member, who also happened to be a member of Tarawatch, got wind of the discovery, visited the site, took a number of photos which he instantly posted to Tarawatch's 'hilloftara' public E-group. Other Tarawatch campaigners issued a press release based on the photographic evidence provided. 48 hours later the then Minister for the Environment, Dick Roche, was forced to put a temporary preservation order on the Lismullin Henge.
The campaigner who took and distributed the pics was consequently driven out of CST.
It's pretty obvious that CST had no intention whatsoever to inform anybody about the discovery of the henge. Without Tarawatch's intervention, the henge and the entire Lismullin site would have been bulldozed during the Summer without any further archaeological investigation.. If the CST leadership is really fighting for the preservation of the Tara landscape, then why on earth are they playing into the hands of the NRA by keeping the lid ob important archaeological discoveries which have been made in the Gabhra Valley ? We, the campaigners for the protection of the Tara landscape, are entitled to some answers, Muireann, Kevin and Michael C. !

by indyreporter Sun Dec 09, 2007 21:14

The personal attacks are truly pathetic. Let's stick to the facts here. The main fact is that I was right about every single thing I said in the original news report above.

The Sunday World article was hatched out between CST and the Sunday World, as were all the Sunday World articles on Tara, if we are to believe the boasts on the mailing list. But if anyone can find any media story linking CST to the Lismullin henge, other than that one, please post it here.

The Statement above is rather strange, because it is made by a 'group' that already disbanded. In other words, in the EGM they did not agree a public statement upon disbanding, and some former member just made this one up, because of the publicity here. I think it is pretty clear now that STC is probably the same five people, carrying on business as usual, under a slightly adjusted name.

It is truly shocking to hear that only five people were at this meeting. Like getting to the end of the yellow brick road, and finding nobody home... I'll have to read it again to really grasp all the implications. However, on first glance, it does not come close to answering many of the questions made above.

As for Mr Dunne, he did make a deal on costs, on the Trim Castle case. He agreed not to take a Supreme Court appeal, in return for Meath County Council pursuing him for costs.
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/carrickmines/message/1221

At least, Mr Dune, Mr Salafia, Ed Horgan and others, had the neck to go to court in the first place. It would already appear that Mr Canney is not going to undertake a case at all, and has thereby closed off the opportunity for anyone else to do so either, because it is probably too late now.

Cartoon by Tom Mathews

by bebo Sun Dec 09, 2007 23:11

Thanks for speaking true, mate! You see CST was run like one of them reality shows on the telly - eliminate a member every week. And in the end all what was left is that tiny inner circle someone else in here refered to as "politburo". Having successfully elimited all opposition to their Labour and Green Party political agendas, that tiny band of four or five people can now unopposed continue to deceive (using the name STC) all genuine Tara campaigners into believing that they are the only official spokespeople for the entire campaign.
It was about time somebody exposed that bunch of political manipulators as the traitors they are! .

by Blue skies Mon Dec 10, 2007 12:18

To the average layperson, anyone involved in opposing the proposed M3 motorway through the Gabhra Valley is part of some sort of campaign to save Tara.
Get over it. Get out of the schoolyard and get on with the work.

by move on Mon Dec 10, 2007 14:34

If these people resurrect they should use an unambiguous title so as not to claim they are somehow "an umbrella" group for Tara.

by numpty alert Mon Dec 10, 2007 15:23

It is an uncomfortable fact that campaigns such as this will draw many who fly a false flag. This campaign has seen more than its fair share of those.
I suspect that the peripheral political parties might have seen the campaign as an opportunity to talent spot or recruit, either now or later, efficient, idealistic, energetic canvassers or charismatic future leaders to their parties, as they seek to swell their ranks and broaden their electoral collage and mandate.
Firstly they would want to establish a dominant position, CST. From that position they will balance the political leverage gained by supporting a campaign against the political leverage they can gain though alliances and coalitions in the unseen corridors of power.
Therefore a campaign is both enhanced by the powerful presence and contacts of these parties and at the same time crippled by them as they pull their punches for the sake of their own, much wider, agenda. One can concur that the April Fools article was a classic case of news management from initial source to distribution.
Ultimately peripheral political parties already know that FF & the Meath Mafia have long since recruited and placed those in favour to them, to the decision making process of their agenda.
Remember, in all this, action speaks louder than words.

by The Judian Peoples Front Mon Dec 10, 2007 16:16

I've been hearing about some of the campaign politics from afar.
The problem is it's not an army, with soldiers who do things without questions. The organisations are all formed for the same purpose but people have very different views as to how to achieve the goal. Also, some peoples goals are wider then then the campaign, which can also lead to issues. There's no leadership structure, which means everyone's view is listened to. That can lead to frustration and anger.
A protest is an extremely stressful environment and it's easy to sit in judgment and say they're not doing it right. If anyone feels they aren't doing it the right way go and try to solve it! My guess is it'd be like sitting Bin Laden and George down and trying to get them to see eye to eye.

I think everyone who has attempted to anything in relation to the desecration of the place should be celebrated.
It's tough work whatever avenue you believe in, be it direct-action, spiritual, legal or whatever. Fair play to all those passionate people who are giving their all for what they believe in. The are warriors in the noble sense of the word.

by Reader Tue Dec 11, 2007 10:58

I have also been watching this campaign, and find the continuous Tarawatch baiting both sinister and ridiculous. They are the only group that actually achieved anything, and without their involvement it would all be over already.