NEWS - REPUBLIC OF IRELAND -2002

Carrickmines Castle

Undoubtedly the main news item this year has been the uncertain fate awaiting Carrickmines Castle, Co Dublin, the extensive excavations there having been outlined in the previous Newsletter. As the huge area of this important site slowly became apparent it began to be obvious that there would be no chance of completing the excavations before the arrival of the motorway. Also much of the uncovered remains would be destroyed by the motorway and the excessively large and perhaps unnecessary interchanges planned at this location.

As it became manifest that the site was of enormous historical and archaeological importance a move was instigated by the Green party to reroute the south-eastern leg of the M50 motorway to avoid the critically important heritage of Carrickmines Castle. It was believed that the local authority, Dun Laoghaire Rathdown County Council, owned sufficient land to allow the route to be changed.

An Taisce, the Irish National Trust, also called for a feasibility study on a revised road development to preserve the monument, considering that the proposed removal by the National Roads Authority of the major part of Carrickmines Castle represents the worst threat to an internationally important archaeological site in Ireland since the infamous Wood Quay episode, when the site on Dublin's south quays was built on after remains of the Viking town were discovered there over 30 years ago. They called on the Minister for the Environment, Martin Cullen, to issue a Temporary Preservation Order as the site is "in immediate danger of injury or destruction". They also pointed out that the motorway received a substantial EU Cohesion Fund grant but no proper preliminary archaeological assessment of the road route was carried out and the proposed removal of the remains and unexcavated portions of the castle is in breach of the Valetta Convention on architectural heritage.

The unfinished archaeological excavations were stopped on Friday 30th August and on the same day a meeting of concerned groups took place in Trinity College, attended by about 100 people. It was pointed out that the foundations of Carrickmines Castle itself had yet to be discovered. Also the EIS (environmental impact statement) prepared by the NRA (National Roads Authority) was inadequate as it was prepared before the excavations and the decision to approve the motorway was therefore "fatally flawed". The possibility of a reduction in the large size and extent of the roundabouts was also discussed. The NRA stated that the excavation had taken two years and cost 6 million euro to date.

At the weekend pressure was stepped up considerably when a group of protesters occupied the newly deserted site to demonstrate against the destruction of the heritage. This got the castle widespread publicity with the media subsequently referring to the occupiers as the "Carrickminders". It was then pointed out in a letter to the Irish Times that the NRA rerouted a bypass in County Clare to avoid a fairy bush, so as they proposed bulldozing the M50 through one of the largest castle sites in Ireland they were obviously away with the fairies themselves.

On the 16th September the Minister for Transport, Seamus Brennan, suggested a compromise where in one roundabout could be raised and tilted so that the features could be preserved and viewed, stressing that 60 per cent of the site would be saved, with some structures dismantled and reconstructed elsewhere. However the environmental campaigners were incensed at this, An Taisce claiming that about 80 per cent of the site would be lost, and Green Party pointing out that the motorway had not been moved an inch north or south of the original route. The Friends of Medieval Dublin said that this would set an "appalling precedent" whereby developers could refuse to protect National Monuments on the grounds that the State did not protect them in this case. The worth of all the unexcavated parts would never be known. Meanwhile the Carrickminders occupying the site said they were more determined than ever to continue their protest which was only beginning to gather momentum.

Two days later a report in the Irish Times proved to have more sinister implications. The Carrickminders stated that a State agency, An Foras Forbartha, warned in a report of the danger of "any interference with the ancient sites" at Carrickmines Castle in 1983. This was heeded by Dublin County Council for 15 years with the then proposed Ballyogan Road routed to the south and incorporated thus in the Development Plan in 1993. However this was subsequently overturned by the new local authority Dun Laoghaire Rathdown County Council in their 1998 Development Plan, which ran the now M50 motorway smack through the castle site. This decision to move the road has also led to one of the State's largest compensation claims from Jackson Way Properties who own land at Carrickmines which would now be split in two by the motorway. They are claiming 116 million euro for the loss of 20 acres.

Meanwhile the next day Proinsias de Rossa MEP, announced that the EIS withheld vital information and a new plan must be drawn up. He wrote to the European Commission to investigate probable breaches of European law which if found to be the case will result in the loss of EU funding for the road project, and he has also initiated an inquiry by the European Parliament Petitions Committee, of which he is vice-chairman. On the strength of this, the Carrickminders said they would be looking for an injunction to halt proceedings until the EU inquiry had concluded. An assessment of the EIS by a member of the National Museum of Ireland for An Taisce also indicated shortcomings, while An Bord Pleanala asked for information regarding the choice of route for the M50 through the castle ruins.

When the Jackson Way Properties compensation claim went before an arbitrator on the 9th October, it emerged that the amount being sought was now down to 47 million euro, but this was still deemed "exorbitant" by the local authority. It also was reported that Jackson Way was a controversial English-based shelf company currently under investigation by a tribunal under Mr Justice Flood, and also the Criminal Assets Bureau, into allegations of bribes paid for the rezoning of their lands at Carrickmines to increase their value. During the arbitration the real ownership of Jackson Way was found to be deliberately sheathed in layers of great complexity effected by a bewildering structure of overseas companies, even including one registered in Liberia.

A special conference organised by the Friends of Medieval Dublin to discuss the importance of the castle was held in Trinity College on the 26th of October, with academic speakers from six universities in the Republic present. The aim was to improve public awareness of the importance of the castle and discuss how best to deal with the present impasse. Among many items speakers stressed that the use of the site covered the period 1200 to 1650 it being occupied initially by the Howell and then the Walsh families, and that its huge scale and ditches are exceptional. It is really a partly excavated medieval manor on the Pale marches and as such is unique. The remains of victims including women and children killed in the final siege of 1642 are a grisly reminder of the violence of the times. The site was once thought to cover one or two acres, but it is now known to extend over eight acres, most of it earmarked for road building.

Full hearings into the rezoning of the Jackson Way Carrickmines lands will begin in November and allegations that nine county councillors were paid a total of £25,000 to secure this rezoning will be investigated by the Flood tribunal.

Finally, with regard to Carrickmines Castle, answers are wanted to several questions. Firstly, why was the line of the M50 rerouted through the castle in 1998 when a proposed new road was routed around it in 1983 on the advice of a state agency? Is Jackson Way involved in any way? This could lead to the murkier byroads of political and planning intrigue but at least it is the subject of three separate inquiries by An Bord Pleanala, the European Commission and the European Parliament. Secondly, if the EIS is considered inadequate does this invalidate the proposed route of the road? Thirdly, can the road be "bent" around the site and the large roundabout be reduced or even removed? It does not appear to serve any specific purpose. Fourthly, of the various state agencies involved why has the Minister for the Environment, who has responsibility for protecting historic monuments, kept silent? Next year's Newsletter may have some answers.

D. Newman Johnson