Madam, - Driving through the lush countryside of the Tara-Skryne valley it is easy to wonder what all the fuss is about in routing a motorway through it. What meets the eye is undulating countryside.
It is what lies unseen and unexplored beneath the surface that provokes concern. The Discovery Programme of the early 1990s, using ground-penetrating radar, found there were many archaeologically exciting sites waiting to be excavated.
Ultimately these sites must be carefully explored. After that, some facilities must be installed to interpret the excavated landscape to visitors. It is then, in this future circumstance, that a motorway running through the area will be brazenly out of place.
Archaeological excavation is a slow, painstaking activity. It is hard to believe it will be carried out to the highest standards if subjected to the time pressures imposed by large infrastructural project generates.
Re-routing makes more sense. - Yours, etc,
TIMOTHY O'SULLIVAN,
Homefarm Park,
Dublin 9.