Those campaigning to protect the landscape of Tara from bisection by the proposed M3 motorway will be bemused to learn that the Irish pavilion at Expo 2005 in Japan features an image of the ancient seat of Ireland's high kings.
Not only that. The pavilion even has a centrally positioned harp motif on its slatted metal façade. "The harp that once thro' Tara's Hall the soul of music shed/ Now hangs as mute on Tara's wall as if that soul were fled . . .", as the old song goes.
The hypocrisy at the heart of the pavilion will be lost on most visitors to the Expo. They won't know that this parading of Ireland's heritage is promoted by a Government bent on sacrificing that heritage whenever it gets in the way of "progress".
As widely reported, the pavilion's centrepiece is a set of replica Irish high crosses, cast in plaster in the late 19th century. Once located in the rotunda of the National Museum, they are now displayed in another rotunda under a projection of changing Irish skies.
According to the brochure, available in English and Japanese, the pavilion "illustrates how the ancient traditions that produced the High Crosses of Ireland have continued through the ages and remains [ sic] at the heart of the Irish cultural identity".
It goes on to say that the pavilion celebrates "the Art of Life" reflecting the rich heritage of Ireland's Celtic art and culture from prehistoric times to the present day. It also features well-displayed replicas of the Tara brooch, the Book of Kells and other treasures.
Designed by Dublin-based Martello Multimedia, the exhibition includes a special mention of Lafcadio Hearn (1850-1904), son of an Anglo-Irish surgeon and a Greek woman, who grew up in Dublin and spent his last 15 years in Japan, immersing himself in its culture and interpreting it to the west.
Contemporary Ireland is represented by such icons as the Spire of Dublin, the Luas bridge in Dundrum, pictures of well-known figures such as Bono and even a sheep farmer tending his flock under wind turbines. Needless to say, there isn't a mention of the M3.
One of the most inspired ideas was to project moving images of Ireland's varied landscape on the ceiling, angled at 45 degrees. Visitors watch it in groups of 12 from comfortable chairs tilted at the same angle and, for some, it has become an unofficial snooze zone.
Shamrock Chan (Seán), the pavilion's mascot, has also proved very popular, according to its director, Colm Sharkey (left), the son of a former Irish ambassador to Japan. Unfortunately, it was not mass-produced and, in any case, the pavilion has no shop to sell anything.
At weekends, the Irish pavilion attracts between 6,000 and 7,000 visitors. It is under the wing of the Department of the Taoiseach, headed by a man who - so far, at least - has remained deaf to the growing chorus of opposition to the route chosen for the M3.
That chorus now includes more than 300 academics and scholars from Ireland and abroad who have appealed for a rethink.
"If the motorway is constructed as currently planned, what does that say to the world about the cultural sensitivity of the Government?", they asked.
Certainly, what's being said to the world by Ireland's pavilion at Expo 2005 is little more than a big lie.
Frank McDonald