Two years after the environmental protesters were evicted from the Glen of the Downs, Co Wicklow, Conchita Pinto, who took part in the long vigil, reflects on the successes and failures of their campaign.
If a week is a long time in politics, then two years is an eternity in road campaigning. Since the eviction of the "eco-warriors" at the end of June 2000 after their three-year vigil to try to save the Glen of the Downs Nature Reserve, road issues have become the concern of far more than a dedicated number of front-liners.
Alarm at rampant road development has spread throughout all elements of society, from the playful anarchy of Reclaim the Streets, to the Campaign for Sensible Transport (CaST), which has brought formidable brain power and organisational skills to the issue.
You do what you can. The passionate commitment that kept us up the trees through those mad times and long cold winters, was born of desperation. In the face of the crazy economic whirlwind gathering speed throughout Ireland in 1997, we decided to just hang on in there and argue later.
The mind-boggling sums of money pouring in from Europe at that time had put the smell of money in people's nostrils, and the feeding frenzy was under way. A rational examination of the trade-off between Ireland and the international bankers was to come later. As the saying goes - there's no such thing as a free lunch.
Meanwhile, something had to be done to stop the glen disappearing under concrete. The road through the glen is one link in a major European network, designed to promote efficiency in the global market. Against such forces, our quixotic attempts to enforce the lawful protection conceded to a National Nature Reserve didn't stand a chance.
Nevertheless, we did all we could, taking our case to the High Court, instigating a national debate on environmental issues, and forcing the National Roads Authority (NRA) and Wicklow County Council to modify their original plans. Without the tree houses in the glen, none of these things would have happened.
I am proud to have been among those who struggled against overwhelming odds to try to awaken people to the enormous symbolic significance of the glen. We knew that once the legal status of National Nature Reserve was violated, the floodgates would be opened to all sorts of inappropriate road developments.
And we were right. Just look at the overblown, overpriced and totally indiscriminate NRA road programme, which if implemented would effectively destroy much of Ireland's natural heritage. In response, CaST has produced a comprehensive analysis of the plans, including alternative proposals. We can only hope they are heard.
Although I now live in Scotland, I return every now and then to visit the glen, to see how it's holding up against the ongoing road development. Each time I do, I am struck by the unique character of this precious and beautiful place.
Sadly, the encroachments of the modern world are slowly pressing in. As well as the road which has eaten into its heart, the role of the Nature Reserve as a public amenity is in danger of being further eroded. The latest threat is the sale by Coillte of a plantation on the Belleview Woods side for a multi-million euro golf course. As the land marked out borders directly onto the reserve, the disruption is bound to be immense.
But on my most recent visit this May, I was relieved to see that, despite everything, the glen still manages to retain its atmosphere of tranquility. Alongside the motorway, it is a peaceful parallel universe. The river, which is in most danger from the road's proximity, seems in good heart too.
During my three-year residency, I got to know every nook and cranny, every hidden corner of the glen and its environs, enabling me to live in my home-made shelter unsuspected and unseen by the public who passed only a few dozen metres away.
Only when my dog had pups was I forced to move to a spot deeper in the forest, as puppy yelps and their protective mother running out to guard her territory threatened to blow my cover. There, under the green protection of the trees, I reared five frolicking, noisy pups in peace and safety. I remember those times of mixed madness and serenity as some of the happiest of my life.
While walking the west side of the glen recently, a friend who has extensive knowledge of local archaeological and historical sites pointed out an Iron Age hill fort just outside the south-western boundary of the nature reserve. Just one of the many fascinating features of the local landscape, it had been subjected to bulldozing and damage.
As evening fell, we watched the unending stream of commuters wending their way bumper-to-bumper through the glen, showing that the more roads you build, the more traffic will expand to fill them. Only massive investment in an integrated public transport policy, which makes travel a truly pleasant experience, will ever tear people away from the addiction of car ownership.
Ireland's rapid transformation from an agricultural economy to a white-hot one driven by IT and services is a double-edged sword whose blade can both destroy and liberate. The damage done by brutal wrenching of people from the traditions, lands, and shared cultural memories which formed their world is a wound not to be underestimated.
Yet the excitement and challenges presented by modern life, and expansion into a European identity is also a welcome release from the narrow restrictions of the past. The image of environmentalists as woolly romantics, harking back to an idealised past, is just not true; today's generation of activists has been raised and educated with technology.
There is no going back. Technology can be put to good uses as well as bad. Used with vision, and a consciousness of the sacredness of all life, technology can help create a future which liberates and uplifts. The challenge facing us now is how to advance the benefits of a technological global economy, without sacrificing the eternal truth of the natural world, without which life would be rendered meaningless.
Today, the environmental movement operates at many levels and takes many forms. Many of the glen activists are now involved in creating a way of life which co-operates with the natural world. Some are building alternative energy systems, some studying complementary medicine. Some have decided to arm themselves with knowledge and are pursuing legal, scientific and other relevant degrees. Others have gone on to establish eco-villages.
There will still be young idealistic "warriors" willing and able to use their youth and strength on the front line, as we did. If the Government pays no heed to the voices expressing alarm at the dominance of the car and its effects on our health, environment and economy, then who knows, perhaps their contribution will be needed again.