Madam, - Thinking about the controversy over Carrickmines Castle and its pending partial destruction, I came across the following piece of literature which perfectly expresses the rationale for saving such ancient remains entire. It was written by Thomas Davis over 150 years ago:
"Daily are more and more of our crosses broken, of our tombs effaced, of our abbeys shattered, of our castles torn down, or of our cairns sacrilegiously pierced, of our urns broken up, and of our coins melted down. All classes, creeds and politics are to blame for this. . .How our children will despise us for all this! Why shall we seek for histories, why make museums, why study the manners of the dead, when we foully neglect or barbarously spoil their homes, their castles, their temples, their colleges, their courts, their graves?
"He who tramples on the past does not create for the future. The same ignorant and vagabond spirit which made him destructive prohibits him from creating for posterity." I suggest that, despite the vast improvements in prosperity, education and technology since David's time, ignorance is still in plentiful supply within our "progressive" society. - Yours, etc.,
CONOR O'DONOVAN,
Bayview Avenue,
North Strand,
Dublin 3.
Madam, - Irrespective of the rights and wrongs of the Carrickmines Castle controversy let's not throw the baby out with the bath water. Without doubt, this sorry saga has alienated of public sympathy from the environmentalists' cause. More alarmingly, it has led to a hardening of the Government's resolve that environmental or heritage issues will no longer stand in the way of national infrastructural development - or, indeed, the plans of any developer with sufficient financial backing and political influence.
While everyone agrees that infrastructural development is essential, in a competitive modern Europe, few would say this should be achieved at the expense of our unique heritage. The two, however, are not mutually exclusive. It is possible to have our cake and eat it simply by empowering those charged with the protection of our heritage with the means to do so, and ensuring that they fulfil an effective role in decision-making at all stages of planning (rather than being excluded, as appears to be the progressive policy at present).
Hobbling professional, expert advice, both within the Department of Environment, Heritage and Local Government and from bodies such as An Taisce, will undoubtedly cause costly and irreversible damage to our cultural heritage and natural environment and will hold up essential infrastructural development as a result of public protest and lengthy legal challenges.
- Yours, etc.,
JOE FENWICK,
Department of Archaeology,
National University of Ireland,
Galway.