Madam, - Why waste space with an Editorial on the "troubled saga" of Carrickmines Castle (January 7th)? If the author of the piece cannot muster a crumb of interest in the subject or a hint of joined-up thinking, why not just consign this "regrettable affair" to the pages of history?
The logic expounded in this Editorial - that "Carrickmines Castle would have remained in almost total obscurity if the M50 had not crossed its site" - stretches absurdity far beyond what elasticity will allow. Leaving aside the fact that Carrickmines was never obscure to anyone with an interest, is it really the concluding analysis of The Irish Times that the castle owes a debt of gratitude to the motorway that will destroy it?
You also pronounce that "enough is enough". Why? If an innocent man is unjustly convicted, at what point should his lawyers and supporters tell him that "enough is enough" and he should do the time? And if the innocent man should find himself on death row, and appeal after appeal is rejected, at what point does he himself say "enough is enough", "justice" must be done?
Carrickmines Castle is on death row. You don't believe so. You accept as sincere and satisfactory the "compromise" announced by the Minister for Transport, Mr Seamus Brennan. I, on the other hand, contend that this was nothing more than a PR stunt. The Minister himself has conceded that only about 60 per cent of the site may be saved following his intervention. I suggest a figure less than half of that is more likely.
You also believe that the Minister for the Environment, Heritage, and Local Government, Mr Martin Cullen, acted sincerely when, wearing one hat, he consented to the destruction of a National Monument, and then, swapping hats, approved his own grant of consent. He would have us believe, as you do, that he acted in the public interest, but the very legislation he cites, the National Monuments (Amendment) Act 1994 is clear: a National Monument can be interfered with only if it is in the interests of archaeology to do so. Does The Irish Times really believe it can ever be in the interests of archaeology to destroy an archaeological site?
You also trust Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown Council when it says it cannot move the roundabout at Carrickmines, a roundabout that will do more damage to the castle than the motorway itself. I point you to the same council's attempts, taking place as I write, to return to the drawing-board and redesign a roundabout a stone's throw away on the same road at Lehaunstown. Where is the sincerity there? And you believe the council when it says the Carrickmines affair has delayed the completion of the road. I invite you to walk the far-from-finished route of the South-Eastern Motorway, and see where the real delays are, and the real causes.
But what of the land that will be serviced by the proposed Carrickmines interchange? Does The Irish Times not find it even a little bit strange that, of all the firms and all the joint-stock companies in all the world, who should own these lucratively rezoned lands but a certain obscure little entity called Jackson Way, currently under investigation by perhaps the most revelatory, if shocking, tribunal of inquiry in the history of this State? - Yours, etc.,
SEÁN DUFFY FTCD, Chairman, Friends of Medieval Dublin, c/o Department of Medieval History, Trinity College, Dublin 2.
Madam, - Your Editorial of January 7th on Carrickmines Castle was practical, realistic and to the point. It voiced the opinions of the majority of those living near the castle remains who have had to put up with traffic jams, construction detritus and the expensive delay that archaeologists and their acolytes have imposed on them in the name of heritage preservation.
The parish in which I live, which adjoins the disputed area, has to deal with a population explosion as thousands of new homes are being built in the area. The reputed €10 million that has already been spent in the battle for the preservation of the castle remains could and should have been used to better purpose.
In the parish of Sandyford, 1,000 primary schoolchildren have to leave the parish each morning because there does not appear to be money for the extension of the existing schools, even though land and planning permission have been granted. There are no public recreational facilities for children and teenagers - which would certainly help with delinquency problems.
As you rightly said, Carrickmines Castle, or to put it correctly, its remains, would have remained in almost total obscurity if the M50 had not crossed its site. Preserve the artefacts by all means, but not at the expense of all those commuting-taxpayers. Enough is enough.
I cannot imagine motorists leaping out of their cars on the future motorway in order to take a look at the remains of a castle wall. Ireland is dotted with the ruins of ancient castles. Let the preservationists get digging there instead. - Yours, etc.,
TESS LEAHY, Sandyford, Dublin 18.