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Ireland's dead deserve to rest in peace

The dead still keep turning up in Ireland. Recent stories have told about the burial site holding over 1,200 graves discovered at Ballyshannon, Co. Donegal, during work on the construction of a by-pass road. The proposed route of the by-pass was opposed by many local residents, but their objections were ignored and over-ruled. Authorities now say "tweaking" the route will allow preservation of the cemetery and nearby chapel ruins.

Had an alternative route been chosen, as advocated before road building began, the dead would have been allowed to rest in peace.

A similar case has arisen in County Meath where the proposed route of the M3 motorway is being opposed by residents. A test trench has uncovered another graveyard and, as in the Ballyshannon case, six graves have initially been discovered. Whether the site will holds hundreds more is yet to be determined.

The 60km motorway will link Clonee to North of Kells at an estimated cost of 650m, and will bypass Dunshaughlin, Navan and Kells.

It will also pass through the historic Tara Skryne Valley, and opponents may take legal action to have the proposed route changed.

The proposed desecration of a nuns' burial ground in Cork was the subject of another recent item on this web site. A developer plans to build an office complex on that ground.

There is room in Ireland for the living and the dead. A little exploratory work by the living can ensure the dead remain undisturbed. Being hell bent on speed and progress should not lead to uncaring, unfeeling, disregard for the dead who deserve to rest in peace.

Meanwhile a 3,800 years old 'cist' burial site has just been discovered on a farm near Castlefin on the bank of the River Finn in County Donegal. It contains a small urn and skeletal remains.

Caroline Carr, assistant curator at the Donegal County Museum, said the area where the discovery was made is of rich archaeological interest.

"This is a very important find", she said. "The urn is in excellent condition considering it has been in the ground so long and was unearthed by a digger. The urn is fairly small, about the size of a human hand, and is beautifully decorated on the outside in a lozenge design."

If anyone doubted that Donegal was one of the earliest regions in Ireland to be inhabited by an advanced people who cared about their dead, the Castlefin find should lay that doubt to rest.

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