Protest to burn Irish Green Party membership cards and form new party

There are rumours that disenchanted members of the Irish Green Party will be meeting on St Patrick's day at Tara to burn their cards and launch a new green party.

I am not even sure that they have official cards, so it may be a groundless rumour, please mail me if you know more.

Its an interesting development, have had this more solid reference from the Irish Times.


Tara group plans St Patrick's Day protests

http://www.irishtimes.com/newspaper/ireland/2009/0309/1224242514544.html

TIM O'BRIEN

CAMPAIGN GROUP TaraWatch says that it plans to “mobilise 50,000 supporters worldwide” to demonstrate against individual Ministers as they attend St Patrick’s Day functions around the world.

The group is hoping to embarrass individual members of the Government by drawing attention to the building of the controversial M3 close to the Hill of Tara in Co Meath. Last week, the National Roads Authority (NRA) said that the motorway was so close to completion that calling for the rerouting of the motorway at this stage was “ridiculous”.

But yesterday TaraWatch said that it would use the schedule of Ministers’ foreign travel, recently released by the Government, to plan demonstrations.

A spokesman for the group said that demonstrations were already in place for Chicago, where TaraWatch Chicago will have a float in the city’s annual St Patrick’s Day parade.

Similar action was planned for San Francisco, and New York, where Minister for Energy and Communications Eamon Ryan will be representing the Government.

Efforts were also under way to ensure that Meath TD and Minister for Transport Noel Dempsey is picketed when he visits Toronto, and that Minister of State Trevor Sargent receives “a cool welcome” in Paris.

A TaraWatch spokesman said that the Irish abroad were “especially furious about the M3 going through Tara, and this is becoming an annual ritual, in cities around the world”.

He added that an article in the Smithsonian magazine earlier this month, which featured Tara as one of 10 must-see sites in the world before they disappear, had provoked a massive response internationally.

“Minister Dempsey and the Green Party are the primary targets, but every Minister in almost every city will be hearing about Tara again.”

“If the Government wants to engage the diaspora, they [should] seek help in finding a solution to the M3” he added, rather than travelling the globe “saying there is no problem there at all”.

Meanwhile, a separate group of protesters who have been holding a vigil at the Hill of Tara are to celebrate the first anniversary of the protests at Rath Lugh in which a woman protester called Squeak locked herself into an underground chamber.

Heather Buchannan told The Irish Times that the anniversary on March 13th, “is a big date for us”.

Among the activities will be a picnic on site during the day.

Vigil protesters will also take part in the St Patrick’s Day parade in Navan.

WRITE TO lettersed@irish-times.ie

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If you want to join in demonstrations, or have one planned, please let us know info@tarawatch.org

http://www.tarawatch.org