October 26th 2000

REGISTERED POST

Mr. Bertie Ahern T.D. (Prime Minister)
Office of the Taoiseach,
Government Buildings
Dublin 2.

Dear Prime Minister Ahern,

RE: NEW SUPERDUMP, MOTORWAY, AND GAS PIPE LINE (IN EAST GALWAY AREA)

Following on from my letter to you of October 11th 2000 (copied to President McAleese) I have in the meantime looked further into the matter of the local Children’s Graveyard which some local people claim was removed by the Galway County Council - as mentioned on the Chaplefinnerty page of my web site. (A further copy of my web site address is attached to this letter. Also, Eircom now seem to have satisfactorily dealt with the slow access times to my web site.)

Site 93 on Sheet 86 of the set of maps showing County Galway Protected Monuments is shown as a "Children’s Burial Ground" in the New Inn area of East County Galway. A copy of this set of maps is on display in the reference section of the main public library in Galway City, and Sheet 86 has the date 1947 written on it.

I have in the meantime looked in the actual area where Site 93 is supposed to be, and all I could find there was the remnants of a rubbish dump which I understand was operated by the Galway County Council for a period of 18 years or so between 1971 and 1989.

Site 93 is also mentioned under reference number 3732 on pages 368 and 527 of the book entitled "Archaeological Inventory of County Galway (Volume II)" - which was published in 1999 by the Government Stationary Office in Molesworth Street, Dublin 2. With reference to Site 93, this Government publication contains the following statement: "As the entire area has been quarried out, no visible surface trace survives." (Although this statement does not say who quarried out the site, there appears to be no doubt whatsoever that it was the Galway County Council who did it.)

Assuming it was the Galway County Council who quarried out Site 93, three main questions seem to arise:
1) Did they do so legally?
2) If not, and now that the matter has been brought to your attention, will Galway County Council be challenged publicly in a Court of Law by the appropriate Government Department regarding the unlawful destruction of a "Protected Monument" ?
3) What did Galway County Council do with the human remains which were buried at Site 93 ? (In connection with this final question, please note that my family is just one of several who have lived in the New Inn area for an unknown number of generations, and it seems very likely that some of those buried in Site 93 would have been relatives.)

With regard to time-scales for dealing with the above three questions, please note that major road works in the Cross area of New Inn (in recent weeks) suggest that Galway County Council may have already decided on the Cross site (just 2 miles from the world famous Turoe Stone) as the location for the new superdump: which, according to some reports, may be built large enough to serve the whole Province of Connacht.

It would be much appreciated if you and President McAleese could acknowledge receipt of this letter within 14 days, and in a way which leaves no doubt that you both are personally aware of the contents of this letter. (Please note that I have not received any response at all from President McAleese to my letter of October 11th 2000 to her - which seems very strange to me: allowing for what I related regarding the serious damage caused to the Cairn at Alloon by Galway County Council.)

Yours sincerely,

Mr. William Patrick Finnerty.

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