¹⁵⁴Breathnach, Edel, et. al. The M3 Motorway: Driving a Stake through the Heart of Tara. History Ireland, vol. 12, no. 2 (2004), pp. 5-6.

Conor Newman wrote passionately about the M3 project: "As a royal landscape par excellence, Tara is a unique example of how generations of people have contributed to the promotion, development and preservation of one human landscape over more than 4000 years. At the core of these endeavours is the sanctity of the intactness of this landscape, an organic fusion of topography, monuments, myth, history and legend, which blend together to define this as a religious sanctuary and royal estate." (Newman, Conor. "Misinformation, Disinformation and Downright Distortion: The Battle to Save Tara 1999-2005." Uninhabited Ireland. Arlen House, Galway, 2007, pp. 64-5.)

"...traditional Irish culture has degenerated into a branded commodity: make a profit from it if you can, use it as a green smoke screen to hide the real Ireland, but do not be so naive as to let Old Ireland stand in the way of profit." (p. 99)

Newman cites as an example of the government's attitude about Tara a 2004 letter from Brian Duffy, then Chief Archaeologist at the Department of Environment, Heritage and Local Government, to his Minister, Dick Roche, that "'It could be argued that the M3 will be a monument of major significance in the future.'" (p. 62)