Letters

Relief road plan is threat to Kilkenny's heritage

Madam, - We, the undersigned, wish to put on record our profound dismay at the proposal by Kilkenny local authorities to construct…

Wed Nov 19 2008 - 00:00

Madam, - We, the undersigned, wish to put on record our profound dismay at the proposal by Kilkenny local authorities to construct an inner relief road through the heart of Ireland's only intact medieval city and a place of international importance.

In its present form this proposed road will have a devastating impact on the historic centre of the city. Quite apart from bringing heavy goods vehicles into the core of Kilkenny, it will entail the destruction of much ancient fabric of the city, both upstanding and buried.

It will cut off the 13th-century St Canice's Cathedral and its earlier precinct from the rest of the city, and it will rupture the street pattern of Dean Street/Vicar Street, which preserves the curve of the cathedral's ancient monastic enclosure, dating from the pre-Norman period.

It will eradicate medieval burgage plots, lanes and garden archaeology to the rear of Vicar Street, and it will irreparably alter the street plan in the historic Irishtown area, the oldest part of Kilkenny. Furthermore, the construction of a new cable-stay bridge about 100 metres downstream from Green's Bridge endangers the supposedly protected setting of this fine Palladian bridge.

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The inner relief road proposal was put forward as long ago as 1978 and is typical of the intrusive and destructive road schemes of that period, so often now bitterly regretted.

Despite the destruction of one medieval street during preliminary work for this scheme in 1980, Kilkenny retains much of its historic cityscape, especially from the medieval period. This proposal flagrantly disregards the strenuous efforts that are now being made throughout Europe to keep traffic out of historic city centres.

We urge An Bord Pleanála to reject this scheme at its forthcoming meeting on December 1st and Kilkenny local authorities to favour instead a revised option to the north of the city, where through traffic can be more appropriately routed and prevented from inflicting further damage on this historic city. - Yours, etc,

Prof MICHELLE P. BROWN, University of London;

PETER BURMAN, Visiting Professor, Cultural Management, World Heritage Studies, Cottbus, Germany;

Prof PAUL CROSSLEY, Prof ERIC FERNIE, The Courtauld Institute of Art, London;

Dr UTE ENGEL, Centre of Intercultural Studies, University of Mainz, Germany;

Prof PETER FERGUSSON, Department of Art, Wellesley College, Massachusetts, USA;

PAUL GOSLING, Department of Humanities, Galway-Mayo Institute

of Technology;

Dr JANE HAWKES, Department of Art History, University of York;

T.A.HESLOP, School of World Art Studies, University of East Anglia;

Dr RACHEL MOSS, Department of History of Art, Trinity College Dublin;

Prof LAWRENCE NEES, Department of Art History, University of Delaware;

Dr NANCY NETZER, Director, McMullan Museum of Art and Professor of Art History, Boston College, Boston;

Dr ELIZABETH O'BRIEN, Mícheál Ó Cléirigh Institute, UCD;

Prof DÁIBHÍ Ó CRÓINÍN, Department of History, NUI Galway;

Prof ALISTAIR ROWAN, University of Cork;

Prof ROGER STALLEY, Trinity College Dublin;

VIRGINIA TEEHAN, Director, The Hunt Museum, Limerick;

Prof JOHN WADDELL, Department of Archaeology, NUI, Galway;

Prof CHRISTOPHER WILSON, Emeritus Professor, University College London;

SUSAN MAYBURY YOUNGS; Dr RICHARD GEM; PETER DRAPER, President, British Archaeological Association; Visiting Professor, Birkbeck, University of London; Royston, Hertfordhire, England.