Gwenu dan Fysiau

Dim ond unwaith dwi wedi ymweld ag Iwerddon ac i Ddulun am 24 awr o feddwi tra'n y coleg oedd hynny mawr i'm cywilydd. Ond fel amryw o Gymry, mae diddordeb mawr gennyf yn y wlad ac rwyf yn darllen llawer amdani a'i phobl. Er nad oes gennyf fawr o brofiad uniongyrchol o'r lle mae wedi dod yn amlwg bod y wlad yn brysur colli ei chymeriad a'i henaid yn wyneb y ffyniant economaidd anhygoel sydd wedi digwydd yno. Y tro cyntaf i mi sylweddoli hyn oedd wrth ddarllen y llyfr McCarthy's Bar. Yn lle tanio fy awydd i ymweld â'r lle, gwnaeth i mi feddwl am beidio trafferthu. Yn ddiweddar darllenais erthygl yn y Guardian am yr holl ddatblygiadau (ffyrdd a thai) o gwmpas ardal Dulun, gyda'r belt cymudo yn ehangu ymhellach o hyd gan ddinistrio nifer o gynefinoedd prin ac hefyd arwain at ddiflaniad sawl safle hanesyddol. Os nad yw'r ddolen yn gweithio, dyma rhannau o'r erthygl:

Fandaleiddio eu treftadaeth:

Just 30km to the north-west of Dublin lies the Hill of Tara, seat of the ancient high kings of Ireland and one of Europe's most significant archaeological and historical landmarks. It was to Tara that St Patrick came in his quest to bring Christianity to the Celtic druids who presided there, just as in more modern times it was Tara where in 1843 Daniel O'Connell held his "monster meeting" of half a million people demanding independence from Britain.

Just south of Dublin the blue dotted lines meet at Carrickmines Castle, a Norman fortification razed by the English during the rebellion of 1641. Although the remains were decreed a national monument by the now demoted Irish heritage agency Duchas, the M50 Dublin ring road will almost totally obliterate them.

Difrod amgylcheddol

Have a look at the miles and miles of dotted blue lines that radiate out from Dublin. They are proposed motorways - 900km of them in total, giving Ireland the biggest roadbuilding programme in Europe. €1.2bn is sunk into new roads every single year, far more than the government spends on public transport.

Ireland is one of the most car-dependent countries in the world. Irish motorists drive on average 24,000km a year, far above the UK's average of 16,000 and even topping the US's 19,000. Petrol costs 50% less than it does in British filling stations, and a third of Ireland's diesel sales go to Northern Irish drivers crossing the border to fill up cheaply. Even the Irish government admits the rate of private car ownership and the volume of traffic have already reached levels predicted for 2010. Road traffic nearly doubled over the last decade, and the numbers of people commuting by car to Dublin in the morning rush hour increased by 149% between 1991 and 2001.

Ireland's per capita greenhouse gas emissions are the highest in Europe, and fifth-highest in the industrialised world.

Along with transport, the government's lack of interest in climate change is perhaps best illustrated by its attitude to the burning of peat. By the beginning of 2005, three new peat-fired power stations will be pushing out vast quantities of carbon dioxide, in the process consuming an annual total of 3m tonnes of peat from the country's fast-diminishing bogs. Carbon emissions from peat are higher than from any other fossil fuel except brown coal.

An Taisce (Ymddiriedolaeth Genedlaethol Iwerddon)
Erthyglau/Llythyrau ymgyrch gwarchod ardal Tara
Goodbye Ireland, Hello Southern England oddi ar y gwychflog Slugger O'Toole