Seamus Heaney fears that old Ireland is in danger of losing its soul, of driving a stake through its sacred heart. Which is to say that the 1995 Nobel laureate is upset, very upset, about a motorway. His protest is typically rhapsodic and not calculated to appeal, perhaps, to politicians, planners and civil engineers, but that does not render it invalid. The poet has joined a growing number of people who believe that Ireland's economic boom has come at too high a price. Yet he speaks out, ironically enough, just as Alex Salmond is encouraging the Scots to emulate the "independence and prosperity" of the Irish.

Seamus Heaney fears that old Ireland is in danger of losing its soul, of driving a stake through its sacred heart. Which is to say that the 1995 Nobel laureate is upset, very upset, about a motorway. His protest is typically rhapsodic and not calculated to appeal, perhaps, to politicians, planners and civil engineers, but that does not render it invalid. The poet has joined a growing number of people who believe that Ireland's economic boom has come at too high a price. Yet he speaks out, ironically enough, just as Alex Salmond is encouraging the Scots to emulate the "independence and prosperity" of the Irish.