derived from human bone shows a web of connections between occupants of monuments of the Irish Passage Tomb Tradition. A male buried in Listoghil, Carrowmore, showed a detectable kin relationship to three others, buried in Newgrange, Millin Bay and Carrowkeel. This (combined with stable isotope results indicating a more protein rich diet than that of the general Neolithic population) was suggested to indicate a dynastic elite lineage buried in these prestigious locations in the Neolithic era. Discussion Research at Carrowmore has helped clarify the chronology of the development of the passage tomb tradition in Ireland. Although some important Irish passage tomb sites are not dated, and early dates have been obtained elsewhere it is possible that Carrowmore represents some of the earliest passage tombs constructed in Ireland. Ancient genetics now indicate a large scale dispersal of farming communities whose origin was in Anatolia. The role of megaliths as monuments and foci of ceremony and celebration, as well as markers on the landscape is emphasised by archaeologists such as Richard Bradley; but they were also memorials to particular lineages and possibly individuals from elite groups. Carrowmore represents a foundation point and a centre point in a Neolithic landscape. The building of large cairns such as Listoghil or Miosgán Médhbh on Knocknarea may represent a later phase of megalith-building of greater scale and ambition than the earliest passage tombs. The area of the Cúil Irra peninsula and its hinterlands is dotted with such tombs, often on hilltops, which inspired Stefan Bergh to style it the "Landscape of the Monuments". Dump Crisis Carrowmore was the subject of an extended legal battle during the 1980s when in 1983 Sligo County Council sought to place a municipal landfill dump on a quarry site about 100 yards from part of the complex. The council's decision was contested by five local residents in the High Court, in Dublin in late 1983, and the High Court ruled that the County Council could proceed with its plans, on certain conditions. The case was appealed to the Supreme Court which ruled against the Council in 1989. A notable feature of the judgment was that it marked the first explicit legal recognition of the idea of an architectural landscape, extending the legal protection of a national monument to include the surrounding area. Visitor centre In 1989–90 the State purchased approximately , on which stood a number of monuments and a small