As dusk fell at Clarke’s Road in the Cork suburb of Ballyphehane on a chilly and blustery Thursday night, a scene that might have caused alarm a short few months ago began to unfold.

As dusk fell at Clarke’s Road in the Cork suburb of Ballyphehane on a chilly and blustery Thursday night, a scene that might have caused alarm a short few months ago began to unfold. Five men wearing hazmat suits, safety goggles and masks emerged from vans parked at the local green.