Carrickmines Castle dispute deepens
Protesters yesterday made formal complaints to the gardaí alleging offences under the National Monuments Act after the archeological contractors moved on to the site to start taking apart the stone structure.
The return of the removal team came as a surprise after work was halted by gardaí on Saturday when representatives of the National Museum of Ireland filed complaints alleging an act of criminal damage was taking place.
The museum is in dispute with the national heritage agency Dúchas over the validity of an archeological licence allowing excavation of the site, which lies in the path of the last section of the M50 motorway.
Dun Laoghaire-Rathdown County Council, which has overall responsibility for the road-building project and insists the Dúchas licence is valid, gave the go-ahead for the archeological contractors to move back on to the site yesterday morning. Several hours work was completed before they finished in mid-afternoon.
Carrickminders spokesman Ruadhan MacEoin, who staged a five-month sit-in at the site in an attempt to halt the work, said last night a five-metre section of the wall, known as a fosse, had been dismantled during the day.
The dispute between Dúchas and the museum, two State agencies supposed to work together for the preservation of the country’s historical treasures, is expected to be raised in the Dáil this week but is also likely to be referred to in today’s court hearing.
Last week, two protesters failed in the High Court to block the removal of the fosse, but the judge allowed for the possibility of an appeal, which is scheduled to begin this morning.
Green Party TD Ciaran Cuffe, who filed a complaint with gardaí in Cabinteely yesterday alleging breaches of the National Monuments Act, said last night he was “deeply disturbed” that work had resumed on the weekend before the finalisation of the case.
“This is a big row between two State agencies and the quicker it’s resolved, the better. I still believe at this stage it’s possible to safeguard the remaining structures if the road is re-routed but there’s going to be less and less of it to save if work continues.”
Local Fianna Fáil councillor Barry Andrews said he would be contacting gardaí to put on record his belief an offence had taken place.
The row is the latest in a series played out over the controversial road project. Official documents record that 10 years ago planners knew of the archeological significance of the site but the road was routed through a significant part of it regardless.
The European Commission has demanded explanations from Dun Laoghaire-Rathdown County Council and the Department of Transport. The lands are at the centre of bribery allegations in the Flood Tribunal’s probe into alleged rezoning irregularities.
The lands were also at the heart of a 47.5 million compensation claim by Jackson Way Properties from whom they were compulsorily purchased by Dun Laoghaire-Rathdown. A decision from the arbitrator is imminent.
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