Medieval fosse removed from Carrickmines site

The archaeological remains at the centre of the dispute over the building of a motorway at Carrickmines in south Co Dublin have been removed.

The contentious section of a medieval fosse, essentially a sunken wall, which the conservation group the Carrickminders had insisted should be retained in its original position, was dismantled and removed over the last three weeks.

The removal means the archaeological artefacts at the centre of the dispute have been cleared and further appeals to the courts would appear to be irrelevant.

The National Roads Authority and Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown County Council intend to build a junction of the motorway on the site of the removed section of fosse, while the remaining section is to be retained as an archaeological feature.

Since the High Court decision on September 7th that legislation permitting the work was not unconstitutional, the NRA and the council had been bracing themselves for an appeal to the Supreme Court by conservationist Mr Dominic Dunne, who took the case with the group known as the Carrickminders.

However, while they were mindful of a possible appeal, work continued on the removal of the section of the fosse to clear the way for the motorway construction to begin.

On Monday, the chief executive of the NRA, Mr Micheál Tóibín, said there was now little point in the Carrickminders taking a Supreme Court appeal as the contentious section of fosse would be removed "within two or three days". Yesterday sources at the archaeological dig said the last piece of the contentious section had been removed.

Mr Tóibín added the authority was puzzled by Mr Dunne's stance. "He passed the remains of a 3,000-year-old house which was discovered by archaeologists working on the Ballincollig bypass, to come to Dublin to object to the South Eastern Motorway," Mr Tóibín said.

The Carrickminders are expected to make a statement today on whether they intend to appeal to the Supreme Court.

The director of transportation with Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown County Council, Mr Eamon O'Hare, told The Irish Times he believed there was little further point in the conservationists petitioning the courts.