Locals stopped essential service vehicles entering Castletown House estate in Celbridge, Co Kildare on Monday as the long-running dispute over public access to the site shows no sign of abating.
On Monday morning Office of Public Works (OPW) staff attempted to use motorised buggies to accompany the vehicles from the Celbridge gate entrance along Lime Avenue, a path leading to the house used by locals and protesters, who claim it is not suitable for vehicles.
Locals from the Save Castletown Gate Protectors (SCGP) group said the use of the route by service vehicles would make it unsafe for vulnerable pedestrians and people who use wheelchairs.
Gardaí were also present at the scene of Monday’s stand-off.
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The dispute over access to Castletown House has been ongoing for 20 months. The house was acquired by the State in the 1990s and sits on a large estate that is popular with local walkers.
The house, one of the most architecturally significant Palladian-style country homes in Ireland, was closed in 2023 in a dispute over a right of access to its lands.
On the estate a 235-acre parcel of land that stretches from the M4 entrance to the house, was bought by a developer Kilross Properties in April 2023.
The M4 entrance and nearby car park were closed to the public and to the OPW.
OPW staff returned to Castletown House on April 10th for the first time in two years, with a goal of opening the house to the public at the end of May.
Local representatives joined protesters at Monday’s peaceful stand-off. They included Social Democrats TD Aidan Farrelly and Fianna Fáil TD Naoise Ó Cearúil, and councillors Rupert Heather (Lab), Nuala Killeen and Claire O’Rourke (both Social Democrats).
The OPW want four to five essential services vehicles to drive daily along Lime Avenue accompanied by a buggy. They announced this plan on social media on Friday.
The State’s property management agency said the use of the avenue is safe, citing a health and safety report carried out in 2024.
Protesters from the SCGP group have proposed that any essential service vehicles are accompanied on foot by an OPW staff member.
The OPW said this would be too costly, at €10,000 a week – a figure disputed by protesters.
Locals want the entrance at the M4 Dublin to Galway motorway and nearby car park reopened to the public, which would also allow for ease of access for essential services vehicles.
“Lime Avenue is not the solution,” said Miriam Flynn, a member of the SCGP group.
“The solution required is for the Minister to do what’s necessary for there to be access via the M4 entrance.”
The OPW said it was developing an application for planning permission, which will be made this summer, for a visitor car park in the Kildare Innovation Centre.
Ms Flynn criticised the delay in applying for this planning permission.
Local woman Monica Joy, a member of the SCGP group, expressed frustration that local residents do not have proper access to the house and its grounds.
“If you take a drive around Celbridge, there are no amenities. There is no investment for communities even though huge numbers of houses have been built,” she said.
