A group of protesters this afternoon successfully prevented work being carried out on the M50 motorway at the site of Carrickmines Castle in Dublin.
The protesters blocked the entrance to the castle at Golf Lane and digging machinery has been unable to gain access to the site.
Over the weekend environmentalists made last-minute pleas for the suspension of work on the final leg of the motorway which they say will destroy up to 80 per cent of the medieval castle site.
An Taisce has warned that the archaeological treasures at Carrickmines were the property of the State and described their destruction as a criminal offence.
It has said that 35 per cent of the site remains unexcavated, adding that 75-80 per cent of the excavated area would be destroyed this morning unless the Government moved to address the issue.
The Minister for Transport, Mr Brennan, has stated his support for the roadworks although he claimed he was "not comfortable about it".
He estimated that about 60 per cent of the medieval site would be saved, and said some structures would be dismantled and reconstructed elsewhere.
