Campaigners fighting to save Carrickmines Castle in Co Dublin have called for an inquiry into last week's evidence at the Mahon tribunal before the South-Eastern Motorway is built on the site.
The Supreme Court is to rule tomorrow on an appeal by campaigners aimed at stopping the destruction of the castle's archaeological remains.
The proceedings centre on the right of the Minister for the Environment to consent to the construction of a roundabout on the site. If the appeal fails, Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown County Council is expected to start clearing the site for immediate construction of the motorway.
However, campaigners claimed yesterday that evidence heard at the tribunal raised serious questions about the route chosen for the motorway.
The tribunal is investigating allegations of corruption in attempts to rezone 108 acres owned by Jackson Way near the route of the road in the Carrickmines Valley. Last week it heard allegations that George Redmond could fix the line of the sewer and the motorway through the valley when he was Dublin county manager in the 1980s.
It was also alleged that Redmond, who is serving a 12-month sentence for corruption, could organise the rezoning of land in the area.
Businessman Mr Jim Kennedy, who bought the Carrickmines land in 1989, is alleged to have claimed that Redmond would position the route of services through the Carrickmines Valley to suit his interests.
Mr Sam Stanley, who worked as a land agent for Mr Kennedy in the 1980s, said Mr Kennedy boasted that Redmond would fix the line of a sewerage pipe so it would service the lands but not "butcher" them.
Mr Kennedy claimed to have a map showing the route of a proposed sewerage system in the area, obtained from Redmond. According to Mr Kennedy, the map was confidential and "should be under lock and key".
Campaigners claim any decision on rezoning land or the alignment of services in Carrickmines had knock-on effects for the castle site. They say the archaeological features of Carrickmines Castle were evident from a 1982 Foras Forbartha report on the area.
Conservationist Mr Ruadhan MacEoin said the sewerage pipeline through Carrickmines, which was built in 1996, caused "massive damage" to the archaeological remains of the castle. The line chosen for the pipe and the manner in which it was built raised serious questions which needed to be addressed, he said.
