Gardai arrest four in raid on road protesters' camp

There were dramatic scenes in the Glen o'the Downs in Co Wicklow last night as gardai raided the anti-road protesters' camp and arrested four people. They are expected to appear before the High Court this morning on contempt of court charges.

The surprise move began shortly after 9.30 p.m., when uniformed gardai picked their way in darkness through the woodland to the protesters' camp. Switching on torches only when they were at the campsite, they i caused many protesters to flee into hiding in the trees.

At the same time several Garda four-wheel-drive vehicles and mini-buses pulled up on the main road through the glen, and elsewhere the homes of two people were visited by gardai. Garda cars with flashing lights and beacons slowed traffic at both approaches to the glen.

Screams were heard as the torch-lit chases continued through the glen for about an hour, until 10.45 p.m. Then two police vans left the scene with four protesters, followed shortly afterwards by the remaining gardai.

Supt Philip Moynihan, who observed the operation from one of the Jeeps parked at the entrance to the car park, said the operation was as a result of the court requiring the 13 named individuals to appear before it this morning. "We are carrying out Justice McCracken's orders," he explained.

While the raid had its dramatic moments with chases through the dark, most of the members of the camp present were not those named on the court list and their exchanges with the gardai, as in the past, were generally civil, if not jovial.

"The guards were very polite to us," explained a German couple who were visiting the camp for the night. "A lot of people ran into them as they left, but the guards were not rough."

However Mr Barry Browne, the camp safety officer, said five gardai had pushed their way into his home in nearby Delgany and claimed they had no right to do so.

Mr Browne gave Mr Justice McCracken an undertaking last week that he would not break the court injunction and he maintained that he had not done so.

But Mr Browne was not arrested and it is understood that the gardai were looking for his brother, Mark, whose name appears on the court list.