ESAT Digifone representatives yesterday attempted to defuse protests over a mast which the company plans to erect on a mountain in Co Cavan.
Early yesterday, a large group of people blocked an attempt by the mobile telephone company to put up the huge mast at Lough-an-Lea, near Kingscourt, where a large number of other masts are already located.
Nearly 100 children from Laragh National School joined parents in the protest in which cars, tractors and a portacabin were used to prevent workmen gaining access to the site.
After an angry confrontation lasting nearly an hour, the contractors withdrew. Mr Declan Drummond, acquisitions manager with ESAT, said he would meet local representatives in an attempt to resolve the dispute.
Cavan County Council granted planning permission for the mast in May and an appeal to Bord Pleanala against that decision was rejected.