Locals in Celbridge in Co Kildare have called for a solution to be found to a stand-off over access to a heritage site in the town.
Protesters have maintained a presence at the entrance to Castletown House since last September, which has resulted in the majority of Office of Public Works (OPW) staff not accessing the site.
Castletown House was built in Celbridge in the 18th century and acquired by the State in the late 20th century.
The site has been open to the public for the past three decades but for the past year it has been at the centre of a row that has divided the Kildare town.
Last year, an entrance and car park near the M4 was closed to the public and to OPW staff by the private owner of the land.
The OPW proposed a new entrance and car park near Celbridge village but locals objected. In response some locals have maintained a protest at the entrance for the past eleven months.
Jackie De Lacey is one of the group that calls themselves the gatekeepers.
"It's our duty also as communities to protect this (avenue) and retain it for future generations. It is unsafe for traffic. It's not wide enough for a road. The surface is that of a footpath. It's simply unsafe." she said.
Ms De Lacey added that vulnerable users are particularly impacted.
"You can't put a buggy and a car on that. You can't put wheelchairs on it. Older people can't walk up there safely and feel happy the way they've done the past years.
"We've even found that local people who are compromised and were vulnerable, they're not using it because they're so nervous about meeting a car."
Since the protest began most OPW staff have not been accessing the site. Now some locals are calling for temporary measures for staff access to allow the estate to be maintained.
Treasa Keegan is from the Save Castletown Committee who is proposing that OPW staff get access for vehicles via the Celbridge village gate during two daily half hour windows in the morning and afternoon
"We've put a proposal on the table to enable OPW staff and cars to get work. The OPW needs to focus on that. I'd love to see the community rally around it so that we get this thing solved in the short term and for the Minister to work on long term solutions."
Ms Keegan says that the issue has divided what was a strong community spirit in Celbridge.
"This issue came along and divided the community. That is a matter of deep regret, I think for everybody involved. Friendships have been lost. One neighbour on one side of the opinion and the other neighbour on another side of the opinion. It's really really harrowing when you see what has happened to relationships."
In recent weeks another local group has emerged calling for compromise. Castletown Community Voice group is led by John McDonnell who said he is concerned about the impact on the site.
"The lands are overgrown, they're going into disrepair and the house is under threat and the artefacts contained within it. And people aren't coming anymore. Looking around, it's a ghost town here. It's a lovely day in early August, there's nobody here. So we are very concerned with it."
Mr McDonnell said temporary access may be needed temporarily to get the site maintained.
"We'd like to see the staff back. That's the sole objective of our group is to get staff back to their valued work here and maintain the land and look after the house. What that may mean temporarily is unfortunately, they need to potentially come up through the Lime Avenue gate."
SIPTU says that OPW staff support the reunification of the lands but in order for them to access the estate, staff are looking for unfettered access during the proposed limited time windows.
However the gatekeeper group has not yet agreed to this according to another group member Deirdre Brown.
"It's been pedestrianised since 2007 so it would be a big change to have vehicles on it. The Save Castletown Gate Protectors have a protocol in place at the moment with the OPW to allow essential vehicle services use the avenue.
The group are that concerned that we commissioned an external independent risk report and that risk report identified that the avenue was not wide enough. Pedestrian priority cannot exist. There's simply just not enough space."
In a statement the OPW said they sought to acquire the Castletown Demesne lands, which have sparked this dispute, off-market in 2021 but they were unsuccessful.
It says when these lands were placed on the open market in 2022, the OPW was outbid and the land was acquired by a private purchaser.
The OPW says it and the Minister of State for the Office of Public Works Kieran O'Donnell understands the importance of Castletown House and Estate to the local community and the community's frustration over the loss of the M4 access road.
It says it is committed to working with the community to find a solution to the current access issues and says it is working towards longer term solutions for access to the estate.
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