Several hundred members of the GAA have taken part in a rally in support of a major new road scheme which will upgrade one of Ireland's most dangerous roads.
They gathered at the Court of Appeal in Belfast where an appeal against the development is under way.
The group included many who have lost loved ones in the road.
Preparation work is under way at a number of locations for that first phase of the £1.2 billion (€1.1bn) project to upgrade the A5 road after final approval was given by Stormont's Department for Infrastructure in November last year.
The first phase will see the upgrade of 55km of the total 85km length of the A5 between Strabane and Ballygawley.
It runs through Co Tyrone and is a vital link between Co Donegal and the main Monaghan to Dublin road.
Last week GAA President Jarlath Burns urged members of the association to take part in the rally in support of the upgrade.
Objectors to the upgrade of the 93km A5 are taking legal action in an attempt to halt work on the first phase.
Since plans for the project were first announced 18 years ago, 57 people have been killed in incidents along the road.
Tyrone GAA has played a leading role in a campaign backing the upgrade, setting up the A5 Enough is Enough group.
The road scheme has been subject to several legal challenges which have added to the delay.
Mr Burns sent emails to the chairs of all county boards in Ulster, urging them to take part in a rally outside the court to show support for the campaign.
He denied he was overstepping his role or trying to influence a judicial process.
"The last two captains of Tyrone's under-20 teams have lost brothers on this road and that's only an example of many, many of the dozens of people who have been lost on this road," he said.
He did not attend the event in person as he was in New York for the city's St Patrick's Day parade.
More than 3,000 acres of land on over 300 farms will be affected by the upgrade and vesting orders for the land needed for the first phase have already been issued.
The latest legal challenge has angered those campaigning for the upgrade who say they've appealed to the objectors to consider the carnage along the road.
The Irish Government has said it will contribute £500m, almost half the total cost of the project.
Stormont's Department for Infrastructure has expressed disappointment at the latest legal challenge, saying any further delays will have huge consequences for the public purse as well as road safety.
Martina Glenn's 26-year-old son Simon was killed in a crash on the road in 2011.
She said time has not diminished the pain of her loss and she came to the protest so that objectors to the A5 could see the toll the road is taking.
"Let them see what the damage has been caused to the people that have lost loved ones on that road.
"I hate going on that road now. And I was coming up on the bus this morning, and my stomach was like a washing machine because of the traffic and the way the road's too narrow, for starters, for all the heavy traffic that's on the road.
"And I think it's [the upgrade] long overdue."
