Legal action commences over Castletown House

“IT IS quite sinister,” said a local on the estimated half a million euro damage done to OPW vehicles and to security equipment at its base for Castletown House over the Bank Holiday weekend.

”It is being investigated by gardaí, and hopefully they find out what happened,” they said.

“The Minister (Kevin ‘Boxer’ Moran) is meeting with protestors and gate protector as we speak,” the local said on Monday lunchtime (12 May), whilst a second front is also being opened in the High Court at the same time.

This court case will seek to order the opening of gates erected at a disputed entrance to Castletown House where a row over public access has continued for over 18 months.

Campaigners seeking restoration of the entry point to the state-owned heritage house and park will ask the court to keep the gates open during daylight hours as an interim measure until a full hearing of the dispute can take place.

The move in the High Court by the Save Castletown Committee comes amid damage to vehicles belonging to the Office of Public Works (OPW) parked on the grounds were badly damaged.

CCTV cameras were also put out of action and initial estimates put the cost of the vandalism at over €500,000.

“The community is stunned,” said committee spokeswoman Treasa Keegan. “I’m not a person who is often lost for words but this has me numb.”

The row began when privately owned lands beside Castletown House in Celbridge, Co Kildare, that had previously been used by the public to access the amenity changed hands.

The new owner erected a gate on the route, known as Gay’s Avenue, after discussions with the OPW on arrangements for use of the avenue broke down.

The OPW proposed that another route, Lime Avenue, be used for public access instead.

However, Lime Avenue, which leads from Celbridge’s main street, is a pedestrian path, and local people said it was totally unsuited to vehicles and would make walking dangerous.

Concerns were also raised about the routing of extra traffic through the village’s busy Main Street to access it.

Various proposals, including an OPW offer to ensure only OPW vehicles used Lime Avenue and that they drove at low speeds, were not accepted.

The 300-year-0ld Castletown House has had to close for lack of staff access while the grounds have become neglected.

Minister for the OPW Kevin “Boxer” Moran said yesterday he wanted to meet all parties to try to resolve the dispute.

In the meantime, the Save Castletown Committee had served notice on the landowners regarding Monday’s High Court application.

It will argue that planning permission should have been sought to install the gates.

It will say that Gay’s Avenue had been in public use for at least the 10-year period that triggers certain safeguards under law.

It acknowledges it will take time to tease out the issues and for the landowners to prepare a response but will ask for an interim order requiring public access from 8am to 9pm for summer.

The lands are owned by a number of property companies headed by members of the local McKenna family.