THREE PEOPLE HAVE been arrested in connection with vandalism worth an estimated €400,000 at an Office of Public Works (OPW) site used by staff at Castletown House last month.

The arrests were made this morning following a search operation conducted by gardaí at a number of homes in Celbridge, Co Kildare, located close to Castletown House estate.

Two teenagers and a man in his 30s were detained by gardaí shortly after the search.

Gardaí say the arrests relate to several separate incidents of criminal damage that occurred between 22 April and 4 May at Donaghcumper House.

The property is used as a staging site for transporting OPW staff to nearby Castletown House, a historic estate at the centre of an 21-month controversy – as residents have opposed the OPW’s proposals to use a narrow pedestrian walkway for heavy vehicles.

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Vehicles and facilities used by the OPW were targeted over the May Bank Holiday weekend at the site.

Four OPW and contractor vehicles were overturned, allegedly using a teleporter which was later dumped in the River Liffey, while outbuildings and staff welfare units were set on fire and four CCTV towers were disabled after their wiring was cut.

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Minister of State with responsibility for the OPW, Kevin ‘Boxer’ Moran, described it as “shocking and unacceptable” in a statement last month. 

Save Castletown Gate Protectors, a local group who have maintained a presence at the entrance to Castletown House in protest against the OPW for 18 months, similarly condemned the incident.

The estimated cost of the damage was in the region of €400,000.

The three are being held at garda stations in Kildare.