A Co Roscommon farmer has been blocked by a Government department from building a five-bedroomed family home in the area of the burial place of the high kings of Connaught.
According to the Department of the Environment, Heritage and Local Government, the area at Rathcroghan, Tulsk, where Mr Thomas Moylan proposed to built a two-storey house, is "one of the most important archaeological sites in the country".
There are more than 20 ring forts, burial grounds and megalithic tombs in the vicinity.
There are 60 national monuments at Rathcroghan. One of them, a two-metre standing stone to the north-west of the 0.396 hectare site where Mr Moylan proposed to build the house, is said to mark the grave of King Daithi, the last pagan king of Ireland.
The area is also the setting for the conclusion of the Táin Bó Cuailgne - the Cattle Raid of Cooley.
Despite the archaeological significance of the area, Roscommon County Council granted planning permission last February for the house, intended to be located in the townland of Glenballythomas, four kilometres north-west of Tulsk, subject to 17 planning conditions.
However, this decision has now been overturned on appeal to An Bord Pleanála.
Mr Kevin Moore, senior planning inspector with An Bord Pleanála, said it was considered the proposed development would interfere with "this sensitive landscape of significant archaeological value".
He said it would seriously interfere with the setting of the historic monuments at this location, which are registered in the Register of Historic Monuments under Section 5 of the National Monuments (Amendment) Act, 1987.
"The proposed development would, thus, be seriously injurious to the amenities of the area, and would, thereby, be contrary to the proper planning and sustainable development of the area".
Mr Moore said there was also a question of drainage.
Having regard to the soil conditions on site,the board was not satisfied that the site could be drained satisfactorily by a septic tank and percolation area.
The farmer involved, Mr Moylan, in his response to the appeal by the Department of the Environment, Heritage and Local Government, said that he and his family were full owners of 96 acres at Rathcroghan, and that he was a full-time farmer.
The board noted that details of only 65 acres of the applicant's landholding had been provided to them.
"Full details of the farm holding would allow examination of alternatives that may potentially be in less sensitive locations," said Mr Moore.