Waterford County Council has been urged to maintain public access to what is described as an "historic treasure" on the coastline at Ardmore in Co Waterford.
There is growing concern over a proposal from a landowner to remove what is regarded as an age-old path leading to an area known locally as the "Tea Flag".
Hundreds of residents and visitors have signed a petition calling on the local council to ensure the preservation of the right-of-way which connects the Cliff Walk west of Cow and Ram Head to the "Tea Flag" rocks near Father O'Donnell's Well.
Waterford County Councillor, Fiachra Ó Céilleachair, who is also a member of Udarás na Gaeltachta, said the council should be ensuring that as many people as possible should visit the rock site and experience what he described as the extraordinary inscriptions particular to the rocks location.
The "Tea Flag" site was a much sought after cliff-side location for tea parties hosted by Anglo-Irish families from the 17th and 18th centuries onwards.
It was customary, according to Cllr Ó Céilleachair, for such families to inscribe their names and dates of their visit - normally in an ornate style with chisels - into the "Tea Flag" rocks.
From the 20th century, there are several inscriptions left by IRA men hiding out from the Black and Tans during the War of Independence.
More recent carvings date from 2002 and the current year - providing proof, according to Cllr Ó Céilleachair, that the right-of-way to the cliff-top rock site has remained in use to the present day.