Galway Bay Sailing Club is embroiled in a row with fishermen in the village of Oranmore after it fenced off a site which the fishermen claim the club does not own.
The fishermen, who previously used the site as a car-park and to store boats, have sought legal advice about the fence. They claim that the club obtained planning permission for the structure after it gave incorrect information to Galway County Council.
During the summer the club, which is based in Oranmore, closed off the site adjoining its club with a seven-foot fence. It is now being used by the club as a storage area.
According to the fishermen, research carried out by solicitors working on their behalf found that the land has no registered owner at present.
The fishermen say the dispute has soured relations with the club, and claim that the club removed some of their boats from the site without permission before erecting the fence.
"The land in question has been used for decades by the local people of Maree, Oranmore, as a holding ground for boats over the winter months," said Mr Jack Killilea, chairman of the Local Fishermen's Group.
He said it had "always been preserved by the locals in keeping with the surrounding area and has never been an issue until now".
"This land is unregistered and therefore does not belong to any specific person or group to do with what they wish."
The fishermen have also raised questions about the validity of the planning permission for the fence.
According to Mr Killilea, the club claimed it owned all of the land which the fence surrounded in its planning submission.
Mr Killilea said the fishermen were lobbying local representatives to have the planning permission overturned.
Galway Bay Sailing Club's commodore, Mr David Vinnell, said the fence was "in full compliance with planning permission" and enclosed land owned by the club, along with a "small section, not more than 20 metres by 20 metres", which is being questioned by the local fishermen. The club applied to the Land Registry Office to register the land in question in 2001, Mr Vinnell said.
"At this point we do not accept their [the fishermen's] claim to access to club lands. We are trying to arrange a meeting with their representatives, and we are trying to sort it out face-to-face rather than it being done by solicitors."
Mr Vinnell said there had been illegal dumping on the site, including abandoned cars, and that it was "unsafe from a health and safety point of view".
Mr Killilea, however, described the fence as "an eyesore in such an attractive area".