The ancient Hill of Tara has been nominated for inclusion on a list of the world's 100 most endangered sites.
Vincent Salafia of Tarawatch
The World Monuments Watch has helped save 420 irreplaceable sites in 80 countries including the ancient Buddhist temple of Preah Khan at Angkor, Cambodia built in 1191.
Environmentalists hope inclusion on the 2008 list will boost their campaign to re-route the M3 away from the fort. They claim the site is being threatened by construction of the M3 motorway, ancillary development and neglect.
Vincent Salafia of Tarawatch said the nomination takes the campaign to halt work on the M3 to a new level, internationally.
"We are extremely hopeful that the Government will think twice before signing the 30-year construction and tolling contract," he said.
A decision on whether to include the Hill of Tara on the list will be made in the summer.
The 2006 list included a famine-era barn in Kildare, the Ellis Island Baggage and Dormitory Building in New York, and Sir Ernest Shackleton's Expedition Hut on Ross Island, Antarctica.