A worker engaged in tree-felling along the proposed route of the controversial M3 motorway in Co Meath was in a critical condition in hospital last night after he was struck by a falling tree.
The incident happened at about 4.30pm at a site in Lismullen Wood, opposite the Hill of Tara.
The injured man suffered serious head injuries and was brought by ambulance to Our Lady's Hospital in Navan, where a Garda source said he was "serious but stable".
Earlier, a local man involved in protests against the tree-felling was injured after being knocked to the ground. He was also removed by ambulance to hospital, although it is believed that the injury he sustained was not serious. Up to 10 people took part in the protests.
Workers with chainsaws and heavy machinery moved in to begin felling pine trees in Lismullen Wood shortly before noon yesterday. They were confronted by the small group of protesters, some of whom stood in front of workers' cars.
Tom O'Byrne, a local businessman who took part in the protest, said two demonstrators had entered the wood earlier in the day but had left when gardaí arrived some time before the incident.
Referring to the worker's injury, he said: "The guys with the chainsaws started shouting. There was a bit of panic . . . I ran back to my jeep to get a first-aid box. It all happened very quickly."
A paramedic arrived at the scene immediately after the incident. Workers then cleared a path for an ambulance, and a fire engine from Navan also arrived.
Another protester, Eric Burke, said the protesters were assembled in a narrow cul-de-sac near the entrance to the forest when the incident occurred.
"I'm really upset. The last thing you want is someone getting injured. It's really horrible," he said.
The Health and Safety Authority (HSA) confirmed that its investigators were on their way to the site last night.
A spokesman for the National Roads Authority described what happened as a serious incident and said the circumstances were being investigated. "Our thoughts and prayers go out to the family," he added.
In a statement, the protesters described it as a tragic accident and wished the victim a full and speedy recovery. They said complaints had been made to the HSA last week about what they claimed were a "lack of safety procedures" for the tree-felling, but work carried on.
"Repeated pleas by campaigners for third-party intervention and mediation in this escalating situation have been ignored over the last week. It is hoped that such a process will begin immediately, before work resumes," the statement continued.
According to the Save Tara group, the M3 "cannot be considered to be legally approved" until after an oral hearing on objections to the tolling scheme for the route, which is due to start in the Ardboyne Hotel, Navan next Wednesday. The owner of the tree-felling company declined to comment.
Lismullen Wood, covering some eight acres, had been in the ownership of Coillte Teoranta, the State forestry company, until it was acquired by Meath County Council in April 2005, under the compulsory purchase order for land on the M3 route.