"It's fantastic news for us, " said Vincent Salafia, head of the Tarawatch campaign. "It shows the world and the rest of the country that we're not just a bunch of cranks and that this is an internationally-recognised crisis."

Unfortunately, on this sunny Saturday morning, it is looking as if the Green Party may not reenter talks with Fianna F�il and the Green Party is very important to the Hill of Tara campaign.

As the group of campaigners gather at the visitors' centre, they each take a long look at the rolling green hills of Tara, where the last battle of the Fianna took place around 3500 BC.

"It's incredible to think that anyone could even consider putting a big floodlit motorway down there, " said Laura Grealish. "We're disappointed about the Green Party talks breaking down but Labour have also said they would re-route the motorway so we can still hope."

That hope became stronger with the news that the Hill of Tara is now an internationallyrecognised endangered site due to government proposals to route the M3 motorway close to it.

The WMF has helped to save more than 450 irreplaceable sites around the world, including the vast temples at Angkor, Cambodia, and the historic centre of Mexico City. The New York-based group has a 75% success rate but already it has expressed its concern that Tara may prove to be beyond even its influence.

"The president of the organisation has said that Tara will be their biggest advocacy challenge yet, " said Salafia. It makes no difference that minister for transport Martin Cullen is pictured in the WMF brochure taking part in an event.

"The government has continuously failed to protect this site or consider the many alternative routes open to them."

This morning, there are more protesters from America, Britain and Poland than there are from Ireland. The Tara situation has made a bigger impact abroad than it has in its own country.

"We've had our own problems in the UK but nothing like this, " said Natasha Kenyon, from the heritage site of Amesbury in England. "The Irish are bulldozing their own history. Has there not been a national outcry?"

There hasn't really - mainly, said Salafia, because of the success of the National Roads Authority in convincing the public the motorway will not go near the heritage site.

"They even made a DVD about it. But the motorway cuts right across the lower part of the hill. There's no denying it."

The recent discovery of an ancient woodhenge at Lismullen, along with the remains of a large dog, which have now been removed, has given greater strength to the Tara campaign.

Close by this site, protesters remain camped out in the woods on 'construction watch'. Every morning at 6am they attempt to prevent construction continuing.

"Have you brought any milk?" long-term protester Danny Moloney asks Salafia as he approaches the campsite. "Oh well."

By the summer solstice on 21 June, Moloney will have been camping in Tara for a year. "I gave up my job on an oyster farm to come here. I feel it's more important."

Polish archaeologist Martin Sawicki arrived six months ago and has stayed to help the campaign in every way he can.

"Do you remember when the Buddha statue was bombed in Afghanistan in 2001 and there was international outrage?" he said. "This is the very same."

A lecture tour has been planned in America, where there is large support for Tara, and a summer festival to celebrate the solstice will take place from 20-23 June.

"We've always known our chances are slim, " said Salafia. "But it's all to play for now. Protests on the ground aren't always ideal but they give us time to get a legal case going. We can't understand why the government are so hell-bent on getting this motorway put here but we're in it for the long haul to prevent that happening.