The last Occupy protect camp in the country has been dismantled by gardaí and council workers.

Officials moved in to remove Occupy Galway activists from Eyre Square at about 4.30am. Up to 50 gardaí were involved in the operation.



Six men were in the camp, which was established almost seven months ago, when gardaí began the operation.



Galway City Council said it had taken action as the camp had been erected without consent, was illegal and that the occupiers had refused to leave voluntarily.



“Members of the wider public have been denied the use of part of a public amenity by this occupation for several months,” the council said in a statement. “Structures erected on the plaza in Eyre Square created a risk to the safety of the occupiers themselves and to others.”



A Garda spokesman said one man was arrested for a public order offence.



Galway City Council had raised concerns that the camp should be removed before the Volvo Ocean Race grand finale next month.



The largest Occupy camp, outside the Central Bank on Dame Street in Dublin, was dismantled in March ahead of St Patrick’s festivities.



Protesters had been camping at the site since last October to object to corporate greed and in solidarity with the Occupy Wall Street protest and similar movements around the world.