1989:038 - DUBLIN: St Audoen's Church, High Street, Wood Quay Ward, Dublin

As part of the programme for the presentation of the National Monument, the Office of Public Works undertook the removal of the post-medieval deposits which abutted the south wall of St Audoen's Church (St Anne's Chapel and the Portlester Chapel). The remains of a series of modern basements abutted practically the full length of the church wall where post-medieval deposits extended to a depth of c.3m below modern ground level. However, c. 10m east of the church tower where there was no cellar, a portion of a masonry wall, 43m long and 1m wide, runs parallel to the church wall and c. 13m south from it. The top of this wall is c. 1m below modern ground level. A blocked-up doorway with 15th-century mouldings, which is visible inside the church, exits into one of the modern cellars. The door predates the cellar and was probably blocked when the cellar was constructed. The existence of this doorway in the south wall of St Audoen's, together with the wall running parallel to the church, may indicate that a laneway ran east-west beside the wall of St Anne's Chapel, giving access to the church in the medieval period.

However, owing to the restrictive nature of the licence issued, the writer was not in a position to investigate further. Finds from the post-medieval fill included locally-produced medieval pottery and line-impressed floor tiles.

77 Brian Road, Marino, Dublin 3