County: Limerick Site name: LIMERICK: Northern Relief Road, Phase 1
Sites and Monuments Record No.: N/A Licence number: —
Author: Celie O Rahilly, Planning Dept., Limerick Corporation
Site type: Town defences
Period/Dating: Late Medieval (AD 1100-AD 1599)
ITM: E 557354m, N 657614m
Latitude, Longitude (decimal degrees): 52.668020, -8.630498
Monitoring from Thomond Bridge eastwards to the Island Road and southwards to Athlunkard Street was carried out during the construction of the road. The upper surviving surface of the town wall was located crossing the southern half of Castle Street during the insertion of a pipe-trench. This indicated that the wall ran from the north-western tower of King John's Castle to a point midway on the street. The gate itself was not located, and presumably spanned the northern half of the street. Examination of the row of houses located north of the Victorian toll house and running north along Verdant Place showed that there is a slight external batter on the fronts of these. It is possible that this line also is part of the town wall, but access has yet to be gained to the houses to verify this.
Also identified during pipe-laying towards the southern end of the Island Road, at the corner of St Ann's Court and in line with the extant portion of town wall along this street, was another wall. This ran east-west across the Island Road towards St Mary's Place. At the surviving upper surface it was just over 1m wide, with a batter on its northern face. This wall is in fact outside the town wall but extends eastwards on the same alignment as the standing portion of the wall in St Ann's Court, the inner face of the latter in line with the outer face of the former. Associated with the wall at this upper level were dark organic deposits and fourteenth-century sherds.
The function of this wall is uncertain; the batter implies that it served to defend the area to the south, between it and St Francis's Friary, which, according to Hardiman's map of 1590, was open ground leading to the Abbey River. It is possible that this wall acted as a retaining wall, given the tidal situation. So far none of the stratigraphy excavated in either the test-trenches or the two excavations carried out to the east of the town wall suggests that there was any type of urban settlement in this area.
The map shows the known line of the town wall. Since it was last published (Irish Cities, ed. Howard B. Clarke (1995)), some additions have been revealed during current work on the Northern Relief Road and street improvement works.
City Hall, Limerick
