County: Limerick Site name: DESMOND CASTLE, Newcastle West
Sites and Monuments Record No.: SMR 36:67 Licence number: 94E0174
Author: Kenneth Hanley
Site type: Castle - Anglo-Norman masonry castle
Period/Dating: Multi-period
ITM: E 527865m, N 633748m
Latitude, Longitude (decimal degrees): 52.450434, -9.061211
Newcastle West is located approximately 20 miles south-west of Limerick. Desmond's Castle, which is situated in the heart of the town, consists of a thirteenth-century keep, with a peel tower, a bastion and a curtain-wall, within which are two later halls, Desmond's Hall and the 'Great' Hall.
Desmond's Hall, the later of the two halls, consists of a large, two-storey limestone building with a tower on its northwestern side. The hall was believed to have been built between 1440 and 1450 on the site of an earlier, thirteenth-century church.
The excavation in the grounds of Desmond's Castle took place between 14/11/94 and 3/2/95. It was funded by the Office of Public Works as part of the ongoing restoration being carried out on the castle. Five areas were excavated:inside the ground floor of Desmond's Hall (Area 1), in the courtyard (Areas 2, 3 and 5) and across the current entrance-way (Area 4). These produced five main periods of activity.
Period I-pre-church activity
Evidence for this period survived in Areas 1 and 2 only. It consisted of two phases of archaeological activity separated by a series of sterile clays. The first phase was represented by a row of stake-holes and a faint trace of wattling. These were associated with a series of charcoal-flecked deposits and a deposit of straw-like material.
The second phase involved a trampled stone surface, a shallow gully and a couple of sterile pits. This was followed by another series of sterile clays. To the west of Area 1 a large (2.5m wide x 1.3m deep) ditch-like feature was revealed.
No dating evidence was found for these phases, but they lay stratigraphically below the thirteenth-century church.
In Area 4A a series of five oak timbers were partially exposed, lying above the natural estuarine clay. It was not possible to examine the timbers in any great detail owing to the restrictive nature of the cutting area, but a dendrochronological date of AD 1243±9 was obtained for one of the timbers. The function of the timbers could not be determined.
Period II-the construction of the thirteenth-century church
The pipe rolls of 1298 make reference to 'the Churches of Newcastle'. They do not specifically describe the location of either church, but one is believed to have been located on the site of Desmond's Hall.
Excavation in Areas 1 and 2 revealed the original thirteenth-century church within the fabric of Desmond's Hail. The church was rectangular in plan and had 1.5m-thick, internally plastered limestone walls. It had splayed sandstone windows in its eastern gable and southern wall. The northern, southern and eastern walls survived mostly intact. The western gable had been largely rebuilt in recent times. No floor levels or any related activity were found associated with the use of the church.
Period III-the construction of Desmond's Hall
Owing to the extensive damage caused by post-medieval and modern activity it was not possible to determine how long the church was in use or if it went to ruin. However, at some point, possibly between 1440 and 1450, the church was converted into a large, two-storey banquet hall.
The church windows were blocked and two 0.5m-thick reinforcement walls inserted inside the northern and southern walls. A 0.6m-thick batter was built on the external side of the northern wail. The roof of the church was then removed (if not already gone) and a second storey added with a new roof. The north-western tower was also added.
As with the earlier church, no evidence of a floor layer or any other activity associated with the use of the hall survived.
Period IV-post-medieval
There was substantial post-medieval activity across all five excavated areas. In the courtyard (Areas 3 and 4) a series of successive cobble levels were identified. In Area 5 the outlet for the latrine chute was blocked up. The staircase leading to the first-floor entrance was converted into a limestone staircase and was later rebuilt with a less steep gradient.
Overall, the post-medieval activity caused substantial damage to the underlying archaeological strata.
Period V-modern
In more recent times Desmond's Hall was used as a garrison for the British occupying forces, as a meeting place for the Desmond Masonic Order, a fitting shop, a warehouse and a dance hall.
44 Eaton Heights, Cobh, Co. Cork
