1997:027 - IEVERSTOWN/CAPPAGH LODGE/SIXMILE-BRIDGE/MOUNT IEVERS/BALLYLIDDAN WEST, Clare

An archaeological presence was required owing to a major upgrade and improvement in the sewerage system of the village of Sixmilebridge. Monitoring was carried out from June 1997 to February 1998. There are three SMR sites in the area where ground disturbance took place: the settlement, church and graveyard in Sixmilebridge village (SMR 52:16:01–03), the bleach mill in Ballyliddan West townland (SMR 52:17), and Killnavoher burial-ground in the townland of Ballyliddan (SMR 52:18).

The village of Sixmilebridge is situated at an important crossing-point of the Owenogarney River. Before the construction of Bunratty bridge 6km downstream, Sixmilebridge was the most southerly crossing-point of this river. Trade was a crucial factor in the development of the village. In the 17th and 18th centuries, boats from Amsterdam sailed to within 2km of it. Dutch settlers established mills in the area and the river became an important centre for milling. The disused post-medieval woollen mills, located to the north-east of the bridge, were used for grinding corn and later, in the early 19th century, as a paper mill. The mill consists of extensive buildings, a weir with a sluice-gate and a millpond.

The disused Church of Ireland church and graveyard are located in the centre of the present village. Apart from three graveslabs of unknown date, the oldest remains date from c.1679. A medieval Dominican chapel or church is also believed to have been situated at Sixmilebridge. It was in existence until 1641 but its location was unknown in 1754, when the historian de Burgo visited the town. Possible locations of this Dominican establishment include the land north and south of the bridge, or perhaps Killnavoher graveyard (SMR 52:18).

'Bleach Mill (in ruins)' is marked on the 1st edition OS map of 1842, south of Sixmilebridge, between the village and Killnavoher graveyard. No remains are now visible of the Ballyliddan West bleach mills, but it seems likely that an associated mill-stream would have entered the river which runs to the east of the mill site.

As mentioned, it is possible that Killnavoher burial-ground is the location of the medieval Dominican church. Although no visible medieval remains were noted, the walls enclosing the portion of the graveyard adjacent to the road appear quite old. According to local tradition, this small walled cemetery was used during the Great Famine. It has been suggested that the graveyard represents the remains of a parish church and that the site has also been used as a 'killeen' (children's burial-ground).

The results of the monitoring were singularly unspectacular. Apart from a dozen pieces of late 17th- and 18th-century pottery, found mostly in the field to the north of the junction of the Broadford/Kilkishen roads, there were only two items of note. The first was a partial skeleton found when the trenching passed along the road to the east of Killnavoher graveyard. It consisted of a partial skull and a few other fragments and had been truncated by a Telecom Éireann cable trench. It lay outside or partially under the east wall of the cemetery, 5m to the north of the stile, at a depth of 0.7m. This suggests either that the burial pre-dates the wall or that it was outside the graveyard, or maybe the wall was moved, possibly to widen the road.

The remains were examined by Ms E. Murphy, who concluded that the body was of a child of indeterminate sex, between 7 and 10 years old. The child was under constant physiological stress from the age of 4 and was in poor health at the time of death. It was impossible to date.

The other item of note was a linear ditch feature running east from the direction of the bleach mill towards the Owenogarney River. This was 0.7m wide and 0.4m deep. Several pieces of 18th-century pottery were found in it. It was traceable for 20m running in the direction of the river. There was no trace of it on the river's west bank. It may have been a mill-stream running to the river.

Little subsurface archaeology was uncovered anywhere in the vicinity of the town owing to a combination of prior destruction by services and the shallow coverage of the underlying bedrock by the topsoil and subsoil. Extensive remodelling of the riverbanks below the town appears to have destroyed any once-extant archaeology, apart from the occasional drystone field drain. There was no sign of anything that could be related to the monastery, either in the vicinity of the C of I church or the graveyard.

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