1997:349 - LIMERICK: Church Street/Old Dominick Street, Limerick

This work was carried out as part of the site investigation work required by engineers for proposed local authority housing, in order to assess the archaeological potential and, for structural reasons, the underlying deposits.

The site is located at the northern end of the Englishtown, to the north of the Castle and Thomond Bridge and east of St Munchin’s Church. It is within the medieval town wall, which ran parallel with the Island Road to the east, where a portion still stands within the grounds of the convent, and parallel to the Shannon River to the west of the site (Verdant Place). This site lies between Church Street to the west, Old Dominick Street to the north-east, and the new Northern Relief Road to the south-east.

In 1988 testing of the whole area was carried out in advance of construction of the Northern Relief Road. In 1989/90 B.J. Hodkinson carried out excavations on that part of the site which was on the line of the proposed road (Excavations 1990, 42, E471).

There are no known structures of archaeological or historical interest located on this site. In his report Hodkinson concludes that, although there is evidence in the form of the early ditch and ‘few scattered post- and stake-holes’ for occupation in the pre-Norman period, the property boundaries date from the Norman period and any related structures would presumably have been located to the west, on Church Street, with the gardens to the rear, i.e. within the tested area.

The Civil Survey described a property (St Munchin’s Parish, p. 74) which would be in this location. The 1840 OS map shows the area as open ground, and by 1870 it shows what appear to be small dwellings fronting on to both Old Dominick Street and Church Street.

Three cuttings were opened, in all of which a layer of dark brown silty clay was identified. In Cutting 1 this occurred outside a cellar wall at a depth of 0.5m and was 0.7m thick. In Cutting 2 it occurred at a depth of 0.7m and was 0.9m thick. In Cutting 3 it occurred at a depth of 0.9m and was 0.5m thick. This may be an archaeological deposit although no finds were recovered from it. A wall located in Cutting 1 is likely to have been part of the housing shown on the 1870 OS plan.

In Cutting 2, at the south-western end of the cut at a depth of 1.6m, there was a 1.3m-thick layer of black organic material, containing bone, twigs and some shell. This pit or ditch feature may also be of archaeological interest, although again there were no finds from it.

City Hall, Limerick