County: Sligo Site name: COLLOONEY
Sites and Monuments Record No.: SMR 26:170 Licence number: 99E0652
Author: Malachy Conway, Archaeological Consultancy Services Ltd.
Site type: House - 16th/17th century
Period/Dating: Post Medieval (AD 1600-AD 1750)
ITM: E 567436m, N 825823m
Latitude, Longitude (decimal degrees): 54.180329, -8.498829
The site is in the village of Collooney, Co. Sligo, east of the carpark of Benson's Church of the Assumption and west of high ground on which the convent stands. A main road flanks the site to the north, with ground opening out to the south. High walls of 18th- or 19th-century appearance surround the site, and a further walled garden area lies to the south. The site measures 58.5m by 22m and is registered in the SMR as a 'Barrack-Infantry possible', although the site owner believes the site to be that of Coote's Castle. The castle, according to local tradition, was built by Sir Richard Coote in 1655, reputedly using the stones from the old McDonagh castle of 1408. This was near the confluence of the Owenmore and Unsion rivers, c. 1km to the north-east (SMR 20:207), and is not marked on any OS maps or included in the SMR. The enclosing stone wall is of varying height and level of preservation, with numerous wall scars and infills. No visible trace of any 17th-century masonry survives at this site or in the immediate environs. An archaeological survey and historical assessment of the site were carried out by Martin Timoney in 1999, leading to a recommendation from Dúchas The Heritage Service for an intrusive assessment to establish the archaeological potential of the site in the pre-planning stage.
Present ground level within the walled site lies at least 1.3m below the existing street level to the north, deepening to perhaps 2.2m towards the rear of the site. A garage adjacent to the walled garden in the north-west corner of the site overlies at least one cellar, with the tarmac surface surrounding the garage noticeably sagging or beginning to sink in areas.
Assessment was undertaken at this site on 26 November 1999. Three trenches were opened using a mechanical excavator.
Trench 1 was positioned north-west/south-east across the northern part of the walled garden area; it measured 36m by 1.4m and was excavated to a maximum depth of 1.1m. Dark brown topsoil 0.28m deep, containing modern finds, overlay medium-brown, loose clay loam up to 0.47m deep, containing roots, decayed stone, oyster shell and modern pottery. Natural gravel was encountered at a maximum depth of 0.75m from ground level.
Trench 2 was positioned north-west/south-east across the southern part of the walled garden area; it measured 26m by 1.4m and was excavated to a maximum depth of 1.2m, revealing sod and dark brown topsoil containing ash, cinder and modern finds, 0.3m deep. This overlay medium-brown, loose clay loam up to 0.35m deep, containing roots, decayed stone, shell fragments and modern pottery. Natural, grey, wet gravel was encountered at a maximum depth of 0.65m from ground level.
Trench 3 was positioned west-east, by the east wall, across the stone surface below the blocked window ope. It measured 2m by 1.8m and was excavated to a maximum depth of 1.4m, revealing sod and dark brown topsoil containing modern finds 0.34m deep, over a medium-brown, loose clay loam up to 0.56m deep, containing post-medieval pottery. Natural gravel was encountered at a maximum depth of 0.9m from ground level. A stone wall foundation, revealed 0.38m below the lower window ope, was 0.28–0.3m thick, sitting directly on the natural gravel deposit
The assessment did not reveal any soils, features or finds of archaeological significance.
15 Trinity Street, Drogheda, Co. Louth
