County: Sligo Site name: SLIGO: Town Hall
Sites and Monuments Record No.: N/A Licence number: 99E0016
Author: Eoin Halpin, ADS Ltd.
Site type: No archaeology found
Period/Dating: N/A
ITM: E 569058m, N 835805m
Latitude, Longitude (decimal degrees): 54.270119, -8.475016
A phase of refurbishment led to an archaeological monitoring and assessment condition on the works in Sligo Town Hall. Sligo town, since its foundation in the 13th century by the Anglo-Normans, has been one of the most important towns in north-western Ireland. However, none of the many secular buildings known to have existed within the town during the medieval and post-medieval periods survives today. The only remnant of the town's extensive urban defences currently visible is the mid-17th-century earthwork known as the Green Fort, north-east of the town. The many archaeological investigations carried out in the town in recent years have not found any early building remains. It is thought that the town hall may be built on a site previously occupied by both the 13th-century castle and a 17th-century fort.
Construction work to the east and north of the town hall was monitored, with no evidence for an earlier castle coming to light. The insertion of column bases in the basement and ground-floor levels was also monitored, with no earlier deposits noted.
Unit 48, Westlink Enterprise Centre, 30–50 Distillery Street, Belfast BT12 5BJ
