2001:1192 - BALLYTARSNA, Tipperary

As part of the ongoing restoration programme, two days’ work was carried out at the castle. On the first, trenches were opened around the south-east corner of the bawn wall prior to the rebuilding of this section. This work showed that the wall is over 2m thick and rests on a shallow wider foundation cut into the subsoil. A cross-wall was revealed running at right angles to the bawn wall in line with the west side of the tower. Only the east face of this wall was exposed and it appeared to abut the bawn wall, so it was assumed to be part of a lean-to building against the wall. This first day’s work took place in early April.

Because the bawn wall was much wider than expected, and remarkably so for such structures, it has cost implications for the restoration. It was therefore decided to test the width of the wall at several points and also to take the opportunity to investigate the cross-wall in more detail. The second day’s testing took place in early May. Trenches in the middle of the south wall, at the eastern end of the north wall and on the west wall north of the tower yielded widths of 2.1m, 1.85m and 1.92m respectively.

The cross-wall turned out to be unexpectedly wide at 2.5m and is of the same build as the bawn wall, not butted against it as first thought. The bawn wall was found to continue on the west side of the cross-wall but here was only 1.7m wide. The massive cross-wall is too wide for an internal wall, yet its function is unclear. There is a possibility that the tower was originally planned for the corner and was relocated when only partially built; another possible explanation is that there is an earlier underlying construction. Only further work can reveal the function of the cross-wall.

Annaholty, Birdhill, Co. Tipperary