2002:1015 - KILKENNY: 1 Irishtown (rear of), Kilkenny

The River Nore (Kilkenny City) Drainage Scheme, which has been in progress since July 2001, includes flood-relief works on the River Breagagh. These involve the lowering of the riverbed in selected locations and the widening of the river channel. One location for the widening of the river channel is at a site currently known as Brennan’s Yard, to the rear of and adjoining No. 1 Irishtown. This site is on the northern bank of the Breagagh, c. 300m east of the Breagagh–Nore confluence and immediately north-west of Irishtown Bridge. A number of late 20th-century commercial warehouses were demolished on this site in September 2002.

The site measures c. 60m south-west/north-east by 20m but becomes narrower at the street frontage toward the west, where it measures c. 10m south-east/north-west. The flood-alleviation measures proposed for this location involve the insertion of a line of piles for a length of c. 60m, the length of the yard. After this the ground between the piles and the existing river channel is to be removed to widen the river. This requires the excavation of a strip of ground c. 5–8m wide along the entire length of the property.

In 2000 Paul Stevens carried out testing at the rear of the site (Excavations 2000, No. 535, 00E0406). A single trench uncovered a substantial linear timber structure. The wood, of which two fragments were identified as ash, was oriented east–west. A sample from this timber produced a radiocarbon date of cal. AD 996–1244 (at 2 sigma).

In November 2002, investigations began with the aim of excavating the area to be removed by the river-widening process. Several phases of riverside fences have been identified. The earliest of these consisted of two lines of post-and-wattle fencing. A masonry riverside wall replaced these fences. A 5.4m length of base-plate for a riverside revetment was exposed associated with this wall. This base-plate appeared to be a reused roof timber. Medieval pottery has been recovered from the deposits associated with this activity. Part of a post-and-wattle structure with internal floor surfaces was also exposed. The external wall of this structure was aligned with the medieval riverside wall and was at variance with the existing street pattern.

Later in the medieval period the property was expanded at the expense of the river. Post-and-wattle fences, a plank-built fence and a large tree trunk, 8m long, were used to define the river’s edge. The tree trunk appears to represent an attempt to create a slipway to provide access to the river’s edge for washing, water collection etc. As the ground level built up, a series of later timber stakes, interpreted as a medieval property boundary, was established. This line ran toward the Irishtown street frontage, where further excavation is expected in 2003.

Before the start of excavation a masonry wall formed the boundary between the dry land and the River Breagagh. Excavation and survey of this wall revealed it to be of multi-phase construction. The upper parts of the wall are clearly of post-medieval date; however, the scant remains of a badly robbed-out late medieval wall were uncovered at the base.

A series of thick post-medieval clay and silt layers sealed the medieval river gravels. These clay layers appear to be the product of garden cultivation. A more detailed summary will appear in Excavations 2003.

2 Killiney View, Albert Road Lower, Glenageary, Co. Dublin