County: Limerick Site name: BARNAKYLE to COONAGH WEST
Sites and Monuments Record No.: N/A Licence number: 02E1649
Author: Ken Wiggins, for Margaret Gowen & Co. Ltd.
Site type: Excavation - miscellaneous
Period/Dating: Multi-period
ITM: E 552009m, N 650421m
Latitude, Longitude (decimal degrees): 52.602930, -8.708459
Monitoring took place of topsoil-stripping and trenching-related construction for the Bord Gáis Éireann Barnakyle to Coonagh West gas pipeline. The route had an overall length of c. 8.4km, between the Barnakyle AGI (above-ground installation), near Patrickswell, and the site of a proposed AGI at Coonagh West on the northern side of the Shannon River, less than 2km west of the fringes of Limerick city. The Shannon was crossed between Conigar and Coonagh Point, a span of c. 500m. The rock below the river was tunnelled, and no monitoring was required.
Topsoil-stripping began on 21 October and finished on 9 November 2002. This was followed by rock breaking, trenching etc., continuing into January 2003. The route crossed the line of four roads numbered 1–4 from south to north, dividing the project into four sections. These sections were numbered by road-crossing accordingly: from Road-crossing 1 to Road-crossing 2 was Section 1; from Road-crossing 2 to Road-crossing 3 was Section 2; and so on. Identified sites or potential sites were registered with a site code, based on the Bord Gáis Éireann pipeline reference (4), the section number and the sequence of sites identified during monitoring in that section. For example, the third site identified in Section 2 of the route was given the site code BGE 4/2/3.
The route extended through twelve townlands in County Limerick. Archaeological material was exposed in five: Ballyveloge, Ballynoe, Caheranardrish, Castlemungret and Conigar. Ten sites were revealed in all, which were excavated under eight separate licences. Details of these sites are given elsewhere in this volume.
2 Killiney View, Albert Road Lower, Glenageary, Co. Dublin
