County: Mayo Site name: KILLALA: Main Street
Sites and Monuments Record No.: SMR 22:17 Licence number: 02E0892
Author: Christopher Read, North West Archaeological Services Ltd.
Site type: Burial
Period/Dating: Undetermined
ITM: E 520223m, N 830232m
Latitude, Longitude (decimal degrees): 54.214778, -9.223111
The proposed development is in the village of Killala, facing onto Church Street. It is within the zone of archaeological potential of ecclesiastical remains, in particular a 17th-century cathedral and graveyard adjacent to the site, to the east. The site had been abandoned for over 100 years, with a small vernacular outbuilding in the centre until recently. A castle (SMR 22:18) was immediately to the south of the site.
Archaeological remains, consisting of disarticulated human skeletal material, were revealed in two of the five trenches excavated on the site, with no evidence of corresponding grave-cuts. Although it is unclear whether the bones are in a primary, though disturbed, context, they clearly indicate the presence of archaeological material on the site. The bones have been analysed by Laureen Buckley, but their antiquity has not been established. They may be the remains of 19th-century burials associated with the extant graveyard to the east, whether in their primary (disturbed) context or the result of modern dumping.
However, it is also possible that these bones represent much earlier burials, from the medieval period, associated with either the monastic settlement or the adjacent castle. A substantial dump deposit in the southern half of the site had the appearance of a medieval deposit, despite the lack of datable evidence.
Cloonfad Cottage, Cloonfad, Carrick-on-Shannon, Co. Leitrim
