2002:1717 - CLONMEL: 75 O’Connell Street, Tipperary

As part of an assessment related to the proposed development of 75 and 76 O’Connell Street, Clonmel, testing was carried out in June 2002 at the rear of the former site of a house. The Urban Archaeological Survey (Farrelly and Fitzpatrick 1993) indicates that this property may have been the site of an earlier, medieval structure known as Clonmel Castle. Two linear trenches (c. 14m by 1.2m) aligned north–south were opened by a track machine using a flat bucket. Testing established the presence of several post-medieval structures preserved beneath the concrete yard. The stratification in both trenches was severely disturbed, and several dumps of builder’s rubble were encountered throughout the site.

Most of the features were uncovered in Trench 1. The two lower courses and foundation footing of a stone wall were discovered in the southern end of the trench; the southern end of the wall ran under the baulk. It was oriented north–south, and the exposed section was 3.7m long, 0.6m wide and 0.4m high. The wall was constructed of limestone bonded with a compact, brownish-white mortar. A stone-lined circular well lay 5m north of this wall. The opening of the well was sealed by four stone stabs that rested on iron rods. The well had an internal diameter of 1.4m and was constructed of sandstones bonded with a sand-based mortar. The uppermost 0.5m (six courses) was visible, but below this depth the well was filled with clay. A dump of mortar, similar to that bonding the stone wall, lay 1.1m north of the well. This deposit was 0.25m deep. A compact clay surface was discovered in the northern extremity of Trench 1 at 0.85m below the current ground surface. It measured 7m by 0.45m. Two sherds of North Devonshire sgraffito ware were embedded in the deposit. The proposed development will not impinge on layers below a depth of 0.8m.

A wall, visible in the northern baulk, was encountered in Trench 2. It was aligned east–west and comprised three courses of stones and red brick bonded with a white sandy mortar.

The clay surface was the only feature of possible medieval date encountered during testing. The rest of the features relate to post-medieval occupation. No evidence of a medieval castle or urban tower-house was encountered.

Reference
Farrelly, J. and Fitzpatrick, L. 1993 Urban Archaeological Survey: County Tipperary, South Riding. Unpublished, Office of Public Works.

Unit 2F, Dungarvan Business Park, Dungarvan, Co. Waterford