County: Cork Site name: CARKER
Sites and Monuments Record No.: CO017-098---- Licence number: 02E1442
Author: Rory Sherlock, Sheila Lane and Associates
Site type: County house
Period/Dating: Modern (AD 1750-AD 2000)
ITM: E 562796m, N 609024m
Latitude, Longitude (decimal degrees): 52.231700, -8.544632
Monitoring was carried out during restoration works at Carker House, Doneraile. This derelict 18th-century house, which was abandoned in 1957, is thought locally to incorporate the remains of an old castle.
The debris encountered in the basement rooms was up to 2m deep and was excavated manually. The removal of plaster from walls within the building was also monitored. No features of archaeological interest were noted in the basement, other than brick-built storage bins, but the examination of the masonry within the house confirmed that the 18th-century structure had incorporated the remains of an earlier building of uncertain date.
This earlier structure, which was identified only at ground-floor level in the rear portion of the house and which survived only in isolated sections, measured c. 12.8m long (east–west) by 7.75m wide and appears to represent the remains of a 17th-century structure, possibly a fortified house. No evidence for a tower-house or castle was noted and no intact original features were observed within the surviving masonry of the early structure. The early masonry will be preserved in situ during the restoration works.
AE House, Monahan Road, Cork
