County: Kerry Site name: LISTOWEL
Sites and Monuments Record No.: KE010-059 Licence number: 98E0293
Author: Florence M. Hurley
Site type: Castle - tower house
Period/Dating: Late Medieval (AD 1100-AD 1599)
ITM: E 498914m, N 633592m
Latitude, Longitude (decimal degrees): 52.444437, -9.486961
Dúchas have been carrying out restoration work on Listowel Castle over the last five years. As part of this work, a metal stairway was to be built at the back of the surviving wall of the castle to allow public access to the upper floors. In 1998 a trench was dug on the footprint of this structure. This uncovered evidence associated with the demolition of much of the castle in the late 18th/early 19th century (Excavations 1998, No. 281). The design of the stairway was subsequently altered slightly. This necessitated the enlargement of the original excavation area southwards to remove an additional area measuring 1.2m by 3.7m.
This revealed a linear feature 1.1m wide, with a maximum depth of 0.58m, which extended beyond the western side of the trench. Its eastern side abutted the foundation of a 19th-century wall previously found in the 1998 excavation. The linear feature cuts the foundation trench of the western wall of the castle. No datable material was found in this, but it is likely to post-date the removal of the bulk of the castle.
8 Marina Park, Victoria Road, Cork
