2007:535 - Parslickstown/Coolmine/Buzzardstown, Dublin

A pre-development test excavation was carried out at Mulhuddart Bridge, in the townlands of Parslickstown, Coolmine and Buzzardstown, within a section of the development corridor for the proposed Blanchardstown regional drainage scheme, on behalf of Fingal County Council. The proposed development corridor extends along the River Tolka and the Royal Canal, crossing through the townlands of Parslickstown, Coolmine, Buzzardstown, Corduff, Deanestown, Blanchardstown, Castleknock and Ashtown. At the time of writing the exact route of the pipeline within the development corridor had not been confirmed, pending planning permission. It is estimated that the proposed pipe trench will measure between 2.5m and 4m in width and require an associated machine wayleave of up to 20m in width during its construction phase.
The assessment report identified the immediate environs of Mulhuddart Bridge, and the area immediately to the west of the bridge, as possessing significant archaeological potential, based on an examination of cartographic sources and documentary research. The assessment noted that a bridge has been located in Mulhuddart parish from at least the 16th century and that the junction of townland and civil parish boundaries at the site of the existing bridge suggest it might occupy the site of the original medieval bridge. The assessment also identified a number of documentary references to a mill in Parslickstown townland from the 16th century onwards and reproduced a map of 1762 depicting a mill a short distance north-west of Mulhuddart Bridge.
Pre-development testing was carried out on 17–19 September 2007. The trial-trenches were sited adjacent to the existing bridge and across an extensive area of the proposed pipeline corridor to the west in an attempt to identify any remains associated with either the medieval bridge or the mill identified in early modern sources. Licensed metal detection of spoil generated during excavation was undertaken (Licence 07R153, 07R155). No archaeological remains were exposed and no significant finds were recovered. Testing confirmed that the areas to the west of Mulhuddart Bridge had been subject to extensive recent disturbance; the presence of any surviving remains associated with the mill within this section of the pipeline corridor was discounted.
Testing adjacent to the bridge was restricted by the presence of overhead power cables and a concern to avoid any impacts on the stability of the existing structure. A wade survey of the Tolka River underneath and in the vicinity of the bridge was cancelled after a health and safety assessment identified the area as having a significant risk of biohazards, which would have posed a threat to the health of the people involved.
It is still possible that remains associated with the 16th-century bridge may lie under or immediately adjacent to the existing bridge. It was recommended that any works carried out in the immediate vicinity of Mulhuddart Bridge be monitored.