County: Dublin Site name: Tobermaclugg
Sites and Monuments Record No.: N/A Licence number: 06E0289 ext.
Author: Gill McLoughlin, Irish Archaeological Consultancy Ltd, 120B Greenpark Road, Bray, Co. Wicklow.
Site type: Monitoring
Period/Dating: —
ITM: E 634393m, N 801712m
Latitude, Longitude (decimal degrees): 53.963560, -7.475871
Monitoring was recommended following a desktop assessment and programme of testing undertaken at Tobermaclugg, Lucan, Co. Dublin, in advance of a proposed pumping station and stream upgrade carried out by Amanda Kelly and Faith Bailey (Excavations 2006, No. 672).
Activities associated with the construction of the pump station will involve the need for access to the site via a gap in the wall. No such access exists at present and, as a result, during the initial desktop assessment of the area it was recommended that a written and photographic record be made of the section of wall to be demolished.
The boundary wall stands at a height of between 1.4m and 1.8m above the current ground level. It is constructed from random coursed limestone, which is bonded with mortar. The larger stones had average dimensions of 0.35m by 0.2m, whereas the smaller stones were 0.3m by 0.1m. Modern repairs were evident within the fabric of the wall, which consisted of some concrete and reinforcement bars. The height of the wall is greater along the western face, as the road is located at a lower level than the field on the eastern side of the wall.
The wall in question currently forms a boundary between Tubber Lane and grounds once associated with Tobermaclugg House. This house is no longer present, although ruins to the south that overlook the wall to the north have been identified as representing the remains of the house. The house is marked on the 18th-century map produced by John Rocque of County Dublin and it is possible that the stone wall dates to this period or possibly earlier.
