County: Clare Site name: Lisdoonvarna Water Supply Scheme
Sites and Monuments Record No.: N/A Licence number: 07E0673
Author: Billy Quinn, Moore Archaeological & Environmental Services Ltd, Corporate House, Ballybrit Business Park, Ballybrit, Galway.
Site type: No archaeological significance
Period/Dating: —
ITM: E 513490m, N 698498m
Latitude, Longitude (decimal degrees): 53.030166, -9.289711
Monitoring of the Lisdoonvarna Water Supply Scheme took place intermittently between May 2007 and February 2009. The project entailed the installation of 14km of water main between Lisdoonvarna to Ballyvaughan along the route of the N67, the construction of a compound, two break pressure tanks and a water reservoir at Gragan West, Corkscrew Hill, Co. Clare. Sheila Lane & Associates undertook the pre-development assessments in June 2003, December 2003 and April 2004. Based on these results it was recommended that monitoring be undertaken in specific locations associated with the scheme. The proposed pipeline development passed in relatively close proximity to Ballyconnoe North Chapel in ruins (CL009–002), Gragan Castle, Glenarra House, Newtown enclosure (CL005–042), Cragan West enclosure (CL005–114), Gragan West holy tree (CL005–168), Croagh Bridge and Bally-vaughan Bridge.
Monitoring involved a watching brief in the vicinity of recorded monuments, structures and bridges and regular inspections of groundworks along the roadway. The only significant greenfield areas were for a booster pump at Cahermakerrilla and for the reservoir, pressure tank, pump-house and compound area at Gragan West. No finds or features of archaeological significance were exposed in these areas. Generally along the carriageways the pipeline trench averaged 0.8–1m in width. The trench depth varied between 1.35m and 1.15m depending on the pipe size (0.1–0.3m) and the required cover. On the roads and verges the soil profiles changed reflecting the different terrain types. On upland areas below the road, surface and hardcore base pockets of peat were exposed between limestone bedrock. Elsewhere a typical profile below the road base consisted of a grey/brown sandy silt overlaying a compact orange/grey boulder clay with moderate to frequent amounts of limestone. Monitoring in the different areas variously exposed limestone pavement, bog and natural boulder clays with frequent stone. Elsewhere modern dump deposits were found at Newtown. There was no evidence of finds or features of archaeological significance along the course of the scheme.
